Attention Broadcasters

During the last few government shutdowns, it was a fun joke for broadcasters to say they could get away with anything on the air because the FCC was not in the office. Not this time. From Tom Taylor's NOW column...

Most of the “non-essential” parts of the federal government closed on Friday – but not the FCC. Chairman Ajit Pai saw the potential shutdown coming and stashed away enough funds to keep his agency going for a whole week – at what sounds like full-tilt. Note that this isn’t the shutdown-contingency plan Pai shared last month, when he said they’d keep about 225 of the 1,492 staffers on the job. That’s still in abeyance and could be triggered if needed. Here’s what the FCC said Friday – “In the event of a partial government shutdown, because of available funding, the FCC plans to remain open and pay staff at least through the close of business on Friday, January 26.”