The FCC has released the full text of its Order adopting enhanced disclosure requirements for broadcast television stations – requiring that they post their public files on their websites and that they quarterly file a new form, FCC Form 355, detailing their programming in minute detail, breaking it down by specific program categories, and certifying that the station has complied with a number of FCC programming rules.
Full text of FCC order
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-07-205A1.pdf
First, the provisions governing the on-line maintenance of the public file include the following (with our observations in parentheses):
The Rules will become effective 60 days after the notice of their approval by the Office of Management and Budget (as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act – this is paperwork reduction?) is published in the Federal Register.
Stations can either post the public file contents on their own website, or on the website of their State Broadcast Association (why would the Association volunteer to do that?). Even if the State Association agrees to host the website, the station must have a link on its website to the report.
If a station has no website, it does not need to create one to comply with these rules (and it has no obligation to place the file on the State Association site). But if it later develops a website, it must have the public file contents posted within 30 days.
The contents of the political file do not need to be posted on the website
Letters from the public do not need to be posted on the site – though emails from the public should be posted
Documents that are posted on other sites, including the FCC site, need not also be stored on the station site, if a link to the documents is placed on the station’s site
The file must be accessible to the disabled, complying with Conformance Level A of the World Wide Web consortium’s Web Content Accessibility (W3C/WAI) guidelines. (Information may be found here). http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG10/
This may preclude some files being stored solely in a PDF format (and will no doubt cause some consternation among those at stations, who we would expect to be most people, not familiar with these standards).
Twice each day, the station must publicize on the air, with its station identification, the availability of the file on the website. At least one of those mentions must be between the hours of 6 PM and midnight.
The FCC Form 355 requires information including the following:
A list of the station’s programming streams (i.e. the analog channel and any digital multicast program streams) and “their main programming focus”
A list of the parent company and affiliates of the company which owns the station (isn’t this what Ownership Reports are for?)
For each programming stream, the average number of weekly programming hours devoted to the following:
High Definition programming
National news
Local news produced by the station
Local news produced by some other entity (who must be identified)
Programming devoted to “local civic affairs,” defined as programming designed to provide the public with information about local issues, including statements or interviews with local officials, discussions of local issues, and coverage of local legislative meetings. This programming must be subtracted from the “news” programming reported above.
Coverage of local electoral affairs – basically coverage of local elections – which must also be subtracted from the news coverage numbers reported above
Independently produced programming, i.e programming not produced by a national network (presumably each local station will have to determine if a network has as little as a one-third interest in all programming that is being aired)
“Other” local programming – which is not defined but presumably would include sports, religious, and entertainment programming produced within the station’s service area
Public service announcements
Paid public service announcements (a PSA-type announcement for which the station or any group that the station is affiliated with – presumably including state broadcast associations – receives something of value)
Closed captioned programming
A list of each national news story that includes significant treatment of community issues, listing for each such program:
title, length and date and time of airing
whether it was aired on the primary channel of the station
whether it was locally produced
whether it previously aired on this station or any other station (how is a station supposed to figure out what other stations a national news program aired on?)
if it was part of a regularly scheduled news program
whether any consideration was received for the broadcast of the segment
A list of all local news program segments dealing with community issues, providing the same information for each such segment as listed above for national news segments
A list of all local civic affairs program segments that provides significant treatment of a community issue, with all the same details as listed above for news segments
A list of all electoral affairs programs that includes significant treatment of community issues, with the same details as provided for news segments
The title, length and date and time of the airing of all independently produced programming
A list of all local programming not otherwise listed above, with title, length,and date and time of airing, and whether the station received consideration for airing the program
For each PSA, the name of the sponsoring organization, the number of times the PSA ran, the length, and the percentage of times that were during prime time hours
For each paid PSA, the same information as for unpaid PSAs
Details of programming directed to “undeserved communities,” defined as demographic segments of the community to which little or no programming is directed (query – if no programming is directed to a particular demographic segment, how can a station have anything to report in this category?)
Details of religious services or other local religious broadcasts aired at no change
A description of how the station determined that its programming met community needs
Details on the amount of closed captioned programming broadcast by the station, and a list of exempt programs that were aired, with details as to the exemptions
Whether the station voluntarily provided video description of any of its programs and, if so, how much
Information about broadcasts about community emergencies, including a statement as to whether or not the station complied with the rules that require such programs to be accessible to the disabled
Whether or not more than 3 hours per day of programming is provided pursuant to an LMA or JSA.
WTJR Engineering 