NJBA Weekly Newsletter Friday, January 22, 2010

Change Arrived in Trenton This Week

That was the mantra echoing throughout the halls of the statehouse on Tuesday as the newly sworn –in chief executive of the Garden State declared “Change has arrived” to a resounding standing ovation of state officials, past and present, as well as those in the audience at Trenton’s War memorial. Christopher James Christie, our 55^th Governor, now has the weight of the world (at least New Jersey) on his shoulders as he and his administration will now try to dig the Garden State out of a $9 billion deficit and rekindle the “can-do” spirit that, according to the new Governor, has always been the state’s heritage.  “Our economy is struggling,” he said. “Our budget is in deep deficit and our state is losing ground. Our people are dispirited and wondering if our best days are truly still ahead of us.” Then he declared: “Keep going. Have faith. For today, change has arrived!” Striking a conciliatory tone seeking bi-partisan support to help solve the troubled state, the new Governor declared: “whether you voted for me or not, whether we have agreed or disagreed in the past – today, I am your governor. Young or old, republican or democrat, rich or poor, regardless of color or heritage – I promise you this: I will work every waking hour of every day to build a better life for all of our citizens.”

The new Governor took over at high noon after attending morning Mass at Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark. Before leaving office on Tuesday, former Gov. Jon Corzine left the incoming Governor one "final parting gift"--- an undisclosed additional $1 billion shortfall in the current budget. Governor Christie said he learned of the deficit two hours after he took the oath of office. "It's my responsibility now, not his," Christie said at a late-morning press conference. (He really is a big boy.) 

Broadcasters Represented in Trenton

NJBA President Paul Rotella attended the inaugural ceremonies representing New Jersey’s broadcasters and later met with the Governor to offer him our association’s best wishes for success as he leads our state, and to confirm our industry’s commitment to be a part of the solution to the troubles facing our communities and the great people of New Jersey. “He’s a regular guy,” said Rotella, “no pretense and no nonsense.….and we both love Springsteen…..he should be good for New Jersey”.  President Rotella also met with Senate and Assembly leaders from both sides of the aisle to wish them well in meeting the challenges lying ahead. “We have some very serious people who want to make a difference leading both parties”, said Rotella, “Working together, our state can move forward.” Several New Jersey dignitaries offered their best wishes to our members including NJ Senate President Sweeny, NJ Senate Minority Leader Kean, NJ Assembly Speaker Oliver, Senator Oroho, Assemblyman Chiusano; Congressmen LoBiondo, Smith, Lance, Pallone, Frelinghuysen, and Pascrell; Senator Lautenberg, and former Governors Florio and Kean. The NJBA plans to meet with incoming administration and legislative officials in the coming weeks to further discuss our broadcasters’ role in rebuilding our state and keeping New Jersey strong. The NJBA wishes Governor Christie, Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno, and all of our elected and appointed leaders good luck and God’s speed as they do the people’s business in Trenton.  

EEO Reports Due February 1st

February 1^st marks the deadline for two FCC EEO requirements.  First, by February 1st, radio and television stations in New Jersey must prepare their Annual EEO Public File Reports.  Specifically, stations or Station Employment Units (SEUs) with five or more full time employees (30 hours or more per week) must:  (1) prepare their Annual EEO Public File Report; (2) place it in the public inspection file of each station comprising the SEU; and (3) post the Report on the Web site, if any station in the SEU has a Web site, all by Feb. 1. The Annual EEO Public File Report summarizes the hiring and EEO activities conducted by the station or SEU during the past 12 months. The Report provides information about the full time job positions filled in the last year, the recruitment sources used to fill those positions, and the outreach activities that the station or SEU performed during the year. In preparing their Annual Reports, stations are encouraged to carefully review their EEO activities and take the time to organize their records. Stations should have appropriate documentation to back up each of the recruitment sources used for each job opening, as well as for each outreach activity. This annual report is also a good time for the station or employment unit to assess the success of its outreach and the efficacy of its recruitment sources, and to make any adjustments necessary to improve EEO compliance in the coming year. 

Second, in addition to preparing the Annual EEO Public File Report, by February 1 larger radio stations in New Jersey (i.e., those with eleven or more full-time employees) must prepare and file electronically with the Commission an FCC Form 397 Mid-Term EEO Report.  The Form 397 provides the FCC with copies of the SEU's two most recent Annual EEO Public File Reports, and is an important part of both the station’s compliance with the EEO rules and the Commission’s monitoring procedures. While normally the Annual Report is simply prepared and placed in the station's public file and on the website, at the mid-point of the license term stations must actually provide the FCC with copies of its two most recent Reports.  Also, a reminder that by February 1 noncommercial radio stations in New Jersey must prepare and file electronically a biennial Ownership Report with the Federal Communications Commission using the current noncommercial FCC Form 323-E. This might also be a good time to check out Broadcast One Source www.broadcast1source.com  to help make sure your station is in compliance with all EEO requirements.  

Limits Lifted on Certain Campaign Spending

Yesterday’s Supreme Court's decision regarding advertisement limitations imposed by McCain/Feingold could result in a lot more advertising dollars being spent on radio and television.  The Court has ruled that "corporations may spend freely to support or oppose candidates for president and Congress, easing decades-old limits on their participation in federal campaigns."  For more details, please see The Washington Post's article link at http://www.supremecourtus.gov/opinions/09pdf/08-205.pdf

National EAS Test

The FCC has proposed rules providing for an annual test of the national alert capability of the broadcast Emergency Alert System (EAS).  What’s more, all EAS participants in the country will have to tell the FCC whether they received the test, whether they retransmitted it, and if not, what went wrong. In their second further notice of proposed rulemaking, the commission says, "It is vital that the EAS work as designed, and we share concerns that existing testing may be insufficient to ensure its effective operation." The FCC, FEMA, the National Weather Service, and the Executive Office of the President are already planning for a national test, and the commission is looking for comment on, among other things, whether its proposed rule would effectively ensure accurate tests. The commission notes that no national presidential warning has ever been issued via EAS, and that the "great majority" of EAS alerts are local weather alerts from the NWS. Among the vulnerabilities of the current EAS system, is a "daisy-chain" structure that means the failure of one participating station can lead to failure at all stations below it in the chain. The Government Accountability Office has also reported on gaps in coverage, lack of testing and training, and other problems. The NJBA has been a very vocal advocate of improving our EAS here in New Jersey and around the country. The FCC is proposing to require all EAS participants to take part in national testing and to provide test results to the commission, and to conduct national tests annually.

Interference is Interference!

HDRadio is seeking a tenfold power increase before the FCC. The NJBA is opposing this prospect since it will cause more interference on our already short-spaced markets and is not fair to NJ’s many Class “A” FMs. The New Jersey Broadcasters Association has serious concerns about the forthcoming HD power increase being considered by the media bureau. The new power increase for HD radio will have a severely deleterious effect on the signal strength and quality of a great number of New Jersey commercial radio stations. IBOC, being used for HD Radio, has always carried with it the interference trade-off.  The interference ramifications were minimized with the current power levels being 1% of the main station's power.  (The initial premise of IBOC was that it would not cover the entire market but the "digital-to-analog fade" on the HD main channel--then the only channel-- would make that lack of coverage largely imperceptible to the listener.)  That premise was inconveniently destroyed with the advent of HD2 and HD3 streams which had no safety margin of a digital-to-analog fade, resulting in HD2 and HD3 reception which can only be described as unlistenable in most consumer applications. The dirty little secret to HD Radio confirmed by NPR engineers is that for many short-spaced stations, especially those in the northeast, no matter how much power an HD Radio station signal is given, because of the different ramifications of first adjacent channel interference to the digital signal as compared to the analog signal, the digital signal will not come close to replicating the analog signal.  It is safe to say that no one wishes for current FM reception to be harmed by HD Radio interference.  It is also instructive, however, that the FCC, for a variety of reasons, refuses to protect FM stations beyond their current protected contours (60 dBu for Class A, 57 dBu for Class B1 and 54 dBu for Class B).   The HD Radio power increase would harm New Jersey FM stations both inside and outside of protected contours and will be opposed by the NJBA. 

Office of Emergency Management Holds PIO Summit

NJBA President attended the New Jersey Office of Emergency Management’s first quarterly Public Information Officer’s Summit of 2010, which was held at the New Jersey State Police Regional Operations & Intelligence Center in West Trenton. This

summit was attended by all federal, state and county public information officers. “The NJBA is a proud partner with the New Jersey State Police and all law enforcement in helping to serve the diverse communities and audiences of all New Jersey broadcasters,” said Rotella, “this is a great way to learn more about the many government entities that work for us and protect us in New Jersey.” The NJBA wishes to express our appreciation to Nick Morici for organizing this event, and for all he does as our OEM spokesman throughout the year.

The Trenton Report: From THE MARCUS GROUP

There is a new sheriff in town. His name is Chris Christie and he is the 55th Governor of the New Jersey. The deputy sheriff is Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno, the first Lieutenant Governor in Garden State history. She is also a former federal prosecutor, who will do double duty as the Secretary of State. Governor Christie has made clear that attacking the state's budget deficit is job 1. He has ruled out any tax increases so a fundamental restructuring of state government and deeper budget cuts are coming. In his plain and direct speaking style, the Governor is telling all who will listen that "we are broke" and to expect both "pain" and "change." The challenges facing the new administration are monumental. Stay tuned for more developments!

Policy and Protocol Changes on the FCC’s Horizon

The FCC will be forming a new Consumer Task Force composed of all of its bureau chiefs, the chief of the office of engineering and technology, the general counsel, and the managing director, to promote the Commission’s consumer driven agenda and collaboration across the FCC. The task force will be chaired by Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau Chief Joel Gurin. This move comes as the Government Accounting Office (GAO) calls for procedural and “other changes” at the Commission to improve the FCC’s intra bureau communications efforts and streamline decision making. The GAO proposed that the FCC clarifies how commissioners get information from the various bureaus, along with the release of the actual text of any proposed rules or rules changes, before all commission votes.

Down for the Count

Not Good News for New Jersey. The Jersey Journal reports that the federal Census will begin April l. And New Jersey won't like the final tally President Barack Obama will deliver to Congress Jan. 3, 2011. New Jersey is projected to come in 37th in population growth among the states in the last decade. This tally is expected to cost the state a congressional seat and federal aid. By Nov. 15, the legislative Apportionment Commission will be appointed by the Democratic and Republican state chairmen. By June 15 of next year, the same group will appoint the members of the Congressional Districting Commission. They'll draw new lines - including across Hudson County - based on the Census for use this decade.

RMLC Takes Royalty Fight to Court

A wide gap still remains between what radio stations can pay composers and what ASCAP and BMI are seeking.  That’s made the move into federal court inevitable for months.  Inside Radio reported that the Radio Music License Committee and the two performance rights organizations have now filed a formal request with a U.S. District Court in New York asking it to sort out the issues and set a rate. “After a full year of negotiations, the parties have been unable to reach agreement,” they tell the court.  Both ASCAP and BMI have struck short-term royalty rate deals with the RMLC to cut the royalty rate by 7% until a judge sets an interim rate. Both sides want that to happen by July 1 or sooner if possible.  Judge Denise Cote has scheduled a February 19 hearing to allow both sides to weigh in on what the interim fee should be.  Whatever rate the judge decides will then be in effect while negotiations both in and out of the courtroom move forward in a process that could take a year or more. The RMLC represents more than 5,300 stations with ASCAP and BMI. 

Say Goodnight to Conan Tonight

Well, after a whole seven months, tonight’s TONIGHT Show with Conan O’Brien is heading off the airways, making tonight his last telecast as the late night franchise’s host. NBC says it reached a deal with Conan to leave and send Jay Leno back to the historic late-night program he hosted for 17 years. The deal is worth a reported $44 million. Not a bad day’s pay! The NJBA wishes Conan, Jay, and especially NBC, good luck in this new era of The Tonight Show.

QuickNews is provided for general information purposes only and should not be relied upon as legal or tax advice pertaining to any specific factual situation. Legal and tax related decisions should be made only after proper consultation with a legal professional of your choosing.

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