Ready or not, here it comes: Campaign 2016. FHH presents the FCC’s political guru, Bobby Baker, to help broadcasters get themselves ready.

If you thought 2015 was some kind of something when it came to politics, you can expect 2016 to be even more. Things are about to get considerably more serious on the campaign trail, as actual voting soon begins, first in primaries and caucuses and, come November 8, 2016, in the Real Deal.

If you’re a broadcaster and you haven’t already mapped out how you plan to handle the inevitable flood of demands for time by politicians and issue advocates – and the legal complexities that come along with them – NOW is the time to do so. And we here in the CommLawBlog bunker are pleased to help out with a free webinar devoted solely to a practical overview of the political broadcasting rules.

Our presenter will be none other than Bobby Baker, long-time head of the FCC’s political programming staff. Bobby is the ultimate authority on political broadcasting. When disputes arise (as they invariably do) between political/issue advertisers and stations, Bobby is more often than not the FCC official who works with both sides to resolve the dispute. There is no more authoritative voice on the subject, and that voice will be leading the webinar. Joining him will be FHH’s Frank Jazzo, Matt McCormick and Dan Kirkpatrick, all veterans of many elections past. The format will be a bit free-wheeling, but the program will include an extensive PowerPoint presentation that hits on all the high points and will be available for download.

The webinar will be presented live online on Thursday, January 14, 2016, starting at 3:00 p.m. ET. It’s free to attend, and we encourage any and all station employees who may be involved with political advertising to join us. To sign up, all you need to do is go to this site and register by providing your name, email address and (optionally) your station (or other) affiliation.

And thanks to the following associations, on whose behalf the webinar has been organized as a service to their members:

Alaska Broadcasters Association
Arkansas Broadcasters Association
Hawaii Association of Broadcasters
Louisiana Association of Broadcasters
MDCD Broadcasters Association (Maryland/D.C./Delaware)
Mississippi Association of Broadcasters
New Mexico Broadcasters Association
Oregon Association of Broadcasters
Tennessee Association of Broadcasters