A recent letter from Pennsylvania's two U.S. senators urging the FCC to swiftly act on Fox affiliate WTXF-Philadelphia's license renewal application was a "lukewarm endorsement" for the station, said the Media and Democracy Project (MAD) in a letter to the FCC posted in docket 23-293 Monday. MAD and former Fox and Disney lobbyist Preston Padden want the agency to designate WTXF's license for a hearing (see 2307060065). Sens. John Fetterman and Bob Casey, both Democrats, last month wrote a letter to the FCC supporting the station (see 2402260064): "Politicians -- even those of the highest integrity like Senators Casey and Fetterman -- don’t want to ‘piss off’ a TV station that will cover their election," Padden said in an email last week. MAD seconded the senators' call for swift action but said the agency "must first conduct a thorough investigation of the serious rule violations and character allegations" against Fox and that the FCC hasn't indicated it is conducting such a probe. An investigation would require granting MAD's request for nonpublic evidence submitted in court cases brought against Fox by voting machine companies, MAD said. "Airing of these documents is essential to the fair and neutral review that the senators request," the MAD letter said. Fetterman, Casey and Fox didn't comment.

Lawmakers should examine AI's implications, ensuring it doesn’t threaten broadcast journalism by spreading misinformation or using copyrighted content without compensation, NAB said Tuesday in a policy agenda for the 118th Congress. “The improper use of artificial intelligence poses novel threats to broadcasting’s unique and indispensable role in American life,” the agenda said. “The lack of attribution and sourcing in AI-generated outputs could undermine trust in broadcasters.” For example, the growing use of AI increases the likelihood that copyrighted broadcast content is ingested and mixed with “unverified and inaccurate third-party content.” In addition, AI-generated deepfakes created to look like broadcast talent could be used to spread misinformation, the agenda said. That can lead to broadcasters devoting more money and resources to fight disinformation, while AI cannibalizes their content without compensation, the agenda said. “Congress should closely evaluate how to harness the power of AI, while ensuring new technologies do not threaten the trusted local journalism broadcasters provide.” On Wednesday, NAB issued a news release announcing that it would open the NAB Show 2024 with a presentation on audience perspectives on AI's use in broadcast media and including an AI-powered humanoid robot. The policy agenda also called for lawmakers to address several longtime NAB causes: require AM radio in cars, prevent a performance tax on radio broadcasters, and allow broadcasters to jointly negotiate with tech companies about the use of their content. Lawmakers should also encourage the FCC to refresh the record on virtual MVPDs and to maintain “a reasonable, flexible framework” for ATSC 3.0 deployment, the policy agenda said.

Reinstating the FM portion of the radio non-duplication rule without collecting more information -- more than three years after it was eliminated -- would violate the Administrative Procedure Act, NAB told the FCC in a letter posted Monday in docket 19-310. “Given the long time lapse since the reconsideration petition was filed, and the lack of any new evidence to justify reversal,” it would be “unwise” for the FCC to reinstate the rule without more information, NAB said. The FCC “does not appear to have inquired in any meaningful way about whether, how or why stations have changed their operations following elimination of the rule,” NAB said. Meanwhile, REC Networks, the musicFIRST Coalition and the Future of Music Coalition told an aide to Commissioner Geoffrey Starks that the FCC already violated the APA by eliminating the FM portion of the non-duplication rule without proper notice. The rule was eliminated on a 3-2 vote in 2020, under then-Chairman Ajit Pai. In her dissent, Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, then a commissioner, said that just 36 hours before the vote the draft was changed from eliminating non-duplication rules for AM only to doing so for AM and FM (see 2008060072). REC and the music licensing groups said the “sudden elimination of the FM portion of the Radio Duplication Rule, without notice and adequate opportunity to comment, violated the Administrative Procedure Act.” Said NAB, “There were some complaints that the FM portion of the removal order came late in the process.” NAB continued, “If that’s one’s feeling, then compounding a perceived procedural foot fault with another by simply putting the rule back in place makes no sense.”

The FCC opposes Radio Communication Corp.'s Jan. 23 emergency motion for “expedited consideration” of its Jan. 10 petition for review to overturn the agency’s Dec. 12 order implementing the 2023 Low Power Protection Act (see 2401240049), said its opposition Monday (docket 24-1004) in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. The Connecticut station contends that the order prevents it from upgrading its LPTV operation to Class A status, and it seeks an emergency stay, expedited review and summary reversal of the order. But RCC asks the court for “three kinds of extraordinary relief” where “none is warranted,” said the FCC’s opposition. The station isn’t entitled to a stay from the D.C. Circuit because it failed to seek one before the commission, it said. RCC likewise failed to establish “the substantial showings necessary” for summary reversal and expedited review, the FCC added. RCC has “no reasonable chance” to prevail on the merits, let alone “clear the high bar necessary for extraordinary relief at this stage,” said the opposition. That’s because the FCC “did nothing more than follow the clear commands of the statute,” it said. RCC’s motion should be denied, it said.

The FCC won a Technology & Engineering Emmy from the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences for the broadcast incentive auction, an agency news release said Monday. “The Incentive Auction provided significant benefits to broadcasters, wireless carriers, consumers and American taxpayers, and it is very gratifying that the Academy has acknowledged the creativity and success of the FCC’s effort by conveying this award,” said Jean Kiddoo, former chair of the Incentive Auction Task Force, in the release.

Former President Donald Trump said Thursday night vowed he would “protect AM radio in our cars” should he return to the White House. Addressing the National Religious Broadcasters Presidential Forum, he said “we’re going to protect the content that is pro-God.” Millions of Americans “value listening to Christian broadcasters, and you're under siege,” said Trump, who pledged to create a federal task force fighting “anti-Christian bias.” He praised Salem Media, the largest Christian-focused broadcaster in the U.S., for its courageous work and for employing former Trump deputy assistant Sebastian Gorka. “I will never allow the big media left-wing pressure groups to silence you, censor you, discriminate against you, or in any way tell you what you have to say,” the former president said. Before Trump took the stage, Salem radio host and Fox News personality Hugh Hewitt told the audience that Hamas, Iran, Russian state-controlled media and the People’s Republic of China President Xi Jinping also are "religious broadcasters," comparing them to cults that toe ideological lines. In addition, Hewitt classified U.S. legacy media such as CNN and MSNBC as another sort of religious broadcasting, which he called “secular absolutism.” The "only difference between their religious broadcasting and our religious broadcasting is that their scripture isn't written down,” Hewitt said.

The FCC should listen to Philadelphians rather than the “politically motivated” out-of-state Media and Democracy Project on the license renewal of Fox’s WTXF Philadelphia (see 2401310059), said Pennsylvania State Sen. Anthony Williams (D) in a letter to the FCC posted in docket 23-293 Thursday. “Here in the city, and the boroughs and suburbs that my colleagues represent, Fox 29 serves as a resource for all local leaders to relay information to constituents and audiences that otherwise would be more difficult to reach,” said Williams. The station is “a critical part of not just the Philadelphia media ecosystem, but a useful tool for state-level representatives to communicate policy to constituents," said Williams.

The FCC should reinstate the FM portion of the radio nonduplication rule, said REC Networks, the Future of Music Coalition and musicFIRST Coalition in an ex parte meeting last week with an aide to Commissioner Nathan Simington, according to a filing in docket 19-310. The FCC in 2020 eliminated the rule barring AM and FM stations serving the same area from offering duplicate content, under then-Chairman Ajit Pai. At the time, current Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel was critical of the rule change, (see 2008060072) calling it “another decision that rushes ahead without doing the due diligence needed to consider the impact on localism, competition and diversity.” An order on reconsideration of the FM dupe rule was circulated to the 10th floor, according to the agency’s online circulation list. The rule change harms “intramodal competition” for FM stations and waivers were readily available before the change, the groups said. “This rule change was also entirely unnecessary,” the filing said.

The 2018 quadrennial review’s extension of the top-four prohibition to include low-power TV stations and multicast channels takes effect March 18, the FCC said in a public notice in Friday’s Daily Digest. The order was published in the Federal Register Thursday, which means the 60-day clock for entities to challenge the rule in the courts has begun. It is widely expected that NAB will bring a challenge before the deadline (see 2401020042).

The full FCC proposed a $40,000 forfeiture for an alleged pirate radio broadcaster in Hazleton, Pennsylvania, said a notice of apparent liability released Wednesday. Brigido Danerys Gonzalez, using the DJ name “Super Dany,” allegedly broadcast an unauthorized station named La Bakana since at least May 2022, the NAL said. Enforcement Bureau agents found Gonzalez by tracing the station's signal to two buildings in Hazleton and interviewing a grocery store owner who paid Gonzalez to advertise on the station. Gonzalez didn’t comment.