Federal Communications Commission	"FCC/DA  XX-XXX"


DA 19-270
Released:  April 9, 2019

FCC ANNOUNCES A PUBLIC FORUM ABOUT USE OF ENHANCED ELECTRONIC NEWSROOM TECHNIQUE (ENT) TO CAPTION LIVE PROGRAMMING

The Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau (CGB) of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will host a forum regarding the use of enhanced Electronic Newsroom Technique (ENT) procedures for live captioning of local news programming on Friday, May 10, 2019, from 1:00 p.m. to 4:45 p.m., Eastern Time.  The event will be held in the Commission Meeting Room at FCC Headquarters, 445 12th Street, SW, Room TW-C305, Washington, DC 20554.  
The event will be open to the public, but admittance will be limited to available seating.  The event also will be webcast with open captioning at www.fcc.gov/live.  On the day of the event, audience members may ask questions in person or by e-mail to livequestions@fcc.gov.  Updates to the agenda, as well as presentation materials, will be made available on the event webpage at https://www.fcc.gov/news-events/events/2019/05/enhanced-ent-forum.

TENTATIVE AGENDA	
1:00 p.m.        	Welcoming Remarks	                                  
Patrick Webre, Bureau Chief, Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau (CGB)

1:05 p.m.        	Overview of the Commission’s Enhanced ENT Requirements  
Suzy Rosen Singleton, Chief, CGB Disability Rights Office (DRO)
				
Status of the Implementation of the Enhanced ENT Rules
Theodore Marcus, Deputy Chief, DRO, CGB
  
1:45 p.m.        	Enhanced ENT Implementation: Industry Challenges and Solutions
            	Moderator: Eliot Greenwald, Deputy Chief, DRO, CGB 
	Panelists:		
· R. Lantz Croft, News Operations Manager, WBRC-TV/Birmingham, Alabama
· Brett Jenkins, Executive Vice President, Chief Technology Officer, Nexstar Media Group, Inc.
· Christian Vogler, Director, Technology Access Program, Gallaudet University
· Kelly Williams, Senior Director of Engineering and Technology Policy, National Association of Broadcasters

3:00 p.m.       	Break

3:15 p.m.      	Stakeholder Collaboration to Implement Enhanced ENT Best Practices
         	Moderator: Debra Patkin, Attorney Advisor, DRO, CGB
		Panelists:
· Zainab Alkebsi, Policy Counsel, National Association of the Deaf
· Dan Carpenter, Regional Engineering Manager, Sinclair Broadcast Group
· Lise Hamlin, Director of Public Policy, Hearing Loss Association of America
· Joshua Pila, General Counsel, Local Media, Meredith Corporation 
· Claude Stout, Executive Director, Telecommunications for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Inc. 

4:30 p.m.    	Closing Remarks & Adjourn   	
		Theodore Marcus, Deputy Chief, DRO, CGB     
	
ACCESSIBILITY AND ACCOMMODATIONS
	Sign language interpreters, open captioning, and assistive listening devices will be provided on site.  Reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities are available upon request.  Include a description of the accommodation you will need and tell us how to contact you if we need more information.  Make your request as early as possible.  Last minute requests will be accepted but may be impossible to fill.  Send an e-mail to fcc504@fcc.gov or call the Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau at 202-418-0530 (voice), 202-418-0432 (TTY).
To request materials in accessible formats for people with disabilities (Braille, large print, electronic files, audio format), please send an e-mail to fcc504@fcc.gov or call the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau at 202-418-0530 (voice), 202-418-0432 (TTY).
FURTHER INFORMATION  
For further information, contact Debra Patkin, Attorney Advisor, CGB, DRO, 202-870-5226 or Debra.Patkin@fcc.gov. 
– FCC –

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