Earlier today, the FCC announced in the Federal Register that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has approved the FCC’s new rules requiring television stations to replace the public files that they maintain at their studios with electronic files that will be hosted online by the FCC. As a…
As I discussed last month, the FCC has adopted rules requiring television stations to replace their existing locally-maintained public inspection files with digital files to be placed online on an FCC-hosted website, including stations’ detailed political records. The majority of television stations will not be required to begin posting their…
To follow up on my post from last week regarding the FCC’s open meeting on implementing its proposals to require online posting of TV station public inspection files, including the political file, the FCC today voted to require television broadcasters to post their entire public inspection files online. FCC Commissioner…
As many of you know by now, very few topics were hotter during the NAB Show in Las Vegas this week than the FCC’s looming April 27 public meeting vote to decide how to implement its proposals to require online posting of TV station public inspection files. As Laurie Lynch…
A panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in San Francisco today ruled, in a 2 – 1 decision, that the long-standing prohibition on the carriage of paid political and issue advertising by noncommercial television and radio stations is unconstitutional and may no longer be…
As a follow up to my earlier post today, the FCC has just released a decision rejecting a political advertising complaint filed by Randall Terry against WMAQ-TV in Chicago. The FCC ruled that Terry failed to meet his burden to demonstrate to the station that he is a bona fide…
If you are a television broadcaster, count yourself fortunate if you have not heard from the ad agency for Randall Terry. In a self-proclaimed effort to exploit the laws requiring broadcasters to give federal candidates guaranteed access to airtime as well as their lowest ad rates, Terry has announced he…
At its Open Meeting this morning, the Federal Communications Commission released its latest proposal to require commercial and noncommercial television broadcasters to maintain their public inspection files online. The FCC had taken incremental steps in this direction over the years by first permitting and encouraging stations to maintain their public…
As a record three billion dollar political advertising season comes to a close, broadcasters must remember that the FCC requires many broadcast stations to stay open for business this weekend. Specifically, all radio and television stations that have provided weekend access to any commercial advertiser within the twelve months prior…
In my recent commentary on the Senate version of the DISCLOSE Act (Senate Disclose Act Bill Raises Serious Concerns For Broadcasters), I highlighted provisions related to the Lowest Unit Charge which had the potential to cause a very significant adverse impact on broadcast station revenues from federal election advertising. Senator…