Political Broadcasting

NAB Seeks Reconsideration of FCC’s Clarification of Issue Advertising Public Disclosure Requirements – Rules Remain in Effect Though Some Clarification Provided

By David Oxenford|2019-11-25T10:55:01-06:00November 25th, 2019|Legal News|

Last month, the FCC issued what it termed a “clarification” of the obligations of broadcasters to disclose in their public inspection files each and every candidate and issue discussed in any Federal issue ad. We wrote about the Clarification here. That decision prompted many questions among broadcasters as to how they would comply with the... Continue Reading…

Twitter Bans Political Ads – Doing What Broadcasters are Forbidden to Do

By David Oxenford|2019-11-04T10:26:14-06:00November 4th, 2019|Legal News|

It seems like every other week, there is a story about an online media giant making changes in their rules that govern political advertising on their platform – and being either praised or condemned for doing so. We recently wrote about the controversy over Facebook deciding to not fact-check candidate ads, and how Congress itself... Continue Reading…

FCC Issues “Clarifications” of Political Broadcasting Public File Disclosure Requirements – Significantly More Disclosures to Be Required on Issue Ads

By David Oxenford|2019-10-21T17:25:02-05:00October 21st, 2019|Legal News|

The FCC last week released two decisions (here and here) addressing complaints from public interest groups against several TV stations alleging that the stations had not sufficiently disclosed in their online public files sufficient information about political issue advertising. These decisions, as detailed below, will end up making life significantly more difficult for broadcasters running... Continue Reading…

Facebook Criticized for Not Censoring Candidate Ads – Even Though Congress Requires No Censorship from Broadcasters

By David Oxenford|2019-10-17T09:35:26-05:00October 17th, 2019|Legal News|

In recent weeks, Facebook has been criticized for adopting a policy of not censoring advertising and other content posted on its platforms by political candidates. While Facebook apparently will review content whose veracity is challenged when posted by anyone else, it made an exception for posts by political candidates – and has received much heat... Continue Reading…

Political Broadcasting Rules Q & A: Updated for 2019

By Dan Kirkpatrick|2019-09-24T10:46:32-05:00September 24th, 2019|Legal News|

With primaries in some states happening as soon as March, and the Democratic primary contest already hotly contested by a large field of candidates, the 2020 election cycle is certain to be one of the most contentious and hard-fought in recent memory – as well as one of the longest. While far more limited in...… Continue Reading

Reminder – FCC Political Rules Apply to Off-Year Elections for State and Local Offices

By David Oxenford|2019-09-20T11:15:01-05:00September 20th, 2019|Legal News|

While next year’s federal elections are already receiving most of the publicity, I’ve been getting a surprising number of calls about elections this November. While most broadcast stations don’t think about the FCC’s political broadcasting rules in odd numbered years, they should – particularly in connection with state and local political offices. There are elections... Continue Reading…

Now Available: Political Broadcasting 2019: A Refresher Course Webinar

By FHH Law|2019-09-10T11:01:46-05:00September 10th, 2019|Legal News|

With Federal, state, and local elections on the horizon (to say nothing of FCC license renewals), it’s a good time to brush up on the FCC’s political broadcasting rules. This webinar, presented in collaboration with the Colorado Broadcasters Association, and led by Fletcher, Heald & Hildreth attorneys Dan Kirkpatrick and Frank Montero, and featuring special...… Continue Reading

When a Broadcast Advertiser Becomes A Political Candidate, What is a Station to Do?

By David Oxenford|2019-08-26T22:48:35-05:00August 26th, 2019|Legal News|

In many states, we are in election season for local offices, which has resulted in a question that has come up repeatedly in the last few weeks about local candidates – usually running for state or municipal offices – who appear in advertisements for local businesses that they own or manage. Often times, these individuals... Continue Reading…

$233,000 Proposed Fine for Sponsorship Identification Rule Violations – Warning, if the FCC Fines You Once, Don’t Do the Same Thing Again

By David Oxenford|2019-08-09T08:38:16-05:00August 9th, 2019|Legal News|

The FCC this week issued a Notice of Apparent Liability proposing a $233,000 fine to Cumulus Media for violations of the sponsorship identification rules. The fine illustrates not only how seriously the FCC takes its sponsorship identification rules (particularly in the context of political and issue advertising) but also the how aggressively the FCC can... Continue Reading…