Noted Media Analyst Fred Jacobs penned an interesting analysis regarding the reopening of businesses across the United States.  He stated the issue nicely: “It will be interesting to see how the “re-opening” plays out, not only in Florida, but in the other 49 states, all of which are now in various stages of relaxing their restrictions.  For broadcast radio and …

The Southern Tier, Finger Lakes, North Country, Central NY and Mohawk Valley Regions were allowed to re-open last Friday – May 15th. The Capital Region has only one more criterion to meet and is expected to open later this week.  The remainder of the state (NYC, Long Island, Mid-Hudson Valley and Western NY) will remain subject to the NY Pause …

The FCC has long required stations seeking renewal or a transfer of a license to file a notice in a local newspaper.  These rules were unnecessarily complex and served very little purpose.  Last week the FCC voted to change its rules.   The old rule required certain applicants to provide written notice in the print edition of a local newspaper, other …

SBA and the Treasury have finally issued guidelines regarding loan forgiveness under the PPP Program. There were a lot of uncertainties regarding this part of the program.  Some of the answers can be found in the application for loan forgiveness itself.  Some highlights: Alternative Payroll Covered Period – The SBA had previously indicated that the covered period during which the …

The COVID-19 pandemic has hit New York broadcasters hard.  While the Governor is slowly opening up parts of the state, the declines in advertising will make for a difficult recovery.  Senator Schumer has been able to include a provision of local stations in the next COVID-19 legislative package. Many broadcast stations were ineligible for a PPP loan under existing SBA …

The FCC has just issued a waiver of its EEO outreach obligations for stations rehiring employees that were let go because of the COVID 19 pandemic.  According to the FCC: “The Commission’s EEO rules ordinarily require broadcast stations employing five or more full-time employees ….to engage in broad recruitment outreach for all full-time job vacancies.  The Bureau finds good cause …

Yesterday, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, provided greater detail on how his plan for opening up the Empire State.  As we reported last week, the state will be opened on a regional basis.   The Governor stated:  “Re-opening is not going to happen statewide all at once – New York has diverse regions and those regions have different circumstances, so rather than wait …

A number of stations have finally received their PPP financing.  This is a tremendous benefit for local stations.  The PPP loan program is designed to cover expenses, mostly relate to payroll, through June 30th.   It is clear that loans forgiven through the PPP program will not be considered as income to the business.  Nonetheless, this could impact your business …

As you know the antitrust lawsuit between RMLC and GMR continues.  Recently RMLC notified stations that GMR is again extending its interim license.  According to RMLC “As you should be aware, RMLC’s antitrust litigation against GMR remains ongoing. As a result, GMR recently agreed to offer extensions of its interim licenses that are set to expire on March 31, 2020.   This …

In addition to and separate from the Excellence in Broadcasting Awards, NYSBA wants to recognize stations for their public service efforts.  Our “Serving New York Awards” recognize the extraordinary efforts of New York State’s broadcasters in serving the public interest every day.  The Serving New York Awards focus exclusively on a station’s public service campaigns (both on-air and off-air) and the …