FTC Reminds Advertisers That Deceptive Endorsements in Advertising Can Lead to Penalties

In a Federal Trade Commission notice published last week, the agency warned the advertising industry that penalties could be coming for the use of deceptive endorsements.  The FTC not only released the notice, but it also sent a letter (a version of which is available here) to hundreds of businesses (a list is here) –... Continue Reading…

This Week in Regulation for Broadcasters: October 16, 2021 to October 22, 2021

Here are some of the regulatory developments of significance to broadcasters from the last week, with links to where you can go to find more information as to how these actions may affect your operations. The Federal Trade Commission issued a press release which warns advertisers to avoid misleading endorsements. The FTC also sent a... Continue Reading…

Copyright Office Initiates Study of “Ancillary Copyright Protections” Accorded to Publishers – Reviewing News Aggregation and Digital Media’s Use of News Content from Traditional Sources

The Copyright Office, at the request of Congress, has initiated a study to examine the rights and protections of news publishers under copyright and related laws.  The Office issued a Notice of Inquiry seeking public comment on a variety of issues that could extend new protections to “press publishers” and perhaps other content creators that... Continue Reading…

Defamation by Tweet – Court Case Reminds Broadcasters to Take Cease and Desist Requests about Attack Ads Seriously

A recent controversial court of appeals decision on a defamation claim brought by Congressman Devin Nunes sends a signal to broadcasters about the care they need to give to reviewing commercial messages – particularly political attack ads – when questions are raised as to the truth of the assertions made in those ads.  As we... Continue Reading…

This Week in Regulation For Broadcasters:  October 9, 2021 to October 15, 2021

Here are some of the regulatory developments of significance to broadcasters from the last week, with links to where you can go to find more information as to how these actions may affect your operations. The Copyright Office initiated a study of the rights of publishers, to explore ways to assist local journalism. The notice... Continue Reading…

This Week in Regulation for Broadcasters:  October 2, 2021 to October 8, 2021

Here are some of the regulatory developments of significance to broadcasters from the last week, with links to where you can go to find more information as to how these actions may affect your operations. The FCC issued a Public Notice to remind potential applicants of the upcoming filing window for applications for construction permits... Continue Reading…

This Week in Regulation for Broadcasters:  September 25, 2021 to October 1, 2021

Here are some of the regulatory developments of significance to broadcasters from the last week, with links to where you can go to find more information as to how these actions may affect your operations. ViacomCBS and its subsidiary Pluto TV agreed to pay $3.5 million and enter into a consent decree with the FCC... Continue Reading…

October Regulatory Dates for Broadcasters: License Renewals, Broadcast Ownership Filings, Quarterly Issues/Programs Lists, Rulemaking Comment Dates and More

As we enter the last quarter of the year, the broadcasters’ October calendar is full of important regulatory dates and deadlines.  We share some of those dates below and urge you to stay in close touch with your lawyers, engineers, and consultants for the dates and deadlines applicable to your station’s operations. On or before... Continue Reading…

Remember – Political Ads for State and Local Races Trigger FCC Political Obligations

We are nearing the end of September and, in many jurisdictions we are in the heart of political season – though mostly for state and local elections. While most broadcast stations don’t think much about the FCC’s political broadcasting rules in odd-numbered years, they are required to do so, as races for state and local... Continue Reading…

This Week in Regulation for Broadcasters: September 18, 2021 to September 24, 2021

Here are some of the regulatory developments from the last week of significance to broadcasters , with links to where you can go to find more information as to how these actions may affect your operations. At the last minute, the deadline for broadcasters to pay their annual regulatory fees was extended to Monday, September... Continue Reading…

2020 Recap

2020 has been an extremely challenging year for our nation and especially our state. Many Nevada broadcasters have struggled to survive under the weight of a depressed local economy and uncertainty of the future.

Many families experienced financial and physical loss because of the pandemic. I was saddened to hear of the passing of veteran Reno news anchor and good friend Brent Boynton who succumbed to the disease in November.

To be honest, in January and February of this year, few of us knew what we would experience in 2020.

On January 30 we were thrilled to attend the ribbon cutting for Telemundo’s KBLR new 22,622 square foot media center. Congratulations to President and General Manager Ramiro Lopez!

The next day we welcomed Congresswoman Susie Lee, Henderson Mayor Debra March, North Las Vegas Mayor John Lee, County Commissioner Michael Naft and State Senator Scott Hammond to the grand opening of our new offices on South Eastern off the I-215.

In February a group of us traveled to Washington D.C. to meet with Nevada’s Congressional Delegation and lobby on behalf of Nevada’s broadcasters. With the help of KCEP General Manager Craig Knight, we were able to convince Congressman Steven Horsford to support the Local Radio Freedom Act. With the support of Representatives Mark Amodei and Susie Lee we worked with the National Association of Broadcasters to help secure enough votes to kill a radio royalty fee which had surfaced in two different bills.

Throughout February and March, we were able to conduct 26 alternative FCC inspections (ABIP), a service we provide, free of charge, to all of our members.

And then in March, our world was turned upside down and yours as well.

We locked up our new offices and started working from home, but we ended up having one of the most productive years in the history of the Association.

Early on, we had to make the difficult decision of canceling our annual Hall of Fame Gala, along with our Northern and Southern Golf Tournaments, three events critical to the funding success of our Foundation and the Tony and Linda Bonnici Scholarship Program.

With help from our Washington D.C. lobbying team, the Porter Group, we started scheduling Zoom meetings with every member of our Congressional delegation. It was important that they heard about the plight of broadcasters and how our industry has been unselfishly serving the community with impactful outreach projects and with our own NCSA program which pushed out important messages on health and safety protocols.

By the way, thank you for donating airtime to our efforts so we could facilitate the messaging for multiple COVID campaigns. Your generosity also helps pay for our operating expenses and we are extremely grateful for our partnership!

As the year progressed, we lobbied our congressional representatives to make sure that all broadcasters were eligible for PPP loans and that federal ad dollars would be directed to local stations here in Nevada.

When the state legislature conducted its special session, we were asked by the Legislative Counsel Bureau to coordinate the access of all of the radio and television stations who wanted access to the legislative building. It was a herculean task but thanks to the cooperation of our member stations, it was a success!

The Nevada Broadcasters Association also worked hard to get a letter from Governor Sisolak and the Department of Homeland Security specifying that broadcasting was an essential business and that our members needed to conduct their normal operations while ensuring that management and employees implemented prescribed health and safety measures.

Throughout the year we conducted three separate distributions of face coverings to any radio or television station that wanted them. We also were able to provide Reno-area radio and television stations with air support surveillance from the Washoe County Sheriff’s office during a 72-hour period of unrest and violent protests.

Despite everything that’s taken place, the Nevada Broadcasters Association will finish the year in a strong place financially. We will be able to donate a portion of our net income to our Foundation to use for scholarships. This is especially critical because traditional fundraising activities were suspended in 2020.

Thank you again for your support.

Mitch

Introducing New NVBA Chairman Chris Way