FCC Issues Reminder to Broadcasters of Public Interest Obligations

The current Republican majority at the FCC has been hyper-focused on broadcaster “public interest” requirements over the past year, casting many issues, including news distortion, live sports, political candidate access to stations, underwriting, EEO compliance and even payola, through a “public interest” lens.

On the heels of ordering early license renewals as detailed in our article above, the FCC published a 6-page “reminder” to broadcasters that they are statutorily required to serve their local communities in the “public interest” because unlike other media, they use public spectrum that comes with a public interest mandate.

In our view, every broadcaster should read the reminder, which provides the legal basis for the FCC’s application of the public interest standard through its adopted rules and application processes. Among other things, it pointedly cites to the Communications Act to note its requirement that renewal applications shall be granted only “if, among other requirements, the FCC finds that during the prior license term “the station has served the public interest, convenience, and necessity.”

The reminder also cites to the Communications Act language for transfer and assignment applications that “no station license shall be transferred or assigned except upon application and a finding by the Commission “that the public interest, convenience, and necessity will be served thereby.”

These types of “reminders” are not unusual per se, as the FCC routinely issues broad reminders to broadcast licensees of various obligations.  But the timing of this reminder in the wake of the early license renewal orders appears to be somewhat of a “response” – even if ultimately an educational one — to recent criticisms from Congress and broadcast associations about the early renewal orders.  Reasons aside, with regularly scheduled license renewal filings beginning next year for radio, now is a good time to review the ways that the FCC verifies whether stations have operated in the public interest, and be sure your station is compliant.