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
You may be surprised to learn that newspaper audiences are larger today than ever due to myriad platforms on which news is published – print, websites, online newsletters, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, video and more. What would you do as an editor for a day? What would your coverage and story assignments be? What would you publish in print, online and in social media? What would your front page look like? An engaging interactive event with live video and a press run.
Small town newspapers, challenged by evaporating advertising revenues, mergers and declining circulation, struggle to sustain themselves. What can be done to keep local journalism strong, relevant, necessary and avoid news deserts?
Speakers: Al Cross, director Institute for Rural Journalism, University of Kentucky
Panel discussion: Mark Guerringue, publisher The Daily Sun, Conway, NH; Keith Gentili, Editor and Publisher, The New Boston Beacon; Paul Miller, executive editor, The Keene Sentinel
FCC Diversity Committee Has Big Issue with FCC Incubator Program
Key leadership of the Federal Communications Commission's Advisory Committee on Diversity and Digital Empowerment (ACDDE) have a big problem with the way the FCC has structured the new diversity incubator program they otherwise support, a problem they say could "destroy" the program. That warning came in a call the week of Aug 13 between committee members James Winston and David Honig and Matthew Berry, chief of staff to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai.
The local TV consolidation race is here
Changes in decades-old broadcasting rules, combined with new types of competition in news and entertainment, are creating a drama-filled free-for-all as local US broadcasters consolidate. Consolidation will inevitably mean that fewer voices reach more people, but some in the industry argue it's the only way local broadcasting will be able to compete with big tech. Of all TV news products, local television still has the largest audience by far compared to national and cable. But it's also been hit with the greatest decline among the three types of traditional TV.
When local papers stop being local
At the DeWitt Wallace Center’s News Measures Research Project, we set out to document the extent to which communities have access to robust local journalism and determine whether certain types of communities are more at risk than others. We studied 100 US communities and found:
AT&T Suggests FCC Clarify Types of Municipal Regulations, Fees That Prohibit Small Cell Deployment
In its recent Declaratory Ruling, the Federal Communications Commission declared that, with rare exceptions, moratoria on the acceptance, processing, or approval of applications or permits for telecommunications services or facilities violate Section 253 of the Communications Act. AT&T urges the FCC to further use its authority to interpret Sections 253 and 332(c)(7) to clarify the types of municipal regulations that “have the effect of prohibiting” the provision of wireless service, primarily as they affect small cell deployments.
FCC Offers Small ISPs a Boost, but a Bigger Setback Looms
Small internet service providers (ISPs) expect a helping hand from the Federal Communications Commission August 2, a move that could spur competition and perhaps lower prices. But the FCC is also considering a more sweeping proposal that would hurt upstarts to the benefit of industry giants like AT&T. Both issues revolve around how much access upstarts should have to facilities and equipment owned by their bigger rivals. The vote is about arcane rules for moving wires on utility poles.
How the Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee Could Shape Cities’ Digital Future
In July 2018, the 30 members of the Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee gathered at the Federal Communications Commission to develop and agree to debate new model state and local laws for broadband deployment. The group comprised one elected official and five total representatives of state or local governments — along with a wide range of members representing telecommunications companies, academic institutions known for their opposition to municipal broadband investment, and stakeholders representing the National Grange and LGBT Technology Partnership & Institute.
News From Your Neighborhood, Brought to You by the State of New Jersey
New Jersey's lawmakers have embarked on a novel experiment to address a local news crisis: putting up millions of dollars in the state’s most recent budget to pay for community journalism.
Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Thune Eyes Packaging Broadband Deployment Bills
Senate Commerce Chairman John Thune (R-SD) is eying ways to combine his STREAMLINE Small Cell Deployment Act, S.