A. Community Outreach. Stations should be required to develop a method for determining or “ascertaining” a community’s needs and interests. This process of reaching out and involving the community should serve as the station’s road map for addressing those needs through news, public affairs programming, and public service announcements. Further public input should be invited on a regular basis through regular postal and electronic mail services. The call for requests for public input should be closed captioned. On a quarterly basis, the stations should report to the Federal Communications Commission and the public on how ascertained needs determined management decisions on developing public interest programming.
B. Accountability. Whether or not there are required minimums, stations should report quarterly to the FCC and the public on their public interest efforts. This report would include quantitative and qualitative information about PSAs, public affairs programming, news programs, children’s programs, ascertainment, etc. These quarterly reports should be broadcast by the station and also provided through an on-line internet service. In addition, we believe the NAB Public Interest Report provided valuable information to this Committee and others and we would encourage the NAB to offer this report on an annual basis. Standardized Quarterly Reports from the stations would aid the NAB in this effort. (Another subcommittee has been assigned the task of preparing a proposed quarterly checklist for stations to place in their public files.)
The station’s public file documents would be made available by mail or posted through an on- line service to the community. “Electronic filing” opportunities for stations should be explored by the FCC.
C. Public Service Announcements. A minimum number of public service announcements should be required with an emphasis placed on locally-produced PSAs addressing the community’s local needs. A certain percentage of those PSAs should be mandated to run in prime time and other day parts. (See Attachment for a suggested range of required numbers for PSAs and for a suggested phase-in period.)
D. Public Affairs Programming. Each broadcast station also should be required to devote a minimum amount of time to public affairs programming, again with an emphasis on local issues and needs. Highly visible time periods should also be spelled out for these important programs. Segments within a regularly scheduled newscast should not be counted toward the minimum time requirements for public affairs programming. (See Attachment for suggested minimum requirements and a suggested phase-in period.)
E. Free Political Programming. Programming time should be set aside for key political races. One of two methods could be selected for this requirement:
(2) Broadcasters would offer at least four hours of free political program time in the 60 days preceding primaries or general elections. One-half of this programming should be broadcast between 6 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. (For example, stations could program one-half hour per week for eight weeks prior to the election.) Station management could make the decision on how to block the time.
In either selection made above, news interviews of candidates would not count toward the total requirements of time.
Large political races often pose problems for broadcasters because of the sheer number of offices and candidates available. Local broadcasters should be encouraged to work together to provide outlets for as many candidates as possible. As an example, stations could work together to divide the offices and candidates among themselves.
F. Closed Captioning. A broadcast station should be required to provide closed captioning of all PSAs, public affairs programming, and political programming. A station should provide one fourth of such captioning by the close of the first year of its digital transmission, and increase the amount of such captioning by one fourth over each subsequent year. Because most stations will begin digital transmissions after 2002, this schedule will be consistent with the captioning schedule imposed by recent FCC rules that require most new programming to be captioned by 2006.
G. Lowest Unit Charge. The current “lowest unit charge” system used by stations for political advertising is very complex and difficult for stations and candidates to administer. Further, because of a change in industry sales policies to more of an “auction” selling system, the current “lowest unit charge” plan is confusing. For purposes of simplification and to provide a preferred rate to candidates, the current “lowest unit charge” used by stations shall be replaced by a “bonus rate” plan whereby one bonus political spot would be provided for every three spots paid for by the candidate. These “bonus rates” would apply only in commercials where the candidate appears and voices 75 percent of the total commercial spot.
H. Issue Advertising. Recent years have seen a sharp expansion of television advertising close to elections that qualifies as “issue advocacy,” falling outside the legal definition of political advertising but is obviously purchased by groups with names like “Citizens for Good Government,” that disguise from viewers the sponsor or founder of the message. To preserve the principle of disclosure to the public, stations should require purchasers of issue advertising, who use the name or likeness of a candidate for office within the viewing area of the station, to provide full information about the sponsor and officers of organizations funding the advertising within sixty days of an election, which the station should in turn make public before the election.
I. Multi-casting. Digital television offers opportunities for broadcasters to carry programming on multiple channels. And while the committee has discussed many alternatives for providing public interest requirements for these additional channel opportunities, it is the subcommittee’s recommendation that a station’s primary channel must meet all the public interest minimum requirements outlined in this document. The larger committee should have some latitude in developing requirements for these additional channels but in no case should a broadcaster be allowed an opportunity to pay a fee rather than meet these requirements on any channel unless that channel is a designated “ancillary” channel under FCC rules and a government imposed fee is charged.
J. Diversity in Employment. The committee recognizes that Equal Opportunity Rules implemented by the FCC resulted in significant improvements in diversity of employment in the broadcast industry. Realizing the courts have, at this time, invalidated those rules, the committee encourages the FCC to look for other opportunities to establish employment standards that meet the legal criteria and ensure non-discrimination in employment practices. If this is not possible, individual broadcasters should be encouraged to develop non-discriminatory policies for employment under a voluntary code.
[Note to reader: The report of the Working Group also included sections on the importance of must-carry and an industry-adopted voluntary code of conduct.]