Industry News

WASHINGTON, D.C. — One of the FCC’s biggest champions for the radio industry, forced to exit over a Section 230 disagreement with soon-to-depart President Donald Trump, has resurfaced as a visiting fellow at a Washington think tank.

He’ll be working alongside another former Commissioner — someone who served on the FCC from 1997-2001.

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By Adam R Jacobson, Carl Marcucci and April McLynn

At 9:30pm Eastern, former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney spoke on the floor of the U.S. Senate in a joint session of Congress that resumed some five hours after a rowdy and violent group of supporters of Donald Trump engaged in what Romney called “an insurrection supported by the President of the United States.”

Romney’s speech was well-covered by national media, with live coverage broadcast on NBC.

At the same time, one Washington, D.C. radio station wasn’t covering Romney’s speech. Rather, a field reporter was recalling an incident at the J.W. Marriott with a dozen Trump supporters hours after a 6pm curfew put into effect by Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser to help quell any after-dark eruptions from Trump supporters.

The report from WTOP-FM Capitol Hill Correspondent Mitchell Miller was just one way local radio and TV went above and beyond as national media outlets faced immediate danger simply by doing their jobs.

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Call it a Blue Bump thanks to the apparent victories of Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock as Democratic U.S. Senators representing the state of Georgia.

Urban One shares soared by 102.1% on Wednesday, with big gains coming in the afternoon hours. After-hours trading shows a decline, but it still represents a super surge for the media company super-serving African American consumers.

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With chaos on Capitol Hill putting a dark cloud on what appears to be a shift of the U.S. Senate to Democratic control with wins in Georgia by Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, U.S. financial markets were divergent — the Dow Industrials climbed, while Nasdaq was down.

The Dow 30 gained 1.44% to 30,829.40, while Nasdaq slipped by 0.6% to 12,740.79.

Big movers among media companies include Sinclair Media Group and Nexstar Media Group.

Then, there is Urban One, which is gaining steam in a major way.

Is COVID-19 killing more than a handful of radio stations in Q1?

The latest U.S. broadcast station totals from the FCC show another drop in the number of licensed radio stations during the quarter.

Meanwhile, the number of FM translators licensed for broadcast continues to surge.

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A charitable organization dedicated to building the next generation of media leaders and increasing diversity has elected the President of Katz Television Group as its next Board Chairman.

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Bob Lawrence has announced his retirement from Revenue Development Resources after 54 years in the broadcasting industry.

A noted on-air talent, PD and GM, Lawrence is probably best known for his 14 years of duty at the Radio Advertising Bureau and his past six years at RDR.

Lawrence’s career started in Emporia, Kansas as an on-air personality. He continually grew his skillsets, rising to positions of PD and then GM, with stops in Kansas, Louisiana, Texas, and nationally on the ABC Radio Network.

Lawrence was then recruited by TM Century in Dallas, where his sales skills and ability to create long term relationships caught the attention of the RAB in 2000. He remained there until rejoining his former RAB colleague Mark Levy at Revenue Development Resources as Director of Sales in 2014.

“I have had the great privilege of working with Bob Lawrence for 13 years, first at the RAB and then with RDR,” Levy says. “During that time, he amazed me with his energy and the respect so many people in the industry had and continue to have for him. But even more than that, he never stopped learning, and he never was anything but nice to people. I know that last part is often brushed over, but it is truly something that made Bob stand out from so many others in this business. He’s been a cheerleader, a sounding board and a sage for so many people…the industry is certainly going to miss him!”

— Renee Cassis

The E.W. Scripps Company has appointed three media industry veterans from ION, Katz and Newsy to roles supporting distribution of its new national networks business.

All roles are effective upon the close of Scripps’ acquisition of ION.

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PLYMOUTH, WISC. — A “pure play system integrator” led by CEO Dennis Klas has joined the organization charged with bringing next-generation television signals — and the data capabilities its implementation will bring to broadcast TV — to fruition.

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LG Electronics has made “a significant investment” of nearly $80 million in a company dedicated to “make TV an even better advertising medium for brands, agencies and networks.”

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