Latest in Public Policy

The Peabody Awards Board of Jurors on Tuesday announced its 60 nominees representing “the most compelling and empowering stories released in broadcasting and streaming media” in 2020. The nominees were chosen by 19 jurors who surveyed 1,300 entries from television, podcasts/radio and the web in entertainment, news…

The Recording Industry Association of America and a coalition of more than 20 record labels have released three new studies that claim a bill pending in the California state legislature would "upend the existing creative ecosystem that is producing the largest advances and royalty payments in music business…

An informational hearing on "Unseen Latinas in Hollywood" was held Friday in Sacramento to explore the barriers Latinas face in the film and TV industry. "Despite Latinas making up 20% of the population in California, we continue to be excluded, erased and misrepresented in movies and on TV," said Assemblywoman Lorena…

Film shoots are up and running again on Will Rogers State Beach, that slightly magical stretch of coastline between Santa Monica Canyon and the very private Bel-Air Bay Club, along the Pacific Coast Highway. Location managers love the spot, because it actually looks like people think Los Angeles looks. Long breakers…

UPDATED, 9 AM PT: MTV Entertainment Group has set Better Together: Mental Health Storytelling Summit to address the impact of storytelling on mental health. Additionally, WarnerMedia has signed on as a partner in the entertainment coalition committed to changing mental health representation. Kenya Barris, Rachel…

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, joined by former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, Friday signed a bill requiring internet providers to offer broadband access to low-income families for no more than $15 a month. Higher-speed plans are capped at $20. “Internet service is an essential service. Now. you need a broadband service if…

New York State's just signed fiscal 2022 mega-budget includes a $1 billion package – a combination of grants and tax credits — for small businesses including arts, entertainment and restaurant to help speed economic recovery. The Covid-19 Pandemic Small Business Recovery Grant Program steers $800 million in funding…

Netflix Tuesday joined a growing group of companies exploring the environmental footprint of their businesses as the streamer committed to pollute less and increase investment in prevention, conservation, and regeneration projects. It is committing to reaching net zero greenhouse gas emissions by the end of next year…

What should have been a triumphal media moment for California Governor Gavin Newsom was scuttled on Wednesday by technical difficulties. Newsom had set his first televised press conference in at least two weeks to announce his much-anticipated pick to replace Xavier Becerra as the state’s attorney general. The…

The Motion Picture Association, DGA, IATSE, IFTA, SAG-AFTRA along with the AFL-CIO’s Department of Professional Employees have penned a letter to President Joe Biden urging the new administration to keep the job-providing, economy-stimulating film and television community in mind when hashing out policy. As the…

I was mulling a New York Post report that half the employees at The New York Times are afraid to say what they're thinking when it hit me.  It’s time for Free Speech Insurance. This is nothing like libel insurance, which protects a publisher, and maybe a writer, from defamation claims. Under a Free Speech policy from…

Jessica Rosenworcel will serve as the acting chairwoman of the FCC, filling the slot after the departure of Ajit Pai this week. "I am honored to be designated as the Acting Chairwoman of the Federal Communications Commission by President Biden,” Rosenworcel said in a statement Thursday. “I thank the president for the…