During its meeting yesterday, the commission considered a draft Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that explores options for reconfiguring the upper C-band. That NPRM has since been opened, and the FCC now seeks comment on how to accommodate incumbent satellite users, as well as broadcasters using that swath of spectrum for their earth station operations.

On Tuesday, the commission's LMS, ULS and OPIF opened, giving stations a chance to make filings that were missed during the 43-day U.S. government shutdown. The FCC also established several new deadlines, including for political programming, where it has adopted a state-by-state, staggered approach for filing.

In her guest commentary, WXOX(LP) General Manager Sharon Scott said stations need to have their own emergency response plan. She wrote: "The fact that the EAS system was not triggered in Louisville on Nov. 4 represents a critical failure on the part of local emergency management, and it put our entire community at risk."

As both sides of the public media distribution dispute claim victory, the raw emotions from the litigation between NPR and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting are still apparent. CPB President and CEO Patricia Harrison said in a call with Radio World that she did not see the legal action from NPR coming and still feels hurt. Read more of that interview in this story.

Working together, two hyper-local radio stations in New York were able to generate content that fit the listener profiles of both audiences and bring a young, up-and-coming group of musicians to the forefront of the market using FM. Bud Williamson wrote: "My takeaway as a local operator is that instead of viewing crosstown operators as competitors, find ways to work together to deliver maximum results using airtime, staff, hardware and other resources you can share."

"For long-distance signal enthusiasts, there is nothing more sacred than the logbook," wrote Nick Langan. In his latest Signal Spot column, Nick said DXers can go to great lengths to confirm their logs. Even non-radio hobbyists will want to give this story a read.

Before Dec. 31, Spain’s Radio Nacional de España will stop broadcasting its RNE and Radio 5 networks on medium-wave AM radio as the country’s public broadcaster seeks to expand its digital radio DAB+ footprint.

Our readers have been enjoying this back-to-the-basics story from 2017. For those looking for a skill refresh, or non-engineers wanting to pick up a new skill, this story by the late Curt Yengst is for you. "With practice and experience, you’ll find this a very useful skill to have." said Curt.