descriptions of the donor's products or services. View the campaign finance laws from localities across California. We recognized in our 1982 Order that it may be difficult at times to distinguish between announcements that promote and those that identify. Find who is making and receiving behested payments, and the amounts. As our action in those cases attest, we will enforce our prohibition on the broadcast of acknowledgements is appropriate. acknowledgement is within these general guidelines and, therefore, permissible. "Online platform disclosed advertisements" are either (1) electronic media advertisements made via an online platform that allows users to engage in discourse and post content, or any other type of social media, for which a committee pays the online platform or (2) electronic media advertisements that are in the form of a graphic, image, animated graphic, or animated image that an online platform hosting the advertisement does not allow to hyperlink to an internet website containing required disclosures noted on the charts linked below on this page for which a committee pays the online platform. With this election, your station needs to be ready to comply with all of the FCC’s political advertising rules. guidelines which emphasize the difference between permissible donor and underwriter announcements and commercial advertising. “Paid for by [committee name]” or "Ad paid for by [committee name]" is the basic disclosure required on campaign communications. 1420. needed to present quality programming and to remain financially viable. View resources and upcoming training opportunities for candidates, treasurers, committees, filing officers, conflict of interest code reviewers and Form 700 filers. Several examples of announcements that would clearly violate the rule may be helpful: Additionally, examples of proscribed product messages can be seen in the instances where the Commission has assessed forfeitures or issued letters of warning Please see the Advertising Disclosure Charts above for detailed information on disclosure requirements. FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION. Educational Broadcasting Stations, 90 FCC 2d 895 (1982) (hereafter referred to as "1982 Order"; Second Report and Order, 86 FCC 2d 141 (1981); Find Information related to Complaints and Cases. View factsheets developed to answer commonly asked questions. In talking to lawyers who practice in this area all the time, we are sure that there would be disagreement among us lawyers on how to characterize many issues – and are sure that those whose job is to sell broadcast ads will not have an easier time making such calls than those of us whose job it is to interpret the meaning of FCC rules and governing statutes. including the station itself. It is our belief that in order for the audience to be informed about the sponsor of these to strike a reasonable balance between the financial needs of public broadcast stations and their obligation to provide an essentially noncommercial service. and underwriter announcements which exceed the Commission's guidelines. Learn how to register as a lobbyist, report lobbying activity, ethics course requirements or view helpful manuals. commercial messages on behalf of profit making enterprises for which consideration is paid to the station. Antenna Height Above Average Terrain (HAAT) Calculator, Antenna Structure Registration (ASRN) Records Within A Radius, Call Sign Reservation and Authorization System (CSRS), Children's Educational Television Reporting - Form 2100, Schedule H, KIDVID (Children’s Television Online Filing), Noncommercial Nature of Educational Broadcasting, Special Temporary Authority / Emergency Antennas, Tower Owners: Save Birds! announcements by nonprofit organizations, public broadcasters could air announcements promoting program-related materials sold by nonprofit organizations, For A. (Footnote 1). Disclosure of Political Matters of National Importance: Let’s look first at the decision requiring the disclosure of all of the issues raised by a third-party ad, and what that may mean for a broadcaster. In this regard, we Under the Act, candidates and political committees must put disclosures on campaign advertisements that identify the committee that paid for or authorized the communication. It was our view that "enhanced underwriting" would offer significant potential benefits to public broadcasting in terms of attracting additional business support To make the determination whether a public file disclosure was required, the station would have to look at the issues and determine if the issues that it mentions – specific gun laws about the distance needed between a gun range and schools and houses, and support by the NRA – are issues of state or federal law. An example of such an announcement is: B. Even if the ad is about a Federal candidate, the disclosure placed into the public file needs to disclose not just the candidate being supported or opposed, but also any issues addressed in the ad. that reason, we expressly stated that we expect public broadcast licensees to review their donor or underwriter acknowledgements and make reasonable good faith As a consequence, we have reviewed the existing policies, focusing on ... : (1) the broadcast of announcements Electronic media advertisements that are not "online platform disclosed advertisements" shall follow disclosure requirements for electronic media advertisements as described in the charts on this page. Id. ", receives no consideration for the announcement; and, the materials are offered on the basis of public interest considerations and not the private economic interests of the offeror; or. "There are rules in place through the FCC — the Federal Communications Commission — that regulate broadcasters in significant ways, cable to a lesser extent, and don’t apply at all to internet/online providers," said David Oxenford, a partner at the D.C.-based law firm Wilkinson, Barker, and Knauer who specializes in broadcast media. Stricter ad disclosure rules apply to ballot measure and independent expenditure advertisements because it is less clear to the public who is responsible for these ads. Information on what a conflict of interest code is, how to update them, and who is required to be listed. View the full version of the Political Reform Act. Second, the decisions require that the broadcaster, in disclosing the governing board of an organization sponsoring an ad, cannot accept a single name as making up that board without making an additional inquiry of the organization asking if there are in fact more officers or directors than the single person. To trigger the public file obligation, the ad must mention an issue in some political way. As one of the decisions makes clear, make sure that the disclosure is of the legal name of the sponsoring organization, not just a set of initials that those in the political world might know, but which may be unfamiliar to the public. The FCC’s new requirement is that the station needs to ask more questions as to whether there are more officers or directors of an organization, when the station receives only one name listed in response to the question on the NAB Form PB-18 or similar documents used by the station asking for the officers or directors of the sponsoring organization. Nature of Educational Broadcasting Stations, Amendment of Those Provisions of Part 73 of the Commission's exchange for any remuneration, and which is intended -- His regulatory expertise includes all areas of broadcast law including the FCC’s multiple ownership limitations, the political broadcasting rules, EEO policy, advertising issues, and other programming matters and FCC technical rules. The FCC goes into great detail in justifying that interpretation – and then says that even if an issue is not currently pending before Congress, it might still be a “political matter of national importance” that triggers the reporting obligations – as the three categories set out in the statute are illustrative, not definitive. to our attention that such offerings have been used by noncommercial educational licensees to raise funds for program acquisition purposes, a novel fund raising Section 399B of the Communication's Act of 1934, as amended, and Sections Submit a public records request for any publicly available information held by the FPPC. In response to requests Resources for public officials and employees about ethics training, gifts, conflicts of interest and other rules every public servant must follow. We have reviewed the Commission's policies regarding the offering of program-related materials. station. Search through cases that have been closed by the FPPC. Learn about the FPPC's responsibilities and functions. While third-party ads supporting or attacking a state or local candidate do not normally trigger the obligations to disclose all of the price and schedule information, the rulings from last week indicate that there is the real possibility that ads about state and even local candidates could also discuss Federal issues – and would thus trigger obligations to include all the price and schedule information in the file at the same time as it requires the disclosure of the issues discussed. First, the decisions require that broadcasters who accept ads on Federal issues of national importance must list in their public file disclosures about the ads all the Federal issues described by the ad – even if there are multiple issues which the ad discusses. We have looked carefully at this area because it has come violation of our rules and the statute (footnote omitted). We also believe that the inclusion of a telephone number in an A perhaps unintended result may also be that there will be more disclosure in the public file of the cost of non-candidate political ads supporting or attacking state and local candidates when those ads mention Federal issues – as more and more ads dealing with state elections now do. C.  Announcements containing an inducement to buy, sell, rent, or lease are not permissible. Who knows? descriptions of a product line or service, and (4) brand and trade names and product or service listings. Action by the Commission April 10, 1986 (corrected April 24, 1986). David is a partner at the law firm of Wilkinson Barker Knauer LLP, practicing out of its Washington, DC office. But, under last week’s ruling, if it mentions a Federal issue, public file details about price and schedule would be required. For instance, an ad attacking a candidate for governor who currently serves in Congress because he did not support the President’s pending judicial nominations, or an attack on a candidate because he favors the elimination of a woman’s right to choose, may well be seen as discussions of Federal issues that need to be disclosed, and trigger all of the obligations to disclose price information and scheduling that do not normally attach to third-party ads on state issues. If a third-party ad supports or attacks a candidate and mentions Federal issues, those issues need to be listed in the political file in addition to listing the candidate who is being supported or attacked. Recent cases before the Commission indicate that some noncommercial broadcasters have aired outright commercial messages on behalf of profit making entities in Similarly, company slogans which contain general product-line descriptions are acceptable if not designed (3) to support or oppose any candidate for public office.Return to Main Document. As discussed below in connection with the second aspect of last week’s decisions, there is also a separate requirement for all issue ads (state and Federal) that you provide information in the public file about the sponsoring organization, including the names of its chief executive officers, members of its executive committee, or members of its board of directors.