public interest obligations

FCC Proposes Moving TV Station Public Inspection Files Online

Lindsy Embree — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 10:54:02 -0400

Full article: Broadcasting & Cable
John Eggerton
The FCC voted to scrap its 2007 Enhanced Disclosure decision to require broadcasters to file more detailed programming reports and put them online for easier public inspection, but only so the current commission can start over and figure out the best way to achieve that goal. The commission voted unanimously, though with reservations and a concurrence from Commissioner Robert McDowell, to propose putting TV station public files online in a central database administered by the Commission.

What's Your Local TV Station Hiding?

Lindsy Embree — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 10:39:01 -0400

Full article: SavetheNews.org
Libby Reinish
If you want to know exactly what your local broadcasters are doing to meet those public-interest obligations, the best place to look is their public files. Unfortunately, public files are currently difficult to access, requiring curious residents to drive down to the station during business hours. In large media markets, a trip to view the public file could mean traveling over 100 miles. In the coming month, the FCC will hear from broadcasters who want to limit their reporting requirements. It's critical that the agency also hear from viewers who want to know how their local stations are serving their communities.

Broadcasters Cash in with Political Ads

Stevie Converse — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 10:33:19 -0400

Full article: SavetheNews.org
Megan Tady
Thanks to <em>Citizens United</em> v. <em>FEC</em>, corporations can now spend unlimited amounts of money on political campaigns, and they're paying for TV political ads in record numbers. A new report by Moody's Investors Service predicts political advertising sales will continue to soar — even in the face of a double-dip recession. Are corporations using their record-breaking profits to rehire journalists and produce quality news and entertainment?

A Recovering Journalist Reads the FCC Future of Media Report

Stevie Converse — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 10:37:39 -0400

Full article: SavetheNews.org
Dave Saldana
A recovering journalist reads the FCC's report on "The Information Needs of Communities," which notes the absence of local news on hundreds of local TV stations. He wonders why the FCC isn't taking a firmer hand in holding broadcasters to the public-good obligations of their licenses.

Putting the Public Back into Public Interest Broadcasting

Lindsy Embree — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 08:32:59 -0500

Full article: Huffington Post
Sue Wilson
The public does have power over what is broadcasted, at least in theory. But in fact petitions to deny stations' licenses languish for years, and the FCC has no record of the last time any station's license was pulled.

Copps Rips Broadcasters at FCC Public Interest Workshop

Lindsy Embree — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 09:55:24 -0500

Full article: All Access Music Group
At the FCC's workshop on the public interest standard for broadcasters and the new media, FCC Commissioner Michael Copps ripped broadcasters and regulators for "dropping the ball" on public interest programming.

Broadcasters: We Don't Need Government to Tell Us How to Serve Our Public

Lindsy Embree — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 08:39:24 -0500

Full article: Broadcasting & Cable
John Eggerton
The FCC began its first workshop on the future of media with a series of panelists outlining what they said was essentially a lack of any quantifiable public interest obligations on broadcasters. Broadcasters countered that serving the public with programming they needed and wanted was part of their DNA. So why aren't they fulfilling their public interest obligations?

FCC Future of Media Workshop: Serving the Public Interest in the Digital Era

Stevie Converse — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 14:00:10 -0500

Start: 03/04/2010 - 00:00

Timezone: Etc/GMT-5

As part of its project on the Future of Media and the Information Needs of Communities, the FCC will hold a workshop on March 4, 2010, from 10:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. in the Commission Meeting Room, entitled “Serving the Public Interest in the Digital Era.”

WHYY Pulling Plug on Delaware Newscast, Trimming Staff

Stevie Converse — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 09:35:23 -0400

Full article: The News Journal
Andrew Eder
Despite its Wilmington broadcast license, WHYY's Delaware operation has been dominated by programming targeted to the larger Philadelphia market, raising hackles among some in Delaware. The perception is not likely to improve after WHYY ends its 46-year-old nightly news show "Delaware Tonight" next month and shrinks its news-gathering operation in the state.

Interim FCC Head to Industry: Be Part of the Dialogue

Stevie Converse — Thu, 21 May 2009 08:50:49 -0400

Full article: Dow Jones
Fawn Johnson
The acting chairman of the FCC wants the telecom industry to cooperate with the commission as it embarks on a "period of reform." Among other things, Michael Copps wants the agency to shorten broadcasters' license terms to three years, update TV and radio stations' public interest obligations and add a new nondiscrimination principal to the FCC's current Internet guidelines.