Earlier this year, the FCC released a Report and Order updating the political file rules to make them consistent with the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002. The political file rules now codify the extension of the requirement that any request for the purchase of advertising time that communicates a message relating to any political matter of national importance (i.e. issue ads) requires that specific information be placed in the station’s online public file.

Upon receiving such a request, the broadcast licensee must place and maintain in their online political file, a record of the request together with all the records identified in Section 315(e)(2)¹ for issue ads, including whether the request was accepted or rejected, the rate charged, the date and time the ad was aired, the class of time purchased, the issue to which the communication refers, and the name and contact of the individual or organization purchasing the ad. However, that material is not required for ads that pertain to state or local issues of public importance.

The 2022 Mid-Term political season is well underway and is already proving to be extremely contentious. Broadcasters are being bombarded with political ads from candidates and non-candidates alike. Many are highly partisan, advocate for legally qualified candidates for ...

These days, when nearly every broadcaster has a web page, and the FCC has even mandated that public notice of applications and other filings be posted on station websites, it is important that broadcasters understand they can set the rules for how visitors can use the ...

In a recent article, we recommended that stations post Terms of Use on and for their websites. An equally important protection for those who have websites and that has received a great deal of attention recently is internet privacy. We have reviewed the current laws and ...

On February 17, 2022, the FCC released a Report and Order (“Order”) adopting updated technical rules for the broadcast radio services. The Order adopts six updates to the rules: Removes Maximum Rated Transmitter Power for AM Stations: The Order amends ...

The FCC released a Report and Order (“Order”) that makes two updates to the political programming and recordkeeping rules for broadcast licensees, cable television system operators, Direct Broadcast Satellite service providers, and Satellite Digital Audio ...

For a century, we have relied on local broadcasters for quality, curated news and information subjected to the editorial process. We have heard old axioms like all politics is local and others that underscore the importance of quality, accurate local newsgathering and ...

On Monday, July 26, 2021, the FCC released a Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“FNPRM”) that seeks to refresh the record in the Commission’s Broadcast and Cable Equal Employment Opportunity (“EEO”) Rules proceeding. The FNPRM is the first step in the ...

On July 7, 2021, the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau released a Public Notice reminding emergency alert system participants of the requirement to issue accessible alerts in the upcoming nationwide test of the EAS and WEA. As a reminder, the nationwide test will ...

On Friday, June 11, 2021, the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau (“Bureau”) released a Public Notice (DA 21-680) announcing the date of the next nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System (“EAS”) and Wireless Emergency Alerts (“WEA”). The Public ...