The FCC Enforcement Bureau issued several notices of illegal pirate radio broadcasting this week, said letters in Thursday’s Daily Digest. Letters were sent to Clearview in Bethesda, Maryland, and to Steve Tiamfook and Russell Evelyn and 100 E 92nd LLC, both in Brooklyn, New York, warning of possible forfeitures of over $2 million for “entities found to willfully and knowingly suffer (i.e., permit) a third party” to make unauthorized broadcasts on their property. The recipients have 10 days to respond to the agency, the letters said.

The Journalism Competition and Preservation Act (JCPA) has international support, said the News Media Alliance in a news release Thursday. Multinational organizations and groups in Canada, Australia, Europe and Latin America endorsed the proposed legislation, NMA said. “Particularly notable is the support from Australia” where similar rules were adopted “to address bargaining power imbalances between Australian publishers and Big Tech,” NMA said. The Australian law led to payouts to publishers from Facebook and Google. Canada, Europe and the U.K. are working toward passing similar laws, NMA said. In Australia, “compensation accrued to date amounts to approximately 20 percent of Australian journalists’ salaries and likely more than 20 percent of eligible publishers’ combined" EBITDA, NMA said. The JCPA is set for Senate Judiciary Committee markup in September.

“Specific and enforceable conditions” prohibiting joint retransmission consent negotiation are necessary for the Standard/Tegna deal, the American Television Association said in a call with an aide to FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel Monday. “Any such conditions should last so long as Cox, Apollo, and their affiliates hold a financial interest in New TEGNA,” said an ex parte filing posted Thursday in docket 22-122. The applicants haven’t provided sufficient information for the FCC to tell whether Cox and Apollo Global Management would hold attributable interests in the new company, ATVA said.

“Given the paucity of minority-owned media,” the Asian-American ownership of would-be Tegna-buyer Standard General should “play an appropriate role in the outcome” of the FCC’s review of the deal, said Crossings TV CEO Frank Washington in a letter to the agency posted in docket 22-162. Standard's founder Soohyung Kim would head up the board of the combined company. “There are no Asian American owned networks or media holdings of significant size,” said Washington, a former FCC deputy bureau chief who was involved in the minority tax certificate’s creation and the Viacom deal that led to Congress repealing the program. “There was a time when the FCC recognized the importance of this to the programming, societal and political landscape of this country,” he said in the letter: “Given the focus in opposing comments on Apollo’s role in this, why does this seem to always be a factor when a minority is involved?” (see 2207260058).

The FCC should consider requiring Standard General and Tegna to “better explain the structure” of their proposed deal and its use of “after-acquired” and “divested” station clauses, said Altice in a call with an aide to Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel last week, according to an ex parte filing in docket 22-162. Altice is “concerned that the applicants may be engineering this transaction to raise retransmission consent prices through a complicated deployment” of such clauses, the filing said. The transaction's effect on retransmission consent negotiations has been a focus of deal opponents (see 2208090026).

A proposed sale of 18 Spanish-language radio stations from TelevisaUnivision to the Latino Media Network, is undergoing review “consistent with agency rules,” wrote FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel in a letter responding to inquiries from Democratic lawmakers about the deal. The Congressional Hispanic Caucus and others urged the FCC to approve the transaction to increase ownership diversity, but Republican lawmakers said the deal should be scrutinized due to the involvement of Lakestar Finance, which has ties to investor George Soros (see 2206090071). “This process includes a thorough review of the record to determine if the proposed assignment is in the public interest,” said Rosenworcel in nearly identical letters to Sen. Ben Ray Lujan D-N.M., Rep. Bob Menendez, D-N.Y., and others.

Electronic filings show a host of broadcast groups lobbying FCC commissioner offices over proposed increases to regulatory fees. NAB met with aides to Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and Commissioner Brendan Carr via teleconference last week. “Nothing prevents the Commission from implementing these decisions immediately,” NAB said, saying the agency’s NPRM on reg fees “does not suggest that the Commission lacks the authority to effectuate such changes in the current fiscal year. A contrary view would, among other things, render the NPRM a mere ‘notice,’ and not a proper rulemaking.” The State Broadcasters associations had calls last week with aides to Commissioner Geoffrey Starks and Rosenworcel raising the same arguments as their earlier filings (see 2208150055). Several individual broadcasters wrote letters to the agency, seeking fee relief. “The FCC’s regulatory fees are extremely punishing and directly affect our ability to serve listeners," said Bustos Media. “The FCC fees continue to increase at an alarming rate, and much faster than the revenues we are able to generate.” “I get hit pretty hard by these Regulatory Fees and the amount of increase is unexpected and difficult to account for,” said a letter from Ben Downs, general manager of Bryan Broadcasting. “I hope the Commission will see its way clear to consider the impact on small, local stations.” On Monday, 92 lawmakers sent Rosenworcel a letter questioning the proposed fees (see 2208150055).

Marion Education Exchange’s license hearing proceeding was dismissed with prejudice and the low-power FM broadcaster will likely lose the license of station WWGH(LP) Marion, Ohio, according to an order of dismissal from FCC Administrative Law Judge Jane Halprin in docket 22-76 in Tuesday’s Daily Digest. Halprin previously warned MEE the broadcaster must secure an attorney for the hearing to proceed (see 2206240060). “MEE’s representatives have consistently evidenced an inability or unwillingness to familiarize themselves with Commission rules and procedures in a way that would allow this case to move forward,” Halprin wrote. “When a licensee that bears the burden of proof does not fully participate in a hearing, it forfeits its opportunity to show that grant of its application is in the public interest.” The MEE hearing proceeding stems from allegations the broadcaster repeatedly failed to respond to FCC inquiries and gave the agency false information about the make-up of its board, including the names of deceased board members on filings, and changing board members without informing the agency. Halprin also ordered that a July letter from station manager Shawn Craft asking the FCC to impose a fine and spare the license (see 2207270047) be stricken from the record as an improper ex parte submission. “There is no mechanism in the Commission’s hearing rules to ignore the MEE HDO and turn back the clock so that MEE can be more forthcoming with the Media Bureau,” Halprin wrote. MEE didn’t comment.

92 lawmakers signed a letter Monday seeking answers from FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel on a proposed 2022 regulatory fee increase for broadcasters. "Considering the harm a substantial fee increase would bring, we would like to better understand the FCC’s proposal," said the letter from Rep. Tom Emmer, R-Minnesota, Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Alabama, Rep. Terri Sewell, D-Alabama, and others. "Given the FCC’s statutory responsibility to adjust its schedule of regulatory fees to take into account factors that are reasonably related to the benefits provided to the fee payor, could the FCC explain what additional benefits have been provided to broadcasters that would justify such a high fee increase?" the letter asked, seeking a response from Rosenworcel "as soon as possible." "Why does the Commission’s proposed overall fee increase for broadcasters far exceed fee increases for any other industry?" the letter also asked. State broadcast associations also pressed the agency on reg fees, according to an ex parte filing posted Monday in docket 22-223. Broadcasters shouldn’t be charged for the FCC’s work on broadband, said representatives of the State Broadcasters Associations in a call with an aide to Commissioner Brendan Carr Wednesday. They urged the FCC to alter its fee structure to cease assessing broadcasters fees for full-time equivalents associated with the Universal Service Fund, or else exercise “flexibility” to “cease the continuing stream of year over year and double digit regulatory fee increases.” Broadcasters face a 13% regulatory fee increase this year, the filing said.

Small and regional broadcasters urged the FCC rethink its proposed radio regulatory fee hike, in docket 22-223 filings Friday. David Hoxeng, owner of WNRP-AM Gulf Breeze, Florida, said the proposed fee of $2,685, a 13.5% increase, would be close to 10% of the station's net income before any general and administrative expenses. That "makes it very difficult for my station to continue to afford to provide the same level of quality live and local programming to our community," Hoxeng said, urging that other industries "pay their fair share." "There has never been a tougher time to be in the radio business, and the FCC’s regulatory fees, and proposed increase for 2022, will make the job even tougher," East Arkansas Broadcasters CEO Bobby Caldwell said. Citing an upgrade of its remote audio codec equipment, he said money spent on regulatory fees "is a dollar less that we can devote to improving our service to listeners."