November 2010

In yet another example of the importance that the FCC places on emergency communications and safety issues, an FCC Enforcement Bureau District Field Office issued a Notice of Apparent Liability, proposing to fine a radio station $25,000 for violations including an EAS system that was not operational, as well as a tower that needed repainting and with lights that were not functioning properly.  Together with various other issues – including missing quarterly issues programs lists – the FCC found that a $25,000 fine was appropriate.  This is another in a series of recent notices of apparent liability from FCC District Offices, demonstrating the high cost of noncompliance with technical and operational issues at broadcast stations.

On the tower issues, the FCC found that the tower lights, which were required to be flashing, were in either not operational at all or not flashing, and that the licensee admitted that no visual inspection of the lights had occurred in at least a week.  Citing Section 17.47 of the FCC rules, which require a visual inspection of tower lights every 24 hours unless there is an automatic inspection system (which was not present at this tower), the FCC found that there was a violation here.  In addition, the inspection revealed that the tower paint was faded and, in some places, had peeled to reveal bare steel, as the tower had not been painted since 1996.  Towers must be cleaned and painted "as often as necessary to maintain good visibility" under Section 17.50 of the FCC Rules.  The failure of the tower owner to monitor the tower lights resulted in a $2000 fine, and a $10,000 fine was imposed for the failure to repaint the tower.Continue Reading $25,000 FCC Fine for Safety Related Issues – No EAS, Tower With Painting and Lighting Issues

By December 1, 2010, all commercial and noncommercial digital television (DTV) stations must electronically file an FCC Form 317 with the FCC. This Form reports whether the station has provided any ancillary and supplementary services during the twelve-month period ending on September 30, 2010.

Under the Commission’s Rules, in addition to providing free over-the-air broadcast…

So does the mid-term election have any impact on broadcast regulation?  While no one knows for sure what the political winds of Washington will have in store, in reading the analysis of the Tuesday election results, I was struck by the conclusions contained in one Op-Ed article in the Washington Post on the message of last week’s Mid-Term elections, and the contrast of that perceived message to an article that had run in the same pages just a week before.  The earlier article dealt specifically with the future of media in the 21st century, and the suggested that, rather than cutting back on taxpayer funding of public broadcasting, as some have suggested, the government should take more steps to provide funding.  this article suggested that there be a tax on commercial broadcasters, and the monies received from the tax should be used to fund public media.  A similar proposal had been included in a Federal Trade Commission staff discussion draft issued earlier this year in the FTC’s exploration of the effect of new technologies on newsgathering.  Both of these proposals were made in the name of providing funding to public broadcasting sources to produce more news in light of the struggles of commercial news outlets in today’s media world.  The FCC’s own Future of Media task force is expected to issue a report before the end of the year on how the government should take steps to ensure that the media in the 21st century provides citizens with the information that they need to make informed decisions on civic issues.   Proposals made in both the FTC and FCC proceedings involve everything from changes to copyright law to provide more Federal protection to news reporting, to suggestions similar to those made in the FCC’s localism proceeding for specific mandates as to how much and what kind of news and information programming licensees must provide.

The proposals for the government to get involved in making the media better stuck me as being in stark contrast to the findings of a Democratic pollster reported in Sunday’s Washington Post, finding that the voters in last week’s elections were most interested in a government that was limited and efficient.  Voters were not totally adverse to government involvement – but favored that involvement only in connection with issues where it was perceived that the action could really make a difference, and only where the involvement was clear, efficient and effective.  While this opinion piece had nothing specific to say about media regulation – if in fact the article accurately reflects the message of the election, does it make sense that the government should be getting involved in the decisions about the future of the media?  Will any regulation that comes out of these proceedings be regulation that will be efficient and effective, with a minimum of red tape?  From my discussions with broadcasters, many are afraid that it will not. Continue Reading The Mid-Term Election and Broadcasting – What’s the Effect on the Future of Media?