The Federal Communications Commission
today took a big step toward requiring [DOC] local TV and radio stations to increase local programming content and appoint advisory boards to consult them on community issues.
The proposal would still have to be voted on, and in the meantime, the public -- as well as broadcasters themselves -- will be able to comment on the idea.
This notion of advisory boards is really a throwback to 30 years ago when stations had to prove their value to a community in order to retain their licenses. In recent years, license renewal has been all but a rubber-stamp exercise.
The FCC is clearly getting fed up with broadcast stations that do little to serve their community, while others devote significant chunks of airtime to local programs of substance. The FCC noted some stations "do not engage in the
necessary public dialogue as to community needs and interests and that
members of the public are not fully aware of the local issue-responsive
programming that their local stations have aired."
Today's report (called the Report on Broadcast Localism and Notice of Proposed Rulemaking) came after the FCC received 83,000 written comments and heard the testimony of 500 panelists during the six field hearings on localism conducted throughout the country.
The commission is considering:
- Forcing local stations to establish permanent advisory boards (including representatives of underserved community segments) in each station's community of license, and to consult periodically with those boards on community needs and issues.
- Taking into consideration whether the station has produced some locally-oriented programming before renewing a license.
- Doing a better job of educating members of the public as to the obligations of broadcasters and the commission's procedures, so that viewers and listeners can become more actively involved in ensuring that stations offer locally-oriented programming.
Radio Ink explains the background on all of this:
The report notes that, although
some broadcasters devote significant time to "locally responsive
programming," in the FCC's series of field hearings on localism, many
commenters "raised serious concerns that broadcasters' efforts, as a
general matter, fall far short from what they should be."
The report continues, "Specifically, the record indicates that many
stations do not engage in the necessary public dialogue as to community
needs and interests and that members of the public are not fully aware
of the local issue-responsive programming that their local stations
have aired." To address that, the FCC is proposing rules changes that,
it says, will "promote both localism and diversity."
Here are links to the order, the press release, and statements from the commission members:
