System/Policy
How the spectrum auction could save journalism
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The use of public airwaves has always come with public obligations. But nobody seems to be asking what the people are getting back from this auction.
Current (https://current.org/tag/fcc/page/4/)
The use of public airwaves has always come with public obligations. But nobody seems to be asking what the people are getting back from this auction.
Must-carry regulations do not apply because the Virgin Islands is not a Nielsen Designated Market Area.
Stations will face a 39-month deadline to complete the technically complex work, which could pose challenges for government licensees that must go through lengthy procurement processes.
With an oversupply of astronomically priced spectrum offered in the auction’s first stage, Public Media Company analysts predict what’s ahead.
Public media organizations entering into fundraising partnerships with other nonprofits risk steep fines if they fail to comply with FCC rules.
The organizations oppose changes to disclosure requirements for station leaders and board members.
Stations fear the new rule could discourage board participation.
“This is the nightmare we have been fighting against for years.”
The exemption gives stations two years before they are required to post online public files with the agency.
Learn how the auction will work and what it means for public TV stations and viewers.
The auction’s biggest impact will be on public TV, but a consultant warns that radio could experience fallout.
Consultants say opening bid amounts are unlikely to reflect what stations could actually receive.
An Association of Public Television Stations briefing focused on federal funding prospects and the next steps in the FCC’s 2016 spectrum auction.
Public broadcasters met with FCC Chair Tom Wheeler and other commission officials Monday.
In a ruling issued Friday, the FCC also denied a petition to protect TV translators, which many rural stations use.
Stations have 60 days from receiving bids to declare whether they will participate in the auction, set for mid-2016.
FCC Chair Wheeler said the decision provides “the certainty necessary to proceed apace toward a successful auction in the first quarter of next year.”
Some satellite TV subscribers lack access to news, public affairs and other programming from their state networks.
Maintaining online public files would be too big a burden for some radio stations, pubcasters argue.
A Virginia broadcaster might swap some of its UHF TV channels for VHF during the FCC’s incentive auction and wants a bigger payout than currently proposed.