The FCC late Wednesday (1/26) released a Report and Order that updates the Commission’s political programming and recordkeeping rules for broadcast licensees, cable television system operators, Direct Broadcast Satellite (DBS) service providers, and Satellite Digital Audio Radio Service (SDARS) licensees.
What does this mean for you? A Fletcher Heald & Hildreth attorney provides an easy explanation for curious radio and TV industry executives and staff that will need to abide by the revised regulatory policy.
As noted by Paul J. Feldman, of the Washington, D.C., communications law firm, the Order revises the definition of what a “legally qualified candidate for public office” is.
Importantly, the FCC has added the use of social media and the creation of a campaign website to the existing list of activities that may be considered in determining whether an individual running as a write-in candidate has made a “substantial showing” of his or her bona fide candidacy — and thus to be qualified for the benefits of reasonable access to station time for advertisements and the lowest unit charge for such advertisements.
The Order, Feldman adds, also amends the political file rules consistent with the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (BCRA), which extends the Commission’s political file requirements to any request for the purchase of advertising time for issue ads, and lists the specific records that must be maintained in the station’s public file.
“The attorneys at Fletcher Heald have seen the FCC aggressively enforce the political file rules against numerous broadcasters in the last year, so licensees would be wise to pay close attention to the new revisions to those rules, in order to maintain or enhance their compliance,” Feldman advises.
He continues, “We have no reason to believe that this enforcement campaign is slowing down. The text of the new rules including social media as a criterion for evaluating whether someone is a bona fide candidate, and listing the documents necessary to upload to a station’s public file will become effective 30 days after publication in the Federal Register. The text specifically including issues ads will require approval of the Office of Management and Budget, which should take longer. But the new list of documents to be uploaded to a station’s public file and the inclusion of issue ads are consistent with prior Commission advice, and so stations should be complying with those requirements already.”
