NJBA Weekly Newsletter Friday, May 8^th, 2009 

David Rehr Steps Down as NAB Chief

This week, NAB President David Rehr announced that he is resigning as president of the National Association of Broadcasters after three years leading the organization through some turbulent times. David has been a good friend to the NJBA and a fierce advocate for broadcasters in Washington. But something was just not right this past year and it was almost palpable. While this move comes at a particularly crucial moment in the legislative calendar, NAB’s COO Janet McGregor, will be assuming the day to day duties of chief executive until a new president is appointed by the Board of Directors. Janet came to the NAB last year after serving as President and CEO for the Lockheed Martin Investment Management Corp. The NJBA would like to express its gratitude to David for his leadership and friendship over the past three years and wishes both David and Janet good luck as they begin the next chapter in their distinguished careers.  

“No Performance Tax” Web Site a Must Read

The fight on Capitol Hill is fierce over the Performance Tax and Broadcasters picked up 4 more members fighting its adoption this week. As of May 4, H. Con. Res. 49, the Local Radio Freedom Act, had the support of 184 members of Congress and growing. We are well on our way to reaching 218 cosponsors, a majority of the House. Starting last week, NAB launched its messaging of how the foreign record labels will benefit at the expense of America’s local radio stations with “fat cat” ads. The 60-second spot, dubbed "Don't Feed the Fat Cat," is airing on Washington, D.C. radio stations and is also available for radio stations to download through NoPerformanceTax.org. In the coming weeks, the campaign will be supplemented with additional advertising. Our goal is to continuously inform members of Congress, their staff and Washington opinion leaders that local radio, musicians and listeners will all be hurt by the enactment of this dangerous legislation. Check out the website and join the fight! 

Another New Face at the FCC?

The Senate Commerce Committee has postponed the nomination hearing set for Tuesday, May 12, to consider Julius Genachowski, President Barack Obama's nominee to chair the Federal Communications Commission. But, the buzz in DC has President Obama still nominating Mignon Clyburn to fill one of the open seats on the FCC. Clyburn is an 11-year member of the Public Service Commission of South Carolina, which regulates the state's investor-owned public utilities, including telecommunications. She served as chair of the commission from 2002-2004. Clyburn is also a past chair of the Southeastern Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners, and currently chairs the Washington Action Committee of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners. The NJBA wishes them both a successful Senate confirmation hearing and looks forward to working with them on the challenging issues facing New Jersey broadcasters.                                                                               

The Trenton Report from The Marcus Group

Like lemmings marching to the sea, legislators return to Trenton this week for an intense two month session which should conclude with adoption of a balanced state budget by midnight June 30. "Should" is the operative word as the latest fiscal forecasts show revenue projections coming in between $1.5 to $2B short of what Governor Corzine had estimated. Desperate times require desperate measures. The state launched a tax amnesty campaign supported by a $9M advertising budget this week in the hopes that it will generate at least $100M in new revenue by the time it ends on June 15. Clearly, more spending cuts and revenue raisers are going to be needed to balance the budget (current deficit at $1.1 Billion) and legislators are running short of new ideas. So, if midnight strikes on June 30 and there are reports of folks marching out of the State House and into the Delaware River, it’s just the lemmings.

Katz Joins Millennium Radio’s 101.5

Not that Katz! (Gotcha) Former labor leader Carla Katz announced that she is joining NJ 101.5, as the host of an afternoon drive-time talk show.  PD Eric Johnson at Millennium’s talk/oldies WKXW, Trenton (101.5) calls Katz “A compelling personality in New Jersey”, and he’s hiring her as a contributor. She’ll drop in on the “Jersey Guys” afternoon show and contribute to other talk shows and 101.5’s growing news department. Katz served as President of CWA Local 1034, the largest public employee union in the state, and has become prominent in state politics as the former girlfriend of Gov. Jon Corzine.  The 49-year-old Katz, a recent law school graduate, continues to wield political power in New Jersey and is an unpaid columnist for PolitickerNJ.com.

Coastal Broadcasting Joins NJBA

Coastal Broadcasting Systems is the NJBA’s newest broadcaster member. Under the direction of Robert “Bob” Maschio, Coastal has made a name for itself and its flagship station WCZT 98.7 “The Coast”,  which is based and broadcast out of Coastal Broadcasting’s  new studios and offices in Wildwood, New Jersey. Please extend a big NJBA warm welcome to our newest member broadcaster. The NJBA looks forward to Bob’s and Coast’s success as they continue to serve the greatest listening audience in America: New Jersey!

Quick News Wants to Know!

If you have any station news to share with your colleagues around the state and beyond, drop Quick News a line in care of NJBA President Paul Rotella at protella@njba.com for coverage in our weekly news section.

 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.