Each year around this time, Pillsbury’s Communications Practice releases its Broadcasters’ Calendar for the upcoming year. It may not be the perfect stocking stuffer, but broadcasters that don’t read it closely are much more likely to end up on the FCC’s Naughty List next year. When I’m on the road visiting stations or speaking at broadcaster conventions, it’s fairly common that someone walks up to me and tells me how much they appreciate the Broadcasters’ Calendar. Rarely do calendars without pictures attract such attention. ...

... Despite the advent of a deregulatory FCC, the 2018 edition of the Broadcasters’ Calendar contains a fairly hefty number of entries, including dates and deadlines for TV’s upcoming spectrum repack and the conclusion of radio’s migration to an online public inspection file. Fortunately, the 2018 edition also notes some filing deadlines that the FCC is actively considering eliminating. Here’s hoping that the 2019 edition will be significantly thinner.