Guest reporter, and our guest this week as former senator gordon smith who is president and ceo of the National Association of broadcasters. Senator smith, we appreciate you coming into the studio for this interview. Guest always a pleasure, peter. Its nice to be with you even if it is just proximate. Thank you for having me. Host in this age of coronavirus how has this affected americas broadcasters . Guest in many ways its affected us but i think perhaps its unfortunate, but it seems that the United States and our citizens become aware of broadcasting indispensable irreplaceable role in the firmament of American Life when there are natural or other catastrophes and calamities that befall us. Because it is then that the architecture broadcasting, one source of content everybody in a geographic area, without any stress on the system, people begin to realize how valuable broadcasting remains. Survey after survey continues to show that broadcasting remains the most important source of journalism. When people just want the facts. The n. A. B. Since its founding in 1923 has had a big tradeshow. Only one of the time, i think over the last year of world war ii was the show canceled, but that has certainly had an impact on us, and we to do the thing that was in the interests of our health of our exhibitors, our attendees, our participants, we had to cancel that show this year. And that is a great injury are lots of reasons. This has had a huge impact on us, but americans are turning to broadcasting in very large numbers right now because they want the facts and they know they will get them on a localized basis by going to broadcast channels. Host have you seen an increase in viewership since this crisis began . Guest absolutely, and that is a result of folks staying at home and teleworking like we are doing with our n. A. B. Staff Common People want that local component as well as the natural component both of which broadcasting brings. They want the facts and to get them from broadcasting like no other source drama lets bring jonathan make you is editor of Communications Daily into this conversation. Pleased to be here. Senator smith with spoken before including on the show but they have been a much more normal times. One thing i wanted to ask you is, what are the precautions and different steps that your members are taking right now, whether its internally, work from home as you mentioned at the association, or whether its changes their making in programming and such . Guest whats really interesting is the broadcasters are also people that live in the local communities and their trying to be good citizens, and while by members, for example, abc or cbs or nbc or fox, they are heeding the warnings coming from the cdc and the white house about ways that we can participate in reducing the spread of the virus. So their pooling resources, pooling crews that go out and sharing in ways that you normally dont expect competitors to be doing, but certainly ways that are lawful and actually very important right now. Because they want to stay on the air. At the heart of every broadcaster beats the heart of a Public Servant and we are the first informers, and we continue to play our role in a pool pooled fashion. Many of our students are teleworking for possible. I noticed al roker on the today show is broadcasting from his home, along with samantha, doing the same. I saw the same on several other networks, and this is just evidence of broadcasters who take very seriously their community responsibility, their local International Responsibility to be part of the solution, not part of the problem. One thing i have not paid attention to with this interview today has brought up, even if one social distancing in interviews. You want to tell us more about that . Are a lot of interviews even if the anchor or the reporter isnt home, kind of done like this for each person has their own studio . Guest yes, kind of like what cspan is doing here, and i commend you for that. I miss being at this roundtable with you physically, but we are taking precautions internally and actually to make sure we are part of the solution, as they say. But this is happening all over america, and its keeping our tv sets and your radios working. At the same time you should know that your broadcasters behind the mic, behind the camera also obeying the cdc guidelines. Host i know its early in the crisis but could there be some technological changes and fundamental changes to broadcast television because of this . Guest its certainly possible. Its very difficult to predict what those would be but in every crisis of this magnitude, such as we saw at 9 11, lessons are learned about precautions that can be taken. Social behaviors where we are more attuned to staying home when we are sick, coughing into our sleeve or our jacket, and keeping some distance in the way that keeps other safe as well as ourselves. Its in our personal interest in our community and National Interest as well that we take some lessons from this, that in the end will keep us healthier and happier as the people. Senator smith, can you talk about the Public Service announcements that broadcasters are working on it in some cases erring . What sort of scope are we thinking about those . If you took the average tv station, how many minutes a day, that sort of thing . Guest is a great deal of focus on this right now in the hopes that is constructive and informative, educational, and not just frightening to people. That we think thats very important, but even before, about a week and a half ago i said to my staff, lets get up a psa, a Public Service announcement, about fundamental kinds of behaviors that we as broadcasters can remind the American People about. We produced those ads. Many of your viewers may have seen them already, and this is even before we met with the white house. Our networks and myself, to talk about additional things that we would do in coordination with them, and the ad council so that more types of messaging about social distancing and other good habits and recovery efforts. These are Public Service announcements that would be produced in the future for audio and video, and in english and in spanish so that we are the central clearinghouse for information that would be essential to our people, their health, our economy and recovery. Can you tell me a little bit about working with other industries at these times . A couple suggestions i have seen recently, one was from an fcc Emergency Communications and Security Committee about broadcasters with with social Media Companies to coordinate the flow of news, sharing of news. Another one might be, retransmission consent. There were a number of suggestions about not having any socalled Television Blackouts during this time. Can you kind of tell us about that . Guest of course my members are on the tv side always anxious to get good value for renting their signals to other outlets that profit off them, but that sometimes involves tough negotiations. I think as has been the case whenever there is a national emergency, broadcasters dont want to see Service Interruptions of any kind and hopefully our friends on the cable and the satellite side as well will kind of stand down until we get this behind us and avoid Service Interruptions if at all possible. Thats our history of doing that and i have no reason to believe that wont continue. As a relates to social media, unfortunately social media, its a relatively New Invention compared to other forms of communication. But sadly they really do need what we have, which is solid factual journalism. Social media of late, and until hopefully not in the future but of late its been where you go to get fake news, halftruths, false witness, distortions and outright lies that seem to spread faster in the society and the coronavirus. And so it is important that social media platforms begin coordinating with and working with traditional news outlets like broadcasting and newspapers for their legitimate journalistic stories and facts. Because at the end of the day in these calamities people just want the facts. They dont want to be spun. They dont want fingerpointing. They want to know what the problem is, where relief and recovery can be had, and all avenues of escape and improvement. And thats what real journalism provides. Im happy to say i represent an industry thats the central plank of real journalism now. Host senator smith, you talked about standing down. Have you seen a a hold on somef the issues that the National Association of broadcasters is concerned about such a stellar, media ownership or fcc issues . Guest the congress before the christmas recess finally settled the stall r, the debate that goes on and they made it permanent. They need to be made permanent. It was a law that was 30 years old, renewed every five years and became basically an attack on broadcasting by new entrants into telecommunications. But fortunately the congress and the wisdom said this is a law that was begun to help a nascent satellite industry compete with cable. Well, 30 years ago, daish has covered all 210 markets but, unfortunately, my provider at t does not. They left out 12 of frankly very vulnerable World Markets with you dont want to serve in places like maine and montana, even kentucky. And i know, for example, the people in Bowling Green, kentucky, they would like to see the news about Mitch Mcconnell, not about Chuck Schumer because they have been able to take distant signals from new york and bring them into the homes of those Bowling Green kentuckians. A time like a National Crisis like a coronavirus, it doesnt help people in Bowling Green or missoula, montana, to be getting new york, to be getting local news from l. A. Or new york. I need it about their communities and thats why Congress Finally said okay, keep your word, serve all 210 markets, no longer can import this signal. We think congress did the right thing, and broadcasters who provide localism are doing the right thing by giving the American People for news and information they need in a crisis. Let me push you a little bit for more details kind talking about broadcasters and the socalled mvpds, the paid tv operators, not having disputes during this time. Is that something broadcasters are committed to . It strikes me even if not both sides were committed to it, particularly broadcasters would agree hey, were going to keep our programming going even if we dont come to a new carriage agreement. Is that something your industry, you are committed to it, the will not be blackouts at this time . Guest i dont speak for each individual company in the sense of the economic decisions, but i know that ive heard on calls with our executive committee and individual members that they recognize the public responsibility not to that Service Interruptions during this time. In the end it does take two at the negotiating table, and so we hope the mvpds also share that same public spiritedness and will help us to ultimately get fair value also be highly attuned to the needs of our viewers and listeners. Okay, let me ask you about working with the social Media Companies. There has been some mention there and not just with broadcasters but with the affirmation mvpds partly in the wall with Internet Service providers. Other in concrete steps your members or even your group are taking right now to have those lines of Communications Open so that as you say, the social media platforms can be getting the factual current news . Guest i think its an interest of social media to have relationships that have economic values but have relationships with broadcasters and newspapers to get localism. Because they need to up the integrity of the platform because, as i say, a lot of falsehoods, a lot of rumors and a lot of slander is occurring in ways which spread like a virus, misinformation and fake news. There needs to be a real focus on the value of real journalism, and that is still alive in our country, but we need that to begin to migrate into social media with more earnest effort than has been the case. There is a bill in congress and i was pleased to see the jordi leader Mitch Mcconnell is on it, that creates a framework for social platforms to do with local content providers like newspapers and radio and television stations. We hope that happens because i think for the importance of informed citizenry is truly important that we find market ways to support a good journal. People just want the facts. I mean, today if people want to watch something, they dont turn to netflix, for example, our news on the coronavirus. They go to the broadcast signal. When youre on the radio if you want news about whats happening in your community, you dont turn to spotify. You turn to your local am or fm station that is in the business of providing information along with entertainment to keep them informed and improve the quality of their lives. Let me ask about social distancing. You mention some of it as, at your members and at your organization based in washington. And you talk more about how that is affected kind of both those constituencies . We saw the n. A. B. Show postponed. We discussed that but whats it mean for you and your members in terms of meetings, is at all virtual . Is anyone meeting physically . Are you yourself going to get office . Anything you would like to share about that. Guest we are as an association, my n. A. B. Staff, we are teleworking now. We are actually also moving from our Dupont Circle location to down by Nationals Park to a new building. We will be moving into that in early april, but social distancing and teleworking, its happening all over. You can tell by the lack of traffic that you can tell we are probably have to learn a lot of new ways to communicate with some distance until this virus passes. And maybe Going Forward into the future this will become more a part of American Life. Host go ahead and finish. I apologize. I didnt mean to interrupt you. Guest and when it comes to, for example, the n. A. B. Show, this was an agonizing decision we made it before there was tremendous insistence by the government that we cancel. We did cancel about a week before it became an avalanche. We did it because of the community that we represent. The n. A. B. Show, exhibitors, our attendees, technology, content providers, this is where we all come together once a year and would make investments, we do business, we acknowledge great progress thats been made. Its a really important piece of american commerce, but even before this virus bissett this nation, we had also begun to reform our n. A. B. Show be set in a way that was not just a weeklong gathering in las vegas but it was a yearround digital platform. We also have a new york tradeshow, the n. A. B. New york tradeshow, so were looking at enhancements for that but also having Digital Opportunities for our exhibitors and their customers and our members to engage with one another 365 days a year and not just the n. A. B. Show as important as that is. Were trying to create a more holistic, more modernized system for the way we do business and we share information on, in terms of content, technology and education and camaraderie that really is enjoyed by the community of technology in broadcasting. Host gordon smith, the show was scheduled to be held in vegas. How many attendees and that you look at the Economic Impact . Guest we are still calculating the impact, peter. We normally have roughly 100,000 visitors a year, attendees that come and look at a million square feet of exhibit space. Of course its a huge loss but were going to do our best to replace that weeks time with a digital platform that still makes their products available and information out and then of course we hope with enhanced n. A. B. Show in october where our attendees content of the tires of new technologies and content ideas, that that will be an enhanced show. But then we expect this virus as happens with most viruses, it will fade away as the weather gets warmer and we can have great n. A. B. Show next april. But were not going to forget the lessons we learned through this terrible shutdown of our economy. Host while one of the things on your agenda at the n. A. B. Show was an interview with ajit pai, fcc chair. What you do plan on asking . Guest ajit pai is a superb follow, a great man. He is, he is certainly understood and it is paying off now the irreplaceable importance of broadcasting in the firmament of telecommunications to the American People, and i had planned to ask him about things like ownership restrictions on broadcasting that certainly doesnt apply to social media platforms or other entrance in telecommuting, only broadcasting is kept intentionally small and sometimes we need scale to be able to compete. Not sometimes, we do need scale to compete with these new entrants in communications. But theres lots of issues. We were going to talk about the repack of the spectrum, the spectrum repack after the sale of a whole bunch of our broadcast spectrum where people need to rescan the television sets. We are literally in the last phase of that. Its supposed to be over by the summer but phasedin, which is on the horizon. Already chairman pai his head we are going to give you more flexibility if this virus gets in the way of deadlines. We will give you that flexibility. So we have a real helping partner and the arson here is as weve transitioned into this new world of reduced spectrum for broadcasting, d