NJBA Weekly Newsletter Friday, January 29, 2010

EAS Congressional Staff Briefing Set for Next Week

NJBA President & CEO Paul Rotella will be in Washington, D. C. on February 1st to participate in a briefing for congressional staff on the Emergency Alert System. Committee staff from the Homeland Security Committees and the Commerce Committees in both the House and Senate, and individual telecommunications legislative advisors for all New Jersey Members of Congress have been invited to attend the briefing. Over several years, it has become apparent that there is a significant lack of understanding of the nature, mission and operation of the EAS. This staff briefing will start the educational process in-depth and is a "pre-function" to the Annual EAS National Summit Meeting hosted by the National Alliance of State Broadcasters Associations and the National Association of Broadcasters on March 1^st.  This briefing comes at a particularly significant time since New Jersey may lose its EAS capability depending on what happens with NJN and the archaic system we have in New Jersey. The NJBA has been advocating for the installation of a new, fully functional modern EAS infrastructure to serve the residents of the Garden State and will be working with Trenton and Washington to focus their attention on this critical need. 

Supreme Court Ruling: Increase In Political Ad Spending?

The Supreme Court’s Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission decision may open the door for more political ad spending. The Supreme Court's decision struck down a provision of the McCain-Feingold Act that prevented corporations-for-profit and not-for-profit-and unions from spending freely from their own treasuries for campaign advertising. The ruling also removed the restriction on corporate advertisements leading up to an election.  Many call the decision a victory for the First Amendment and Free Speech. According to NJBA Attorney John F. Garziglia, Esq., of Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, “There is some nice language (lawyers call it dicta) in the decision for broadcasters.  The Supreme Court says with respect to the First Amendment that “[w]e must decline to draw, and then redraw, constitutional lines based on the particular media or technology used to disseminate political speech from a particular speaker”.  Perhaps the most helpful statement in the decision in favor of broadcasters’ First Amendment rights, despite its unhelpful observation as to the “decline … of broadcast media” is as follows: “With the advent of the Internet and the decline of print and broadcast media, moreover, the line between the media and others who wish to comment on political and social issues becomes far more blurred”. The nice thing about this decision is that expenditures on broadcast station political ads by corporations will once again presumably be allowed without restriction.  Those political ads, not being a “use” by a political candidate, do not fall within the restrictions of lowest unit charge so broadcast stations are not shackled to the deal given to their best advertiser in accepting such political buys. In response to this decision, New Jersey Congressman Bill Pascrell and Senator Bob Menendez quickly introduced legislation this week that would limit political advertising spending by foreign owned corporations.

The Trenton Report: From the Marcus Group

 3,047 AND COUNTING: 3,047 - that is the number of bills introduced already in the 2010-2011 Legislative Session, which kicked off January 12 in Trenton. The first committee meetings at which some of these Senate and Assembly bills might be considered will take place next week with the Senate in session on February 1 and the Assembly convening on February 4. By the time the Legislature ends this two year session we expect somewhere in the neighborhood of 10,000 proposed bills to be dropped into the hopper. Only a small percentage of those bills will make it all the way through both Houses and be signed into law by Governor Christie. But, all sponsors are hopeful that their priority bills will achieve that ambitious goal. The NJBA is closely monitoring all of this legislative activity and is prepared to lobby vigorously to protect the broadcast industry here in the Garden State.

Greater Media Line Up Change: Carr Returns to WDHA

Tom Taylor reports that Terrie Carr is back at north Jersey rocker WDHA, Dover (105.5), this time as the 10am-3pm personality. She did that same shift years for 13 years and also programmed ’DHA for six years. More recently she’s worked in New York City at Sirius, at Clear Channel classic rocker Q104.3/WAXQ, and at VH1 Classic. The other lineup change at Greater Media’s WDHA is Kim Mulligan joining Jim Monaghan for the re-named 6-10am “Morning Jolt.” That cleared the way for Terrie Carr. The NJBA wishes Terrie, Kim and Jim, as well as the entire Greater Media team all the best!

Roy Stewart Retires from FCC after 45 Years

Former Chief of the Mass Media Bureau Roy J. Stewart announced his retirement from the FCC effective this month. A good friend of the NJBA, Roy was a familiar personality at many NJBA functions, offering his advice and expertise to many New Jersey broadcasters. Roy received his B.A. Degree from the University of Virginia in 1960 and his J.D. from Cornell Law School in 1963. After military service, he started employment at the Federal Communications Commission in 1965 as an attorney in the Television Application Branch of the Broadcast Bureau. Subsequently in 1974, he was appointed Chief of the Transfer Branch. In December 1979, he was made Chief of the Broadcast Bureau Renewal and Transfer Division. Following the reorganization of the Broadcast Bureau in 1982, Roy was named Chief of the Mass Media Bureau's Video Services Division. In October 1989, Roy was appointed Chief of the Mass Media Bureau, and the rest, as they say, is history. The NJBA send our warm wishes to Roy and his wife on the occasion of his retirement from public service. 

Radio: Then, Now and Always

While much has been written about the declining use and relevancy of radio among youth, a new study by the nonprofit Kaiser Family Foundation shows the medium remains a popular source for music and other audio content among teens. Inside Radio reports that although the advent of the iPod and other technologies has increased the ways teens listen to music; it has also led to an increase in consumption. In a typical day, 8- to 18-year-olds spend an average of 2 hours and 19 minutes listening to music and another 12 minutes with other audio such as news or talk shows. That’s 47 minutes more than five years ago (2:31 in 2009 vs. 1:44 in 2004 and 1:48 in 1999). The number one App for AT&T’s and Apple’s iPhone has been iRadio for a while, and Clear Channel’s iHeartRadio continues to be number one among Verizon users.

Tax Increase May Hit NJ Employers

The AP Reports that Governor Christie may let a tax hike on businesses take effect if the federal government doesn't help the state replenish the unemployment fund. Employers could see an increase of up to $1,000 per employee in their unemployment tax starting July 1 unless the fund is infused with state or federal money. The fund helps pay unemployment benefits. The increase is triggered by a growing shortfall in the Unemployment Insurance Fund. Business taxes are increased by law when the fund's balance dips below a certain level as measured every March. Christie says the fund will be $1.6 billion in debt by March. "That's not my choice, what I would like to have happen," The Governor said on Monday. "But on the other hand, we can't continue to run that kind of debt." The newly sworn-in governor said his administration will ask the federal government to forgive the debt, but he said the state can't afford to pump money into the fund to stop the tax increase.  

NAB signs Jake Owen
Grammy-nominated country artist Jake Owen has signed to perform during the NAB State Leadership Conference Dinner, to be held on March 2 in Washington. The Conference brings hundreds of radio and television broadcasters to Capitol Hill to meet with legislators and regulators on issues impacting radio and TV.

Former FCC Commissioner James Quello Dies at 95

James Henry Quello, a former  broadcaster himself  who served as an FCC commissioner for 24 years, and as acting FCC chairman in 1993, died this week at age 95. Mr. Quello was appointed to the FCC in 1974 by President Richard Nixon. Quello, a Democrat, kept winning reappointments to the commission until 1998, when he retired. He was named acting chairman of the FCC in 1993, bridging the gap between the tenure of Republican Albert Sikes and Democratic appointee, Reed Hundt. As an FCC commissioner, Quello became known for his independent thinking. He championed the preservation of free universal television and he sat on the commission as it and the media transitioned into the Information Age, during a period of revolutionary technological change and the birth of the Internet. Quello began his career as a World War II hero, serving as Lieutenant and Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Army from 1941 to 1945. He took part in six infantry assault amphibious landings in the war theater in Europe and Africa and fought in Africa, Sicily, Italy, France and Germany. This true friend to broadcasters will be deeply missed.

 Internet Streamers Royalties Due Jan. 31

Copyright Royalties for Internet Streaming are due by January 31^st for webcasters, including radio stations simulcasting their programming on the Web, who must pay the minimum annual copyright royalty fee of $500 per channel or per station to SoundExchange. Small broadcasters (those streaming less than 27,777 aggregate tuning hours each year), who are exempt from reporting to SoundExchange the songs they play, must file a Notice of Election certifying that they still qualify for this exemption by Jan. 31. Noncommercial webcasters, including noncommercial broadcasters who stream their programming on the Web, must also file a Notice of Election with SoundExchange in order to be covered by the settlement entered into under the Webcasters Settlement Agreement (except NPR affiliates, whose filing and reporting obligations are covered by an organization appointed by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting).

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. Second, in addition to preparing the Annual EEO Public File Report, by February 1^st, 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.  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 for stations to avoid costly fines and check out Broadcast One Source (www.broadcast1source.com) to help make sure your station is in compliance with all EEO requirements.

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.

Broadcast House, 348 Applegarth Road, Monroe Twp., NJ  08831 (888) 657-2346 FAX: (888) 652-2329, njba@njba.com