Law Commons^™

Equality In The Information Age, William E. Kennard

Federal Communications Law Journal

Forum: New Approaches to Minority Media Ownership, Columbia Institute for Tele-Information, Columbia University.

Equity Pooling And Media Ownership, Peter Chinloy

Federal Communications Law Journal

This Article outlines a method of pooling equity for acquiring a portfolio of media properties. Each participant receives a security containing an investment return and a management right. The management right goes only to one successful bidder, offering a cash payment to other investors as an access price. By offering repeat bidding on several properties, different members of a pool achieve ownership while diversifying their risk. Alternatively, an investor not wishing management receives a higher compensating return. The procedure is particularly suited to media properties dependent on local advertising such as radio, "free" community newspapers, and television outlets. These properties …

The Digital Dilemma: Ten Challenges Facing Minority-Owned New Media Ventures, Marcelino Ford-Livene

Federal Communications Law Journal

Minority-owned companies competing in print publishing, radio, broadcast television, cable, and telecommunications industries have had no shortage of challenges, setbacks, and failures. Minority-owned companies are struggling to stake a claim in the new media frontier. Some challenges they face are unique to the underlying technology, uncertainty, and international reach of the Web. There should be a sense of urgency with respect to minority participation on the Web. If the promise of broadband leads to new media outlets that are profitable and more dynamic than traditional media, then minorities cannot afford to be left out.

Forum: New Approaches to Minority Media …

Editor's Note, Malcolm J. Tuesley

Federal Communications Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Measuring The Nexus: The Relationship Between Minority Ownership And Broadcast Diversity After Metro Broadcasting, Allen S. Hammond, Iv

Federal Communications Law Journal

In Metro Broadcasting, Inc. v. FCC, the Court found a nexus between minority ownership and diversity of viewpoint. The recent Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod v. FCC decision dismissed the government’s arguments that a nexus exists between minority employment in broadcast stations and greater diversity in broadcast programming, and that the government has an interest in fostering such diversity. Given the challenge of the Lutheran Church opinion and potentially significant changes in the regulation and operation of the broadcast market, sole reliance on Metro Broadcasting’s holdings may be ill advised and a new study documenting the continued existence of the …

Use Of Designated Entity Preferences In Assigning Wireless Licenses, Thomas W. Hazlett, Babette E.L. Boliek

Federal Communications Law Journal

The FCC is mandated to distribute wireless licenses quickly, efficiently, and to a diverse group of licensees. This Article examines the social costs and benefits associated with designated entity preference programs implemented in conjunction with FCC license auctions. The Authors focus on the auctions of licenses for Regional Narrowband Personal Communications and Personal Communications Services C block, finding that while the benefits to designated entity applicants are bid away in the auction process, substantial costs to consumers have accrued from lengthy delays in designate entity license assignments.

Forum: New Approaches to Minority Media Ownership, Columbia Institute for Tele-Information, Columbia University.

The Fcc’S Minority Tax Certificate Program: A Proposal For Life After Death, Erwin G. Krasnow, Lisa M. Fowlkes

Federal Communications Law Journal

In 1995, Congress eliminated the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Minority Tax Certificate Program—a nonintrusive method of encouraging increased participation of minority entrepreneurs as owners in the broadcast and cable industries. Since that time, minorities have faced increased difficulties competing in all facets of the communications industry. These difficulties can be attributed to: (1) increased consolidation within the broadcast industry as a result of provisions of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 relaxing certain broadcast ownership limitations; (2) recent court decisions adverse to minority-specific programs; and (3) continued obstacles faced by minorities in accessing sufficient capital to acquire licenses and compete in …

Private Equity Funding For Minority Media Ownership, Vance H. Fried

Federal Communications Law Journal

This Article details the importance of private equity financing to all sizes and types of media companies. Much of the rapid growth of the Internet has been financed by private equity. The private equity market is an important source of funds for minority media companies. It is a large market, able to meet a variety of financing needs. However, the minority media entrepreneur must realize that this is strictly a profit-oriented investment market. The same investment process and criteria will be applied to minority media proposals as will be applied to non-minority media proposals. This process may present some problems …

Legal Opinions In Corporate Transactions Affected By Fcc Regulation: An Economic Approach, John C. Quale, Brian D. Weimer

Federal Communications Law Journal

In 1996, a subcommittee of the Federal Communications Bar Association published a report on legal opinion practice in corporate transactions involving FCC licensees (the FCBA Report). The FCBA Report, although inspired by the American Bar Association’s Legal Opinion Accord and Guidelines (the Accord), deviated from the Accord in many important respects. The FCBA Report likewise is at variance with the recent report of the TriBar Opinion Committee (the TriBar Report), which presents a comprehensive treatment of customary legal opinion practice. Given recent developments in case law expanding the liability of lawyers to third parties for their …

False Alarm?, Henry H. Perritt, Jr., Margaret G. Stewart

Federal Communications Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Masthead Vol.51 No.3 (1999)

Federal Communications Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Advising Clients To Apologize, Jonathan R. Cohen

UF Law Faculty Publications

The article argues that lawyers should consider the possibility of advising clients to apologize for harms they commit, as in some cases apology may best serve their client's interests. The articles discusses some of the pros and cons to apology in the legal setting, as well as barriers that may inhibit apologies.

Shopping For Judges: An Empirical Analysis Of Venue Choice In Large Chapter 11 Reorganizations, Theodore Eisenberg, Lynn M. Lopucki

UF Law Faculty Publications

This Article reports the results of a comprehensive study of big-case bankruptcy forum shopping from 1980 to 1997. A description of what has occurred helps explain both the causes of Delaware's rise as the preferred Chapter 11 forum and why embarrassment forced the system to take extraordinary countermeasures. The temporal coincidence of three major changes in Chapter 11 practice obscures those causes: (1) a nationwide increase in the rate of Chapter 11 forum shopping; (2) a national trend toward faster case-processing times; and (3) the rise of "prepackaged" bankruptcy cases in which the necessary majorities of creditors have accepted the …

"Driving While Black": Corollary Phenomena And Collateral Consequences, Katheryn Russell-Brown

UF Law Faculty Publications

In the public arena, issues of race continue to command center stage. The ongoing debates and discussions have raised new questions, while not necessarily answering the old ones. Specifically, the recent dialogues have focused on the role that Blackness plays in today's society. Some assign Blackness a primary role, others believe it is secondary. Still others dismiss it as tertiary. These varied positions, ranging from "race has nothing to do with this" to "race has everything to do with this" have in some ways canceled out any meaningful discussion of racial issues. Each of the racial camps has been allowed …

Investment In Minority-Owned Media: A Social Investor’S Perspective, Lloyd Kurtz

Federal Communications Law Journal

Access to capital for minority media remains problematic in the pension and mutual fund world, even among those organizations that practice "socially responsible" investing. The reasons for this include the behavior traits of all institutional investors and the relatively undeveloped state of socially responsible investing. However, modern social research suggests that large media conglomerates, such as Disney, Time-Warner, and Viacom, might be potentially approachable sources of capital for minority media.

Forum: New Approaches to Minority Media Ownership, Columbia Institute for Tele-Information, Columbia University.

The Value Of The Tax Certificate, Kofi Asiedu Ofori, Mark Lloyd

Federal Communications Law Journal

Tax certificates are an example of successful incentive regulation. Prior to its repeal in 1995, section 1071 of the Internal Revenue Code permitted the tax-free sale or exchange of media properties to effectuate policies of the Federal Communications Commission. Enacted by Congress in 1943, this provision was originally used to soften the hardship created by involuntary sales of broadcast properties made necessary to reduce ownership concentration in the radio industry. In 1978, the tax certificate was used to promote goals to increase minority ownership of a variety of communications properties. This Article discusses the "value" of tax certificates as a …

19th Annual Conference On Legal Issues For Financial Institutions, Office Of Continuing Legal Education At The University Of Kentucky College Of Law, M. Thurman Senn, Michael Whiteman, Garry Throckmorton, James H. Newberry, Benjamin Cowgill Jr., R. Gregg Hovious, Victor B. Maddox, S. Tracy Jefferson, J. Mark Grundy, Erin N. O'Daniel, Lea Pauley Goff, Walter R. Byrne, Debra K. Stamper, John T. Mcgarvey, J. Rick Jones

Continuing Legal Education Materials

Materials from the 19th Annual Conference on Legal Issues For Financial Institutions held by UK/CLE in May 1999.

Shopping For Judges: An Empirical Analysis Of Venue Choice In Large Chapter 11 Reorganizations , Theodore Eisenberg, Lynn M. Lopucki

Cornell Law Review

No abstract provided.

Free Exercise Of Religion Under The New York Constitution , David H. E. Becker

Cornell Law Review

No abstract provided.

New Wave In Children’S Suggestibility Research: A Critique , Thomas D. Lyon

Cornell Law Review

No abstract provided.

Confronting Developmental Barriers To The Empowerment Of Child Clients , Emily Buss

Cornell Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Copyright Dilemma Involving Online Service Providers: Problem Solved . . . For Now, Christian C.M. Beams

Federal Communications Law Journal

The Internet environment has presented copyright law with a development unlike any other this century. The illegal trading of copyrighted works has become easier than ever. Until recently, it was possible to hold online service providers strictly liable for the infringing actions of their users, regardless of whether the provider had knowledge of any infringing activity. While promoting the policy of copyright law, upholding such a standard had the potential to limit Internet speech and retard its growth. Seeing this, Congress began to debate on legislation that would protect innocent service providers from this liability. This Note argues that with …

Policy Brief: Provisions In The Workforce Investment Act Describing The Interplay Between Workforce Investment Systems And Vocational Rehabilitation Programs, Robert Silverstein

Policy Briefs Series, Institute for Community Inclusion

This brief identifies the sections in Title I of the Workforce Investment Act that specifically reference the state VR program, individuals with disabilities, and organizations representing individuals with disabilities.

Private Property, Economic Efficiency, And Spectrum Policy In The Wake Of The C Block Auction, Brian C. Fritts

Federal Communications Law Journal

In the original spectrum auctions of Personal Communications Services, the FCC designated a portion of the spectrum for woman and minority-owned small businesses (the C block). The Supreme Court’s decision in Adarand v. Pena caused the FCC to redesign the auction with the result that many bidders overvalued this spectrum. Due to this overvaluation, many bidders could not meet their obligations to the FCC. This Note analyzes FCC auction history, the FCC’s response to the original C block auction, how to fix these problems within the given congressional and FCC framework, and argues that the best solution would be to …

Not In My Backyard: The Siting Of Wireless Communications Facilities, Malcolm J. Tuesley

Federal Communications Law Journal

Given the increasing prominence of wireless communications within the broader realm of technological advancement, the deployment of a national infrastructure capable of meeting the demands of PCS is critical. The Telecommunications Act of 1996 takes substantial steps to ensure the expeditious deployment and ultimate success of such technology. The spur of the 1996 Act is necessary to bring otherwise disinterested communities to the table with providers. While the 1996 Act greatly enhances the position of service providers as they deal with local communities, education and cooperation between federal, state and local governments, and service providers offer the greatest potential for …

Symposium Introduction, Jennifer L. Motos, Jacob E. Daly

Mercer Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Ethics Of Being A Commentator Iii, Erwin Chemerinsky, Laurie Levenson

Mercer Law Review

The use of lawyers and law professors as commentators continues to increase. Although reporters have long used experts to explain and evaluate, in the last decade legal commentators have become a fixture in news stories about legal proceedings. A decade ago, when the McMartin Preschool case filled the news in Los Angeles, scarcely a commentator was used. A few years later, when the officers who beat Rodney King were tried in state court, daily legal commentary was absent. In sharp contrast, commentators were used on a regular basis during the federal prosecution of those officers. The subsequent trial of two …

A Ransom Note From The Opposition To The Proposed Rules Of Ethics For Legal Commentators, Raymond M. Brown

Mercer Law Review

Hijack the question!

That is a soupçon of tactical knowledge that every lawyer sojourning on the TV frontier absorbs quickly. In the fast-paced realm of the electronic media, there are limited opportunities to speak. To be effective you must disregard the dictates of politeness ingested at your mother's knee, ignore the question presented, and make your point succinctly. To wit:

Question: Do you think Bill Clinton should be impeached?

Answer: I think the abuse of power by Ken Starr doomed the Office of Independent Counsel and set a dangerous example for a whole generation of prosecutors.

Because the proponents of …

Gebser V. Lago Vista Independent School District: School District Remains Afloat In Title Ix Litigation Floodwater, Richard A. Weller

Mercer Law Review

In Gebser v. Lago Vista Independent School District, the United States Supreme Court held that a school district could not be held liable under Title IX for a teacher's sexual harassment of a student without actual notice and deliberate indifference. In a five to four decision, the Court affirmed summary judgment in favor of the school district.'

Poison Pills: Are Dead Hand Pills Dead In Georgia?, William B. Shearer Iii

Mercer Law Review

Market volatility, market volatility, market volatility-there seems to be no end in sight to the monthly, weekly, and daily fluctuations in financial markets around the globe. One interesting implication created by this volatility is a resurgence of takeover fear. When stock prices fall, valuations fall, expectations may be lowered, and healthy, well-valued companies are presented with excellent buying opportunities. As a result, a company that had been growing exponentially may suddenly find itself under the shadow of a tender offer. Therefore, because of recent market volatility, corporate boardrooms have been forced to review and revamp certain defensive mechanisms. This Comment …