ACM National Update: FCC, Supreme Court Case and Hometown Media Awards

If there’s a silver lining in the federal government shutdown, it’s that the FCC went dark last week. That means there’s no action on the FNPRM on cable franchising or any other non-essential work of the Commission. Once the FCC is back from the shutdown, ACM will be setting up ex parte meetings with staff and Commissioners, including newly appointed incoming Commissioner Geoffrey Starks, to talk about the impacts and legal concerns we have about the rule-making. We talked about the shutdown and the rule-making on this month’s Public Policy call. Email Mike Wassenaar at mwassenaar@allcommunitymedia.org if you missed the call and want a recording. Our next Public Policy call will be on Thursday, February 7 at 4:00 pm ET.

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Oral Arguments in the US Supreme Court case of MCAC v Halleck will take place on February 25th. You can find briefs and descriptions of the case online. You can expect ACM to file an amicus brief on behalf of our members later this month.

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The competition is now open for the Hometown Media Awards – THE national awards that recognize excellence in PEG community media. Start planning your entries now before the deadline on March 1st. Please also consider being a part of the Hometown Media Awards by signing up to be part of a judging team! See more details below, or contact kbenson@allcommunitymedia.org for details on judging – and good luck! I hope to see your work at the show in Portland, OR this summer.