In exchange for obtaining a valuable license to operate a broadcast station using the public airwaves, each radio and television licensee is required by law to operate its station in the “public interest, convenience and necessity.” This means that it must air programming that is responsive to the needs and problems of its local community of license. In addition, how other media facilitate community discussions.
Localism
Sacramento's 5G deal with Verizon delivers less than advertised, communications union says
The public-private partnership touted two years ago as a way to bring Sacramento to the forefront of a new digital frontier is being called an example for other cities of what not to do, by the Communications Workers of America.
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Right to Connect: A Media-Policy Roadmap for Presidential Candidates
A platform of recommended media-and-tech policies for all presidential candidates. Over the summer of 2019, Free Press Action will send the platform to each of the presidential candidates. Free Press Action will also generate a scorecard rating each candidate’s positions relative to Right to Connect’s recommendations. What is the platform asking candidates to do?
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Broadband is the New Railroad
Again, and again, I’ve heard that when people live in areas unserved and underserved by broadband networks, businesses are hard-pressed to start, grow, or stay there. Without the economic development and individual prospects enabled by competitive, advanced, and affordable broadband, people will find it harder to secure good-paying jobs, get training for future positions, or seek higher wages.
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How Emporia, Kansas, Fights Rural Brain Drain: ‘Broadband Is The New Railroad’
The “brain drain” from rural areas has been a problem across the country for decades. Since 2000, Emporia's population has declined more than 7 percent. It's now home to 24,724 people.
Rock Falls (IL) is a gigabit city
Rock Falls is a gigabit city and the backbone to its fiber network is in place. Now it's time to get residents connected to its broadband, which can provide speeds up to 1,000 megabits per second. As part of its marketing campaign, city officials held their final informational meetings for a packed council chamber at City Hall. City Administrator Robbin Blackert retraced the process, started in earnest in 2015, that has made broadband the newest city utility. The city took out a $4 million bond to complete the backbone, which is along the U.S.
Bozeman saluted for forward stance on broadband
Of the new priorities Bozeman city commissioners added to their strategic plan recently, perhaps none will prove to be more consequential than declaring broadband internet service to be essential infrastructure – just as important as streets, bridges and water and sewer systems. It was a logical next step in the city’s broadband policy evolution. It started six years ago with the formation of committee of professionals and business owners that identified a demand for high-speed internet service in the city.
NAB Show: FCC Commissioners Talk Industry Competition and Push for More Diverse Ownership
Federal Communications Commissioners Michael O’Rielly, Brendan Carr, and Geoffrey Starks, spoke at a panel at the 2019 National Association of Broadcasters Commissioner show. Commissioner Carr emphasized the importance of getting out and about to see how ownership groups operate. He said ownership rules were scripted when the morning paper and evening newscast represented the extent of local news voices. "The market you all compete in today is vastly different,” he said, singling out Pandora, Spotify, and the “Silicon Valley giants” as prominent competitors to local TV.
The statistics are staggering. Since 2004, more than 1,800 city and small town newspapers in the U.S. have folded and the number of reporters covering local news has decreased by fifty-percent. “News deserts” -- areas where zero or little local coverage exists -- are cropping up all around the country. Simultaneously, public trust in media continues to erode--fueled by divisive political culture, the rise in opinion journalism and the pernicious effect of misinformation and fake news in the internet age.
Local Leaders Discuss Broadband Issues with FCC Staff
Local leaders met with the Federal Communications Commission's Wireline Competition Bureau staff on March 13, 2019, to suggest the FCC continuing to re-evaluate the appropriate broadband speed requirements for service to rural areas by carriers receiving federal support. They discussed their concerns with filings, asking the FCC to extend to wireline providers the interpretation of section 253 set forth in the September 27, 2018 Wireless Infrastructure Order.
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San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo tells Feds to ‘Get Out of the Way’ of Innovation
A Q&A with San Jose (CA) Mayor Sam Liccardo.