RIBA Visits Washington, DC for Hill visits for important issues facing our radio and television members

Rhode Island Broadcasters Association took to Capitol Hill in Washington, DC this past March 3, 2024 to March 6th to visit our Congressional delegation.  A huge thank you to Pat Wholey, President WPRI/FOX PROVIDENCE and CW / Rhonda Lapham, President Market Manager, iHEART MEDIA / Holly Paras, VP Regional Market Manager, Cumulus Media and Lori Needham, President Rhode Island Broadcasters Association.  A huge sucess !!

Special appreciation to Senator Jack Reed, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, Congressman Seth Magaziner and Congressman Gabe Amo...thank you for your time and support!

LRFA (H.Con.Res.13/ S. Con. Res. 5)  Local Radio Freedom Act:  The Rhode Island delegation unanimously showed willingness to take a deeper look at this bill as it has not had any movement in negotiations after the Broadcaster's request to work together on negotiating a compromise to meet in the middle.

JCPA - (H.R. 1735/ S. 673) Journalism Competition and Preservation Act.  Introduced by Senator Amy Klobuchar.  We pushed for the delegation's consideration of support on this bill to enable the Broadcasters to negotiate with dominant online platforms regarding the use of news providers content to preserve local journalism.  A special thanks to Senator Sheldon Whitehouse for his support on this bill!

vMVPD - Virtual Multi-Channel Video Programming Distributor - ex. (YoutubeTV, Hulu Live TV). We encouraged the delegation to join Senator Maria Cantwell in urging the FCC to refresh its record to reflect regulatory symmetry to the current marketplace.

AM4EV Act (H.R. 3413 / S. 1669)  RIBA thanked the FULL delegation for becoming a co-sponsor of this bill both Senator's and Congressman.  As in recent devastation across our country, we thanked them for their support to keep our communities safe especially during times when AM Radio would provide a lifeline.