I conducted a webinar on the FCC’s EEO rules for the Texas Association of Broadcasters on November 30, 2010.  In conducting the webinar, I reminded broadcasters of the many ways that their EEO compliance can be monitored by the FCC – either through EEO random audits, through mid-term EEO Reports on FCC Form 397 (which were filed by Texas TV stations this past April), or through the filings that are made at license renewal time (which comes up in April 2013 for Texas radio, and April 2014 for Texas TV).  In discussing the FCC’s EEO audit process, I mentioned that we were about due for another round of EEO audits from the FCC.  And sure enough, the FCC today gave notice of a new round of audits – though this time limited to Multichannel video programming distributors (MVPDs), principally cable systems.   A list of the systems to be audited in this round of EEO audits can be found in the FCC’s Public Notice about the audit, here.

The PowerPoint presentation from the TAB webinar is available here.  For more detailed information about the FCC’s EEO policies for broadcasters, you can review the Davis Wright Tremaine’s Guide to the Basics of The FCC’s EEO Rules.  For details of the annual EEO public inspection file report, which, by April 1 of each year, stations in Texas need to place in their public inspection files and post on their websites, see our most recent EEO Public Inspection File Report advisory for stations in New England, Georgia, Alabama, Minnesota, Montana and the Dakotas, which have public file reports due to be placed in their public files today.