WDIV-TV (Detroit) has announced that Jason Colthorp has been promoted to anchor of Local 4 News at 5:30 p.m. Colthorp will join Karen Drew, Ben Bailey and Bernie Smilovitz on the early evening newscast. He will still report for Local 4 News at 11 p.m. and other newscasts. Devin Scillian will continue to anchor Local… read more
From the NAB Newsroom: The 2nd Circuit released its decision in the Department of Justice’s appeal of the Southern District of New York’s interpretation of the BMI consent decree related to “fractional licensing.” The case arose out of DOJ’s two-year long review of the ASCAP and BMI consent decrees which concluded in August 2016. DOJ… read more
The Local Radio Freedom Act (H. Con. Res. 13) has reached majority support in the U.S. House of Representatives, with 220 House co-sponsors. This means that the majority of our nation’s legislators in the House have taken a stand to protect local radio listeners and stations in their district from the threat of a performance… read more
During the FCC Open Meeting on December 14 , the Commissioners voted along the partisan lines to move the agency a step closer to raising or eliminating the 39-percent ownership cap. The rule adopted last week starts a process of review that many broadcast industry insiders view as a change to the cap, which currently… read more
In an order adopted on December 14, the FCC created a dedicated Blue Alert event code in the Emergency Alert System so that state and local agencies have the option to send these warnings to the public through broadcast, cable, satellite and wireline video providers. Blue Alerts warn the public when there is actionable information… read more
Editor’s Note: The views and opinions of this article do not necessarily reflect those of the MAB. Contact the MAB for information on the MAB’s official editorial policy. By: Gary Berkowitz Berkowitz Broadcast Consulting I spent many years working with Bob Morgan at CBS Radio in Rochester, N.Y. He had one belief that really impacted… read more
After 30 years as music director and on-air personality at WEMU-FM, the NPR/Jazz station at Eastern Michigan University, Linda Yohn has retired. Her last day on the air was December 18. Yohn announced her retirement plan early this year. Yohn began at WEMU in April of 1987, after stints at WKSU in Kent, Ohio, and… read more
Metro Detroiters came together over the Thanksgiving holiday to help those in need throughout Metro Detroit. The WXYZ-TV (Detroit) “Together We Can” effort collected more than 16,800 pounds of nonperishable food items to battle hunger in our community. WXYZ partnered with Art Van Furniture and the Detroit Lions to collect packaged and canned goods for… read more
A report issued by the Michigan drone task force recommends limiting the operation of drones around such areas as correctional facilities, tourist destinations and prominent bridges. The 27-member Unmanned Aircraft Systems Task Force (UASTF), which includes a member of the broadcast industry, was created earlier this year to form statewide policy on the operation and… read more
According to a report in Gongwer, Tom McMillin, the new co-chair of the part-time legislation petition drive, launched a new effort to collect the 315,654 needed signatures to place a constitutional question on the 2018 statewide ballot. The effort included mailing out over 100,000 petitions to those on a mailing list with hopes that enough… read more