Political Broadcasting

February Regulatory Dates for Broadcasters—License Renewals, EEO Reporting, Rulemaking Comments, FM Auction Filing Deadline, Lowest Unit Rate Windows, and More

By David Oxenford|2020-01-23T10:12:07-06:00January 23rd, 2020|Legal News|

With the holiday season getting smaller in the rear-view mirror and many parts of the country dealing with ice, snow, and single-digit temperatures, broadcasters could be forgiven for dreaming about the sunshine and warmth that come with spring. Before spring arrives, however, broadcasters need to tend to important regulatory matters in February. And, if you... Continue Reading…

Lowest Unit Charge Windows Open in About 30 States and Territories – Reviewing A Broadcaster’s Political Advertising Obligations

By David Oxenford|2020-01-17T19:51:39-06:00January 17th, 2020|Legal News|

On January 18, the lowest unit charge window for Presidential primaries or caucuses begins in Super Tuesday states including Alabama, American Samoa (D), Arkansas, California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, and Virginia. The LUC window opened on January 15 for South Carolina’s Democratic primary and will open on January 23... Continue Reading…

Facebook Not Fact-Checking Candidate Ads – Looking at the Contrast Between Online Political Ads and Those Running on Broadcast and Cable

By David Oxenford|2020-01-13T11:02:42-06:00January 13th, 2020|Legal News|

This weekend, the New York Times ran an article seemingly critical of Facebook for not rejecting ads from political candidates that contained false statements of fact. We have already written that this policy of Facebook matches the policy that Congress has imposed on broadcast stations and local cable franchisees who sell time to political candidates... Continue Reading…

A Broadcaster’s 2020 Regulatory Calendar – Looking at Some of the Important Dates for the Year Ahead

By David Oxenford|2020-01-09T08:23:47-06:00January 9th, 2020|Legal News|

Here we are, more than a week into the New Year, and already we’ve written about a host of regulatory issues that will be facing broadcasters in the first month of the year (see for instance our articles here and here). But what about the rest of the year? As we do most years, we’ve... Continue Reading…

While You Were on Vacation….Looking at FCC Regulatory Actions over the Holidays and Deadlines for January

By David Oxenford|2020-01-06T10:45:49-06:00January 6th, 2020|Legal News|

While many of us were trying to enjoy the holidays, the world of regulation kept right on moving, seemingly never taking time off. So we thought that we ought to highlight some of the actions taken by the FCC in the last couple weeks and to also remind you of some of the upcoming January... Continue Reading…

January Regulatory Dates for Broadcasters – Quarterly Issues/Programs Lists, Children’s Television Annual Report, EEO, License Renewal, Political Rate Windows, FM Auction Dates and More

By David Oxenford|2019-12-19T10:24:06-06:00December 19th, 2019|Legal News|

With many Americans using the holiday season to rest and recharge, broadcasters should do the same but not forget that January is a busy month for complying with several important regulatory deadlines for broadcast stations. These include dates that regularly occur for broadcasters, as well as some unique to this month. In fact, with the... Continue Reading…

Election Season in High Gear for Broadcasters – Lowest Unit Rate Windows to Begin in Iowa This Week, New Hampshire Next and Other States Soon to Follow

By David Oxenford|2019-12-18T09:45:59-06:00December 18th, 2019|Legal News|

While political broadcasting never seems to be totally off the airwaves, the 2020 election season is about to click into high gear, with the window for lowest unit rates to begin on December 20 for advertising sales in connection with the January Iowa caucuses. That means that when broadcasters sell time to candidates for ads... Continue Reading…

Court of Appeals Finds Maryland Law Imposing Political Disclosure Obligations on Online Platforms to be Unconstitutional – Finding Different Treatment of Broadcasters is Justified

By David Oxenford|2019-12-11T10:51:45-06:00December 11th, 2019|Legal News|

Late last week, the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit issued a decision in a case called Washington Post v. David J. McManus, upholding the ruling of the US District Court finding that the State of Maryland’s attempts to impose political advertising reporting obligations on online platforms to be an unconstitutional abridgment of these... Continue Reading…

More on Required Public File Disclosures of Issue Ads – Comment Dates on NAB Petition for Reconsideration and Another Admonition for Inadequate Disclosures

By David Oxenford|2019-12-05T10:23:21-06:00December 5th, 2019|Legal News|

The FCC on Friday issued a Public Notice seeking comment on a petition for reconsideration by the NAB and several broadcast groups seeking review of the FCC’s October decision, deemed a “clarification” of the public file disclosure rules for federal political issue ads requiring that all candidates and issues mentioned in any political issue ad... Continue Reading…