President Donald Trump has nominated FCC Commissioner Michael O’Rielly to another five-year term that ends in June 2024. O’Rielly is a great friend to the radio industry. He’s been on the Commission since November 2013.
Fellow FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel said Commissioner O’Rielly is incredibly knowledgeable on communications policy matters and has contributed so much to the work of the agency. “Moreover, he has been a valuable colleague and friend. I look forward to continuing my work with Mike and wish him well in the confirmation process.”
NAB President and CEO Gordon Smith said, “NAB strongly supports the renomination of Mike O’Rielly to the FCC. Without question, Commissioner O’Rielly has served in this position with class, integrity, and distinction. On a personal note, I’ve known Mike since his days as a Capitol Hill staffer, and I am so pleased with this reappointment. I urge my former colleagues in the Senate to swiftly confirm him.”
O’Rielly has turned to be a big disappointment, and it’s a major mistake to reappoint him.
He has turned out to be a lap dog for the biggest, corporate media companies, standing in the way of things like creation of the proposed Class C4 FM standard.
There’s always room for improvement in anyone, but I doubt it, with O’Rielly.
Sorry. Should be “…turned out to be…”
The idea of Class C4 is dead in the water, killed by the explosion of translators that have taken up all of the free space in the spectrum. In addition, there really is no market for new FM stations, as demonstrated by the ability of EMF to buy major market commercial FMs.
BigA, the prospects for ‘C4’ really have little to do with your second point. EMF’s gobbling up of FM stations has been going on for many years. The recent purchases of Cumulus and Entercom stations are unique situations. The Cumulus sales were the result of a very poorly run company, going back to the Dickeys, resulting first in bankruptcy reorganization, and the consequent selling of legacy FMs at ‘fire sale’ prices, for Cumulus to, in turn, pay down its huge debt. Entercom departed with the Boston-area FM because it is a rimshot station that could easily be dispensed with. Don’t be surprised if Entercom picks up another FM in the Boston market to replace the recently divested one.
Having said all that, yes, the FM band has gotten needlessly and unwisely jammed with an explosion of translators and LPFMs, in the name of ‘AM revitalization’ and ‘underserved voices’ and other silliness. I am one of many who feels that the administration of the FCC by Pai and O’Rielly has, overall, been an abject failure.
Cumulus sold KLOS to a small local operator. They also sold WABC to a small local operator. Had there been similar options in their other markets, they would have gone that way. No one had the cash. The ability of EMF to buy commercial stations in major markets is clear evidence that there is no market for new commercial FMs.
You conveniently handpick two stations as representing a larger point. From a different perspective, one can easily argue that Meruelo and Catsimatidis, respectively, are not exactly ‘small operators’.
The point is there’s no reason to further clog up the spectrum with even more FMs. Lots of options available.
I have no wish to go back and forth on this, any further, but ‘C4’ would not create ‘more’ FMs. It would simply allow a large number of currently licensed Class A FMs to upgrade to a new class. That is not ‘new stations’…it is more robust existing stations, and largely in rural and exurban areas, in one FM Zone of the country. Once the qualifying, current Class A stations upgrade, then, in the same rural and exurban locations, more C4 allocations could possibly be created.
“More allocations” meaning more FMs. That’s what I said.