Section 315

FCC Media Bureau Tells Broadcasters that Candidate Appearances on Talk Programs Could Subject Them to Equal Time Demands – More Review of Such Programs Expected From the FCC

By David Oxenford|2026-01-23T10:16:30-06:00January 23rd, 2026|Legal News|

The FCC’s Media Bureau, in a Public Notice released this week, provided guidance that changed the common interpretation of one of the fundamental principles of political broadcasting law for the last thirty years – that a candidate appearance on a regularly scheduled talk program subject to broadcaster control was not subject to equal opportunities claims... Continue Reading…

Are Issue Ads By Non-Candidate Groups Entitled to Lowest Unit Rates Just Because a Candidate Approves the Ad? The FCC Is Asked for Its Opinion

By David Oxenford|2023-03-22T10:29:18-05:00March 22nd, 2023|Legal News|

In the 45 days before a political primary and the 60 days before a general election, ads by political candidates (federal, state, or local) airing on a broadcast station or inserted by a local cable system into the programming it transmits to the public are entitled to “lowest unit rates” (LUR). That means that candidates... Continue Reading…

NPR Story Says That You are Allowed to Lie in Broadcast Political Ads – Half the Story?

By David Oxenford|2022-03-23T10:05:48-05:00March 23rd, 2022|Legal News|

Last week, NPR ran a story with the provocative headline – “The Truth In Political Advertising – You’re Allowed to Lie.” The story talked about how the FCC does not regulate candidate advertising to decide the truth of political ads, and then quoted a former FCC Chair to say that candidates can “lie” in their... Continue Reading…

This Week in Regulation for Broadcasters: February 12, 2022 to February 18, 2022

By David Oxenford and Adam Sandler|2022-02-20T10:05:31-06:00February 20th, 2022|Legal News|

Here are some of the regulatory developments of significance to broadcasters from the last week, with links to where you can go to find more information as to how these actions may affect your operations. Following up on its proposals from last summer to clean up radio technical rules that were inconsistent, outdated, or inaccurate,... Continue Reading…

Ted Cruz Demands Takedown of PAC Ad Attacking His Voting Record – Issues that Broadcast Stations Need to Consider When Threatened by Candidate Wanting an Ad Pulled

By David Oxenford|2016-02-17T11:20:06-06:00February 17th, 2016|Legal News|

According to Politico, Ted Cruz’ campaign has demanded that TV stations pull certain PAC ads which he claims distort his voting record on immigration issues. This kind of claim from a political candidate about the unfairness of attack ads is common. Here, Cruz’ representatives apparently don’t threaten lawsuits against the stations for running the ads,… Continue Reading

TV Crime Watch Show is Bona Fide News Program Exempt from Equal Opportunities Requests from Political Candidates – Reviewing the Equal Time Rule

By David Oxenford|2015-08-12T10:51:13-05:00August 12th, 2015|Legal News|

The FCC yesterday issued a Declaratory Ruling at the request of the producers of a new syndicated Crime Watch Daily TV show, a program that will give a daily rundown of crime stories including ongoing court trials from around the nation, declaring that the program would not give rise to equal opportunities claims from political… Continue Reading

On Censoring Political Ads

By Frank Montero|2014-10-16T15:48:08-05:00October 16th, 2014|Legal News|

With SuperPAC money flowing and political ads running on Internet streams, caution in dealing with political spots is in order. There may be just a few weeks remaining in this election season, but broadcasters should be paying attention – now and...