LAST WORD
The Cycle Begins
Do you know if your stations’ FCC inspection files are complete? Heed the requirements or pay the consequences later on. BY NANCY A. ORY
T
he Federal Communications Com- in mid-March. At that mission broadcast license renewal time, the commission staff cycle has just started to kick in. asked stations to acknowlApplications for radio stations in edge receipt of the Washington, D.C., Maryland, Virginia correspondence and and West Virginia were due on June 3. The submit informaradio renewal cycle will roll out every other tion about when the month over the next three years, and the licensee planned to television renewal cycle will do the same upload all required starting in June 2020. information. Now is the time to ensure that your There are over 20 different types of instation’s online public inspection file is in formation that are required to appear in the order. The license-renewal application re- online public inspection file. They include quires licensees to certify that all documen- station technical applications, ownership tation required by the FCC reports, equal employment rules has been placed in the Failure to comply opportunity (EEO) reports station’s public inspection with the public and audits, children’s telefile at the appropriate time. vision reports, quarterly inspection file Stations that have not Issues/Programs lists, time properly maintained their requirements will brokerage, shared service files have to disclose on the likely result in and joint sales agreements, renewal application that monetary fines and must-carry and retransitems are missing and/or mission consent elections delay the grant of have been filed after their and political advertising due date. Stations with sig- a license renewal information. nificant file omissions are application. Certain documents are advised to attempt to reautomatically linked to the construct missing information and outline online public inspection file from other steps taken to prevent such problems in the FCC databases (such as biennial ownership future. reports and children’s television reports). Because public inspection files are now However, the station licensee still has an maintained on the FCC’s website, the com- obligation to file the documents in a timely mission’s staff can easily scrutinize the con- manner. More information is available at tent of a station’s file and verify the timing publicfiles.fcc.gov under the “About PIF” of information uploads. Accordingly, it is dropdown menu. essential that the online file be complete The FCC rules require stations to preand that uploads are done on a timely ba- pare a list of programs that have provided sis. What’s more, any deviation from these the station’s most significant treatment of requirements should be accurately disclosed community issues during the preceding in the license renewal application. three-month period, known as “Issues/ProStations should be aware that the FCC grams lists.” The list must include a narrative staff has already been reviewing online describing what issues were given significant public inspection files. Last December it treatment and the programming that prosent warnings to some licensees informing vided this treatment, including the time, them that they have either failed to set up date, duration and title of each program. an online file or that certain material was Failure to prepare the Issues/Programs missing. lists or the failure to include the requisite Follow-up warnings were sent to licensees information in the list is likely to be the
30 The Financial Manager • July/August 2019
biggest pitfall stations encounter with regard to the public inspection file. The FCC views these lists as important because they provide evidence of how a station has served the public in its local listening area. It’s not enough for the Issues/Programs lists to merely report the public service announcements aired by a station or the community events attended by station personnel. Instead, the station should thoughtfully create a list of issues of concern to the local community and then air programming that specifically addresses the list of issues. Lists must be uploaded to the public inspection file by the 10th day of April, July, October and January. The second pitfall stations encounter with regard to the public inspection file is failure to prepare and upload an annual EEO Public File Report, which is required of all station employment units with five or more full-time employees. EEO Public File Reports provide detailed information regarding a station’s hiring and employment practices and supplemental recruitment initiatives during the past year. The public file should include an EEO report for each year of the license term. Be aware that failure to comply with the online public inspection requirements will likely result in monetary fines and could delay the grant of your station’s license renewal application. To avoid such consequences, stations should take the time now to carefully review their online public inspection files and remedy any omissions or incomplete information. Nancy A. Ory is an attorney with Lerman Senter PLLC. She can be reached at (202) 416-6791 or nory@lermansenter.com.
