Around the Water Cooler

EAS deadline is Sept. 29

With publication in the Federal Register, the Federal Communications Commission deadline to comply with new cybersecurity rules for your station’s Emergency Alert System has been set: September 29.

The new requirements include putting program chains behind a firewall and using strong passwords for access to any part that is connected to the internet, as well as keeping hardware and software security updated. The Broadcast Law Blog has the latest, and you can find resources here and other background here.

ABC’s fight is broadcasting’s fight

A recent FCC filing by ABC formally rebukes the agency for censorship, according to this New York Times report (register for access). The exhaustive, vigorous defense against the FCC’s decision to conduct a rare, early review of its eight broadcast licenses was recently made public. Tom Jones at Poynter Institute helped break down the company’s 119-page filing in this commentary. He noted that Disney, the parent company of ABC, appears ready for a fight. He also highlights the addition of well-connected, high-powered attorneys to the company’s team, ready to go the distance in defending the free speech rights of broadcasters.

Before the filing became public, the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press urged the agency to reject petitions to deny ABC’s licenses.

Yet the current administration shows no sign of relenting, recently deploying its favorite tool, the executive order, to assert itself over the FCC and the decisions it makes.

The Good News Department

According to this report, NPR and PBS are learning that losing public funding also came with vital opportunities to increase community support. Meanwhile, a former NPR affiliate in Huntsville, Ala., shifted its focus toward building its independence.

The award for the biggest good-news headline this summer goes to Black Power Radio, 96.3 WBPU-LP, in St. Petersburg, Fla. Last week, the 11^th Circuit Court of Appeals sided with the station, finding sufficient evidence that Pinellas County officials discriminated against them when county officials rescinded two federally funded grants back in 2023. The case will likely head back to district court, although the county could appeal to the Florida Supreme Court. The Tampa Bay Times sought comment from the county, and the county commissioner who pushed to rescind the grants. Both declined. The station’s attorney told the Times that Black Power Radio remains hopeful that the county will remit the grants.

Communications Act of 1934, Sect. 326.

Nothing in this Act shall be understood or construed to give the Commission the power of censorship over the radio communications or signals transmitted by any radio station, and no regulation or condition shall be promulgated or fixed by the Commission which shall interfere with the right of free speech by means of radio communication.