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July 2006
The FCC’s new “junk fax” rules, which were adopted on April 6, 2006 pursuant to the Junk Fax Prevention Act of 2005 (“Fax Act”), will take effect on August 1, 2006.

The Commission’s junk fax rules generally prohibit for-profit, as well as non-profit, entities from sending facsimile “advertisements” — broadly construed — to recipients that have not given their “prior express invitation or permission.” Notwithstanding this general prohibition, the new rules provide that where the sender of a facsimile advertisement maintains an “established business relationship” (“EBR”) with the intended recipient, the advertisement will not be deemed “unsolicited.” The new rules also confirm that other forms of “prior express invitation or permission” will render the general prohibition inapplicable. To the extent that a sender transmits facsimile advertisements on a regular or even occasional basis, it should be aware of the requirements of the new rules.

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July 2006
The Commission recently rescinded the license grants and cancelled the underlying construction permits of two low power television stations in California. The FCC discovered that the licensee of the two stations falsely certified in its license application that “all terms, conditions, and obligations” set forth in the underlying construction permit had been met.

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July 2006
This advisory is directed to television stations with locally-produced programming whose signals were carried by at least one cable system located outside the station’s DMA or by a satellite provider which provided service to at least one viewer outside the station’s DMA. You are eligible to file royalty claims for compensation with the United States Copyright Office in Washington, DC. These filings are due by July 31, 2006.

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By Kathryn R. Schmeltzer, Lauren Lynch Flick and Paul A. Cicelski

July 2006
This Broadcast Station EEO Advisory is directed to radio and television stations licensed to communities in California, Illinois, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Wisconsin and highlights the upcoming deadlines for compliance with the FCC’s EEO rule.

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By Kathryn R. Schmeltzer
June 2006
At its June 21, 2006 Open Agenda Meeting, the FCC adopted a Further Notice of Proposed Rule Making (“FNPRM”) concerning its broadcast multiple ownership rules and at the same time announced the beginning of its quadrennial ownership review required by Congress. The FNPRM has two purposes: (1) it seeks comment on how to address the issues raised by the Third Circuit Court of Appeals in Prometheus Radio Project, et al. v. FCC, 373 F. 3d 372 (3rd Cir. 2004), and (2) it opens a comprehensive review of all the FCC’s multiple ownership rules.

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By Kathryn R. Schmeltzer, Scott R. Flick, Lauren Lynch Flick and Paul A. Cicelski

June 2006
TV, Class A TV, LPTV and TV translator stations licensed to communities in Alaska, Hawaii, Oregon, Washington, American Samoa, Guam and the Mariana Islands should be receiving soon a postcard from the FCC reminding them that their license renewal applications must be filed by October 1, 2006.

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By Kathryn R. Schmeltzer, Lauren Lynch Flick and Paul A. Cicelski

June 2006
Statutory and Regulatory Requirements

As a result of the Children’s Television Act of 1990 and the FCC Rules adopted under the Act, full power and Class A television stations are required, among other things, to: (1) limit the amount of commercial matter aired during programs originally produced and broadcast for an audience of children 12 years of age and younger; and (2) air programming responsive to the educational and informational needs of children 16 years of age and younger. Each of these requirements translates into the obligation to prepare supporting documents on a quarterly basis.

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By Kathryn R. Schmeltzer, Lauren Lynch Flick and Paul A. Cicelski

June 2006
Content of the Quarterly List

The next Quarterly Issues/Programs List (“Quarterly List”) must be placed in stations’ local Public Inspection Files by July 10, 2006, reflecting information for the months of April, May and June, 2006.

The FCC requires each broadcast station to air a reasonable amount of programming responsive to significant community needs, issues, and problems as determined by the station. The FCC gives each station the discretion to determine which issues facing the community served by the station are the most significant and how best to respond to them in the station’s overall programming.

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May 2006
The FCC recently fined a television licensee $4,000 for violations that occurred during a contest run by the station in 2004. The FCC determined that the station failed to conduct the contest substantially as announced and advertised, a violation of Section 73.1216 of the Commission’s Rules. It was discovered during the investigation that the licensee excluded multiple entries from consideration, misplaced legitimate entries, and failed to award all announced prizes.

A PDF version of this entire article can be found at FCC Fines Television Licensee $4,000 for Violations of Contest Rules.