Gregg Skall
Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, LLP

On April 12 the 9th Circuit United States Court of Appeals rocked the public broadcasting and political worlds by announcing its decision in Minority Television Project v FCC. The two-judge majority, in a decision written by Judge Bea, held that the law prohibiting public broadcasters from political advertisements and accepting advertisements addressing issues of public importance constituted a prohibited content-based ban on speech that violated the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. It also held the portion of the law, Section 399(b) of the Communications Act, which prohibits public broadcasting stations from transmitting normal commercial advertising, was justified and constitutional.

It's noT news to broadcasters that independent expenditure committees, freed up by the Citizens United case to organize as legal entities, are changing the landscape of political advertising.  It seems that it's no longer feasible to run for a major office without ...

Renewal Time Due Diligence As renewal filing deadlines move across the land, broadcasters are rediscovering their duty to disclose any violations of existing rules.  The duty is required at Section II, Item 4 of the FCC form 303-S license renewal ...

Gregg Skall Comble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, LLP On Friday Feb. 3rd, the FCC has ruled that broadcasters are not required to sell Randall Terry, or any other candidate, time in the Super bowl or its pre-game shows. Terry had demanded that broadcasters run his graphic ...

Gregg Skall Comble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, LLP Broadcasters facing presidential primary contests across the country have been faced with a difficult decision from an issue advocate seeking to ban legal abortion. Randall Terry, an anti-abortion activist, is seeking ...

Gregg Skall Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, LLP A while ago, I wrote to remind broadcasters of some of the certifications required of an application for renewal of a broadcast license. Among the important but sometimes overlooked certifications is the requirement to ...

Gregg Skall Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, LLP Why You Don’t Want Any Dead Air! With 2011 coming to a close, it's interesting and significant to realize that the radio renewal cycle, marking the dates by which radio licensees must file their FCC renewal applications, ...

By Gregg Skall, Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice LLP No matter how many FCC warnings are issued, counsel reminders e-mailed, or announcements published in the "trades," there are always some broadcasters who miss the filing deadlines for regular reporting requirements at ...

By now, most broadcasters paying attention to “new media” and other Internet matters are aware that the new top-level domain .XXX is set to go live this year. The station website has become a key component of a station’s brand and image to the ...

Announced simultaneously with Cumulus' closing on Citadel, broadcasters learned that Cumulus has planned a major deployment of "SweetJack," the daily deal product Cumulus has been testing in Atlanta. This announcement signals Cumulus CEO Lew Dickey's belief that he now ...