John Eggerton

President Donald Trump's newly proposed budget includes a proposal to end federal funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), part of a package that includes $300 billion in new spending overall. CPB provides federal funding for PBS and National Public Radio stations. "The Budget proposes to eliminate Federal funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) over a two year period," according to the proposal.

The budget bill that passed in the wee hours of the morning of Feb 9 included $20 billion for infrastructure initiatives, at least some of which will go to broadband buildouts.

With government access to foreign communications much on the minds of Washington legislators these days--particularly a FISA Act warrant related to a Trump Administration official--a bipartisan group of Congressmen is introducing the Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data (CLOUD) Act.

The US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has denied a petition from Prometheus Radio Project that it effectively stay the Federal Communications Commission's November vote to deregulate local broadcast ownership.  The court suggested the jury was still out on the FCC's response to the court's direction on ownership diversity and that Prometheus did not make a case for direct action from the court.

The New England Cable & Telecommunications Association is putting in a plug for federal network neutrality legislation. That came in planned testimony at a Massachusetts Senate Special Committee on Network Neutrality and Consumer Protection Hearing Feb 6. 

Prometheus Radio Project and Media Mobilizing Project have asked the Third Circuit Court of Appeals to deny broadcasters' requests that the court allow them to argue against Prometheus et al.'s challenge to the Federal Communications Commission's broadcast deregulation.

The Federal Communications Commission told the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit that it did consider the impact of its broadcast local ownership deregulation on minority and female ownership and that that consideration and its adoption of a definition of eligible entity meets that court's mandate. "[T]he Commission carefully analyzed whether each of its rule changes would have a “material impact on minority and female ownership," said the FCC's legal team. The FCC told the court it could consider the arguments for or against the rule change in the regular order of challenges to tho

The National Association of Broadcasters and Sinclair have asked a federal court to allow them to weigh in on the request from critics of the Federal Communications Commission's broadcast deregulatory decision that the court block that deregulation.

Communications Workers of America members at AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile have created a national network of union and non-union workers organizing to "protect good jobs and quality customer service." According to CWA, hundreds are meeting in Orlando (FL) Jan 30 to strategize about changing the industry "from within." That coincided with a planned demonstration in front of AT&T and Verizon stores there by wireless workers in support of AT&T Wireless employees in the Southeast currently trying to negotiate a new contract.

The US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit told the Federal Communications Commission to respond to a request that the court stay implementation of the FCC's December media regulation rule rollback. In a petition for an emergency writ of mandamus, Prometheus Radio Project and Media Mobilizing Project had asked the court to block the Feb.