News

Get the latest, most relevant information about the business of public media. Read breaking industry news and learn best business practices. Find out about upcoming PMBA conferences, toolkits, and roundtables. Discover educational programming from a variety of public media organizations as well as opportunities to enhance the professional capabilities of your staff in areas such as management, finance, accounting, and human resources.

August 16, 2021

FCC: Radio Has Until Sept. 2022 To File For Repack Reimbursement

The government’s television repack is largely over. But it is not completely wrapped up and so the Federal Communications Commission continues to stick with a September 2022 deadline that gives radio stations more than a year to file the needed paperwork to get reimbursed for expenses tied to the repack. Under the 39-month television repack process that was to have been completed in June 2020, the FCC says 964 of the 987 full-power television stations are now operating from their new facilities. Yet more than a year after the deadline passed, the FCC is allowing 23 television stations to continue using their old channel allotment under a revised schedule.

August 10, 2021

CPB, PBS Award Firelight Media $5.5 Million to Diversify Public Media Content

Acclaimed documentary producer Firelight Media has received $5.5 million in funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) and PBS to support its Firelight Documentary Lab and two other programs aimed at increasing the diversity of public media content in partnership with local stations and PBS national series. Over a three-year period, the funding will more than double the number of filmmakers served by the programs, with an emphasis on underrepresented populations such as Native Americans and Pacific Islanders, and underserved regions including the South, Midwest, and U.S. Territories.

August 7, 2021

Virtual Communications: Expert Tips for Open Enrollment

During the annual open enrollment period for employee benefits, consider going with a multi-media approach, benefits experts advise. Communications media, or "channels," include traditional print media, digital media, e-mail, websites, video, social media and mobile solutions, said Joshua Meyer, senior consultant at San Francisco-based benefits communications firm Segal Benz. "It's all about self-service, meeting the consumers' expectations, engaging them, and improving their experience," he noted.

August 5, 2021

FCC Moves Forward With Proposal To Revise Political Ad Rules

The Federal Communications Commission has unanimously approved advancing a rulemaking that looks at several revisions to the political advertising rules. If approved, they could make it easier for some federal candidates to use their online presence in order to qualify for the lowest unit rate on broadcast radio and television ad buys.

August 2, 2021

Emergency Infrastructure Needed to Keep Americans Safe: Public Media

When wildfires, floods, ice storms, tornados, hurricanes, earthquakes, and other disasters threaten American communities, public radio and television stations are lifelines for affected residents. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, local stations across the United States embraced this role—keeping people safe as they provided uninterrupted, real-time local news and information during quarantines, notified citizens with public health alerts, supported families and teachers by reaching students who lacked broadband access, helping uplift the nation’s morale, and so much more.

July 21, 2021

EAS Units Need Certification Updates Next Month; FCC Gets National Test Help From States and Cities

As radio gears up for the planned August 11 national test of the Emergency Alert System, so are equipment manufacturers. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will once again be testing the broadcast daisy-chain distribution of alerts. But the updates from equipment makers is not limited to that technology. Digital Alert Systems has just pushed out an important update to help ensure its systems work correctly. It includes new digital certificates used to authenticate messaging sent by FEMA from the internet-based Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS). The new credentials are needed since a certificate in the current certification chain will expire August 21.

July 19, 2021

Indeed Adds Video Interviews to All Job Postings

All direct job postings on Indeed now come with a video interview option, Indeed announced in a July 15 press release. Recruiters can now opt in to offering a video interview for both free and sponsored jobs, at no additional cost. On average, employers get candidates into interviews 20% faster than in-person meetings or third-party digital interviews via the Indeed video call option, the company said. Prior to this announcement, Indeed had already hosted more than 500,000 video interviews.

July 16, 2021

House Appropriations Committee Recommends $565M for CPB

The House Appropriations Committee approved a spending bill that would provide $565 million to CPB in fiscal year 2024, an increase of nearly 27% over the corporation’s current funding levels. The bill also boosts funding to Ready To Learn, the Department of Education program that funds educational content for preschool children, to nearly $31.8 million and provides flat funding of $20 million for public media interconnection.

July 8, 2021

Bureau of Labor Statistics Shows Broadcasting Added Back 700 Jobs Since June 2020

The latest employment report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows some growth in the broadcasting business from a year ago, with 700 jobs added since June 2020. In addition, total jobs in broadcasting (excluding internet) have seen a gain of 1,300 from April to June of this year, reflecting stations re-hiring as vaccinations increased and mask mandates were lifted, following the worst of the pandemic.

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