Broadcast Law

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Broadcast Law

• Donald R. Simon, Esq.
• Radio Dept. Columbia College
• Fall 2008

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Broadcast Law - Week 11

• Telecommunications Act of 1996
• Political advertising

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Broadcast Law - Week 11

• Telecommunications Act of 1996
• The FCC has long advocated, at least in theory,
  the public interest is best served in part by
  providing the public a multitude of different
  broadcast voices.
• The assumption is that diverse ownership leads to
  greater diversity in programming.

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Broadcast Law - Week 11

• Telecommunications Act of 1996
• In the 1980s and early 1990s, the FCC so0ught to
  relax or eliminate many ownership restrictions
  thought to be obsolete or encumberances on market
  competition.
• The FCC could only go so far.
• It took an act of Congress to bring this idea of
  deregulation in to full fruition.

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Broadcast Law - Week 11

• Telecommunications Act of 1996
• Born was the Telecom Act of 1996.
• It was passed in order to promote competition
  and reduce regulation in order to secure lower
  prices and higher quality services for American
  telecommunications customers and encourage the
  rapid deployment of new telecommunications
  technologies.

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Broadcast Law - Week 11

• Telecommunications Act of 1996
• First successful attempt to rewrite the sixty-two
  year old Communications Act of 1934.
• Became law on February, 1st 1996.
• Refocuses federal communications policymaking
  after years of confused, multi-agency and
  intergovernmental attempts to regulate and make
  sense of a burgeoning telecom industry.

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Broadcast Law - Week 11

• Telecommunications Act of 1996
• The Acts provisions fall into 5 general areas
• Radio and television broadcasting.
• Cable television.
• Telephone services.
• Internet and online computer services.
• Telecomm equipment manufacturing.

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Broadcast Law - Week 11

• Telecommunications Act of 1996
• Radio and Television Broadcasting
• Broadcast ownership limits have been lifted.
• Broadcast licenses increased to terms of 8 years.
• Limits on the number of the radio stations that
  may be commonly owned have been completely
  lifted, though the Act does provide limits within
  specific markets or geographical areas.

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Broadcast Law - Week 11

• Telecommunications Act of 1996
• Radio and Television Broadcasting
• With regard to radio ownership, the Telecom Act
  abolishes all the government's rules limiting the
  number of FM or AM stations that one person or
  corporation may own or operate.
• Before passage of the Telecom Act, a person or
  company could only possess 20 AM stations and 20
  FM stations nationwide.

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Broadcast Law - Week 11

• Telecommunications Act of 1996
• Radio and Television Broadcasting
• One person or corporation may now own up to and
  including 5 radio stations or 50 of the total
  number of stations, whichever is less, in smaller
  markets of 0-14 stations.
• In markets having 15 to 29 radio stations, one
  person or corporation may own up to 6 stations.

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Broadcast Law - Week 11

• Telecommunications Act of 1996
• Radio and Television Broadcasting
• Markets with 30 to 45 radio stations, one company
  may own or operate 7 stations.
• Finally, large markets, where there are more than
  45 radio stations operating, one person or
  corporation may own up to 8 stations.

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Broadcast Law - Week 11

• Telecommunications Act of 1996
• Radio and Television Broadcasting
• FCC is required to review its ownership
  regulations to ensure that they are still in line
  with the public interest.
• Public interest groups claim that by rolling back
  ownership prohibitions under the guise of
  increasing competition and diversity has actually
  led to a lessening of competition by big media
  companies.

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Broadcast Law - Week 11

• Media Mergers
• Even with ownership restrictions in radio all but
  eliminated, a proposed merger of media companies
  must still pass antitrust scrutiny.
• When a merger is contemplated, the deal must go
  through a comprehensive review process
  spearheaded by the DOJ and FTC.

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Broadcast Law - Week 11

• Media Mergers
• When media mergers are contemplated, the FCC also
  weighs in to ensure the proposed merger will
  benefit the public interest.
• In recent years, the FCC has come under fire from
  public interest groups for taking a less than
  active roll in the media merger review process.

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Broadcast Law - Week 11

• Political Advertising
• By far the most pervasive and complication
  content restrictions are those pertaining to
  political broadcasting.
• Broadcasters are required
• To give certain candidates access to their
  broadcast facilities
• To treat all political candidates equally and
• To give candidates preferential ads at certain
  times of the year.

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Broadcast Law - Week 11

• Political Advertising
• Candidate Access Rule
• Sec. 312(a)(7) of the Comm. Act specifies that
  broadcast license may be revoked for willful or
  repeated failure to allow reasonable access to or
  to permit purchase of reasonable amounts of time
  for the use of a broadcasting station by a
  legally qualified candidate for federal elective
  office on behalf of his or her candidacy.

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Broadcast Law - Week 11

• Political Advertising
• Candidate Access Rule
• Translation in regard to federal, not state or
  municipal, candidates, a broadcaster may not
  categorically exclude access or otherwise deny
  reasonable requests to purchase political time.
• Legally qualified a legitimate candidate for
  federal public office.

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Broadcast Law - Week 11

• Political Advertising
• Candidate Access Rule
• This rule was upheld in CBS v. FCC (1981)
• Broadcasters are free to deny the sale of air
  time prior to the commencement of a campaign, but
  once a campaign has begun, they must give
  reasonable good faith attention to access
  requests from legally qualified candidates for
  federal elective office.
• The Access Rule has been amended to exempt
  noncommercial, educational stations from the
  requirement.

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Broadcast Law - Week 11

• Political Advertising
• Equal Opportunities Rule
• Sec. 315(a) of the Comm. Act requires that
  whenever a legally qualified candidate for
  federal public office uses broadcast time, the
  station must afford equal opportunity to all
  other candidates in the race.
• What does use mean?

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Broadcast Law - Week 11

• Political Advertising
• Equal Opportunities Rule
• The FCC defines use as any positive appearance
  by a candidate, via voice or picture, that is
  identifiable to the broadcast audience.
• Includes commercials, but is broader than that.
• Appearances on radio talk shows, public services
  announcements, etc.
• Theres no requirement that the appearance
  contain a political message.

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Broadcast Law - Week 11

• Political Advertising
• Equal Opportunities Rule
• After the initial use of broadcast time by a
  legally qualified candidate (Candidate A),
  other legally qualified candidates in the same
  race (Candidates B and C) may demand equal
  opportunity to appear on the station.
• The demand for equal time must be made within 7
  days of the initial use by Candidate A.

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Broadcast Law - Week 11

• Political Advertising
• Equal Opportunities Rule
• Broadcast stations are not required to directly
  notify campaign opponents each time a candidate
  makes use of a stations air time. But must keep
  a detailed log of candidate use.
• Candidates B and C must be afforded an
  opportunity to reach essentially the same size
  audience Candidate A, for the same length of
  time, and the same cost.

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Broadcast Law - Week 11

• Political Advertising
• Equal Opportunities Rule
• A candidate does not have to use their equal
  opportunity to address the same matters raised in
  Candidate As initial appearance.
• Exception bona fide news coverage that is
  genuine and impartial, based on sincere
  journalistic judgment and not used to advance the
  candidacy of a particular individual.

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Broadcast Law - Week 11

• Political Advertising
• Preferential Advertising
• Sec. 315(b) of the Comm. Act restricts stations
  to charge no more than they would other
  commercial advertisers for the same kind and
  frequency of advertising.
• Prevents stations from overcharging political
  candidates.

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Broadcast Law - Week 11

• Political Advertising
• Preferential Advertising
• Every station must now give written disclosure to
  any candidate inquiring about advertising
• Description of all available classes of time
• Lowest unit charge for each class and
• The privileges associated with each class.
• During the 45- to 60-day periods preceding
  elections, legally qualified candidates can be
  charged no more that the lowest unit price.

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Broadcast Law - Week 12

• Contracts 101
• Non-compete and non-disclosure issues.
• Unions