Legislative Update
The Hill: Republican John James Announces Congressional Bid
Michigan Republican John James on Monday (1/31) announced a bid to represent the state in the U.S. House. The Hill reports that James, who ran unsuccessful Senate campaigns in 2018 and 2020, is vying to represent Michigan’s newly drawn 10th Congressional District. The district is expected to be competitive, as it encompasses parts of swing…
Read MoreFCC Follow Up to Stations that Did Not File Biennial Ownership Reports Last December – Fines to Follow?
By: David Oxenford, Wilkinson Barker Knauer LLP The FCC sent out a flurry of reminders to broadcasters who did not file their Biennial Ownership Reports by the December 1, 2021 deadline. As we wrote in our reminder in November, these reports were to be filed by licensees of all full-power radio and TV stations (commercial and…
Read MoreStreaming High School Sports: MAB’s Sam Klemet Chats with Josh Trust, COO of Heritage Broadcasting
Michigan broadcasters can now stream high school sports after the MHSAA changed its policy due to the efforts of the MAB and our members. Josh Trust, COO of Heritage Broadcasting in Traverse City, was instrumental in working on making the changes a reality. He sits down with MAB President Sam Klemet to talk about what…
Read More64 Michigan Stations Air Governor Whitmer’s State of the State Address
We are proud to announce that 64 Michigan broadcast stations – 30 television and 34 radio – carried the Governor’s 2022 State of the State address this past Wednesday (1/26) night. The list of stations includes members of the MAB as well as the Michigan Association of Public Broadcasters (MAPB). The MAB provided commercial television…
Read MoreThe Clock is Ticking Towards the Super Bowl: 2022 Update on Super Bowl Advertising and Promotions
By: Mitchell Stabbe, Wilkinson Barker Knauer, LLP via the Broadcast Law Blog There was record viewership for the last-second victories in each of the 2022 NFC and AFC Divisional Round games. Thus, the interest in this year’s Super Bowl game may be unprecedented and advertisers may want to take advantage. For the last six years,…
Read MoreGMR Settlement: FAQ for Broadcasters
The Radio Music Licensing Committee (RMLC) and Global Music Rights (GMR) have released a FAQ document to assist broadcasters with the recently announced GMR conditional settlement offer. Broadcasters are reminded that to participate, your submission to GMR is required by January 31, 2022. 1. How were rates determined, and why wasn’t a revenue-based model used?…
Read MoreHot Topic for 2022: Tech Regulation
By: Jonathan Cohen, Wilkinson Barker Knauer LLP My law firm partner, Jonathan Cohen, has been closely monitoring the developments in the regulation of social media and other big tech platforms by the current administration. He offers these thoughts on likely areas of legislative and regulatory action in this area in the coming year – David…
Read MoreMAB-PAC: Help Us Help You!
It’s early January and an election year. Many lawmakers will be running for another term. There will also be a large group of first timers who will run and win a coveted seat in the Michigan House or Senate. The MAB Political Action Committee (MABPAC) needs to reach these candidates for political office. We need…
Read MoreFCC Plans to Adopt Two Minor Changes to its Political Broadcasting Rules – What is Being Changed?
By: David Oxenford, Wilkinson Barker Knauer LLP The FCC, at its January 27 monthly open meeting, will be voting on the adoption of two relatively minor changes to its political broadcasting rules. While some press reports suggested that the changes would expand the FCC’s jurisdiction into online political advertising, in fact the draft of the FCC’s Report…
Read MoreWhitmer Announces Date for State of the State Address; MAB to Provide Feed
Governor Gretchen Whitmer and Speaker Jason Wentworth issued a joint statement this past Monday to announce that the 2022 State of the State address will be held in a virtual format and broadcast live throughout the state on Wednesday, January 26. “The State of the State address is a tradition rooted in history. It is…
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