**THE PUBLIC AND BROADCASTING**

**June 1999**

**Prepared by: Mass Media Bureau**

**Federal Communications Commission**

**Washington, DC**

**TABLE OF CONTENTS**

**INTRODUCTION 1**

**THE FCC AND ITS REGULATORY AUTHORITY 1**

**The Communications Act 1**

**How the FCC Adopts Regulations 1**

**The FCC and the Mass Media Bureau 2**

**FCC Regulation of Broadcast Radio and Television 2**

**THE LICENSING OF TV AND RADIO STATIONS 2**

**Commercial and Noncommercial-Educational Stations 2**

**Applications to Build New Stations; Length of the License Period 3**

**Employment Discrimination and Equal Employment Opportunity 3**

**Public Participation in the Licensing Process 3**

**Renewal Applications 3**

**Other Types of Applications 3**

**BROADCAST PROGRAMMING: BASIC LAW AND POLICY 4**

**The FCC and Freedom of Speech 4**

**Access to Station Facilities 4**

**Retention of Material Broadcast 4**

**Personal Attacks 4**

**Political Editorials 5**

**Station Identification 5**

**BROADCAST PROGRAMMING: LAW AND POLICY**

**ON SPECIFIC KINDS OF PROGRAMMING 5**

**Broadcast Journalism 5**

**Political Broadcasting 5**

**Broadcasts by Candidates for Public Office 5**

**Political Editorials 6**

**Children\'s Television Programming 6**

**Criticism, Ridicule, and Humor Concerning**

**Individuals, Groups, and Institutions 6**

**\"Clear and Present Danger\" 6**

**Obscenity and Indecency 7**

**Station‑Conducted Contests 7**

**Broadcast Hoaxes 7**

**Lotteries 8**

**Soliciting Funds 8**

**Broadcasting Telephone Conversations 8**

**BROADCASTING AND ADVERTISING 8**

**Business Practices, Advertising Rates, and Profits 8**

**Sponsorship Identification 8**

**Underwriting Announcements on**

**Noncommercial-Educational Stations 9**

**Amount of Advertising 9**

**Loud Commercials 8**

**False or Misleading Advertising 9**

**Offensive Advertising 9**

**Tobacco and Alcohol 9**

**Subliminal Programming 10**

**INTERFERENCE 10**

**Blanketing Interference 10**

**Other Signal Interference 10**

**How to Resolve Interference Problems 10**

**COMMENTS OR COMPLAINTS ABOUT A STATION 11**

**Comments to Stations and Networks 11**

**Comments to the FCC 11**

**Some Activities That Are Not Regulated by the FCC 12**

**THE LOCAL PUBLIC INSPECTION FILE 12**

**Requirement to Maintain a Public Inspection File 12**

**Purpose of the File 12**

**Viewing the Public Inspection File 13**

**Contents of the File 13**

**The License 13**

**Applications and Related Materials 14**

**Citizen Agreements 14**

**Contour Maps 14**

**Material Relating to an FCC Investigation or a Complaint 14**

**Ownership Reports and Related Material 14**

**List of Contracts Required to be Filed with the FCC 15**

**Political File 15**

**Annual Employment Reports and Related Material 15**

**Copies of this Manual 15**

**Letters and E-Mail from the Public 16**

**Issues/Programs List 16**

**Children\'s Television Programming Reports 16**

**Records Regarding Children\'s Programming Commercial Limits 16**

**Radio Time Brokerage Agreements 16**

**List of Donors 16**

**Local Public Notice Announcements 16**

**Must-Carry or Retransmission Consent Election 17**

**INTRODUCTION**

This manual provides a brief overview of the regulation of broadcast
radio and television. It describes the Federal Communications Commission
(FCC), the federal agency authorized by Congress to regulate
broadcasting. It also discusses how broadcast stations are licensed,
their obligation to serve their local communities, and other
requirements relating to broadcast programming and advertising. This
manual also describes the public inspection file, which contains
documents relevant to the station\'s operation. This file is maintained
and made available to the public by all radio and TV stations.

This manual\'s purpose is to provide information to help you encourage
stations to provide high quality broadcasting service. We want you to
become involved by contacting your local stations and (if necessary) us
regarding your concerns about their programming or other matters related
to the stations. An informed public plays a vital role in helping
stations serve the local community\'s needs. This manual will be updated
periodically and maintained on our Internet home page at www.fcc.gov.

Our Internet home page also has a variety of other information about us,
our rules, current FCC proceedings, and other issues. You may also call
our toll-free number with specific questions at 1-888-CALL FCC
(1-888-225-5322).

This manual provides only a general overview of our broadcast rules and
policies. It is not intended to be a comprehensive or controlling
statement of these rules and policies.

**THE FCC AND ITS REGULATORY AUTHORITY**

**The Communications Act.** The FCC was created by Congress in the
Communications Act of 1934 for the purpose, in part, of \"regulating
interstate and foreign commerce in communication by wire and radio so as
to make available, so far as possible, to all the people of the United
States a rapid, efficient, Nation‑wide, and world‑wide wire and radio
communications service\....\" (The word \"radio\" in its all‑inclusive
sense also applies to television.) The Communications Act authorizes the
FCC to \"make such regulations not inconsistent with law as it may deem
necessary to prevent interference between stations and to carry out the
provisions of \[the\] Act.\"

**How the FCC Adopts Regulations.** Like most other federal agencies,
the FCC cannot adopt regulations without first notifying and seeking
comment from the public. We release a document called a *Notice of
Proposed Rule Making*, where we explain the specific regulations we are
proposing and set a deadline for public comment. After we have had a
chance to hear from the public, we generally have several options. We
can: (1) adopt the proposed rules; (2) adopt a modified version of the
proposed rules; (3) ask for public comment on additional issues relating
to the proposals; or (4) end the rule making proceeding without adopting
any rules at all. You can find information about how to file comments in
our rule making proceedings on our Internet web site at www.fcc.gov. You
can also file comments electronically from this site. We also establish
broadcast regulatory policies through individual cases that we decide.

**The FCC and the Mass Media Bureau.** The FCC has five commissioners,
who are appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate. Under
the commissioners are various operating bureaus, one of which is the
Mass Media Bureau. The Mass Media Bureau has day‑to‑day responsibility
for developing, recommending and administering the rules governing radio
and television stations. These rules are in Title 47 of the Code of
Federal Regulations (\"CFR\"), Parts 73 and 74. Our rules of practice
and procedure are in Part 1 of Title 47.

**FCC Regulation of Broadcast Radio and Television.** The FCC allocates
new stations based both on the relative needs of communities for
additional broadcast outlets and on engineering standards that prevent
interference between stations. Whenever we look at an
application\--whether to build, modify, renew or sell a station\-- we
must determine if granting it would serve the public interest. This is
required by the Communications Act. We expect stations to be aware of
the important problems or issues in their communities and to foster
public understanding by presenting some programs and/or announcements
about local issues. However, broadcasters ‑‑ not the FCC or any other
government agency ‑‑ are responsible for selecting all the material they
air. The Communications Act prohibits us from censoring broadcast matter
and, therefore, our role in overseeing the content of programming is
very limited. We are authorized to fine a station or revoke its license
if it has, among other things, aired obscene language, broadcast
indecent language when children are likely to be in the audience,
broadcast some types of lottery information, or solicited money under
false pretenses.

Broadcast television stations and other types of TV channels (such as
cable TV) are very different. Cable TV channels are available only by
subscription and cannot be received over the air, and they are subject
to different FCC rules than broadcast stations. Generally, this manual
relates only to broadcast TV and radio stations. [Please keep in mind
that even if you can get a broadcast TV station on your cable system, it
is still regulated as a broadcast station]{.underline}.

**THE LICENSING OF TV AND RADIO STATIONS**

**Commercial and Noncommercial-Educational Stations.** We license radio
and TV stations to be either commercial or noncommercial-educational.
Commercial stations generally support themselves by advertising. In
contrast, noncommercial-educational stations (including public stations)
generally support themselves by contributions from listeners and
viewers, and they may also receive government funding.
Noncommercial-educational stations may also receive contributions from
for‑profit entities, and they may acknowledge such contributions or
underwriting donations with announcements naming and generally
describing the entity. However, noncommercial-educational stations may
not broadcast promotional announcements or commercials on behalf of
for‑profit entities.

**Applications to Build New Stations; Length of the License Period.**
Before you can build a new TV or radio station, you must first apply to
the FCC for a *construction permit*. You must demonstrate that you are
qualified to construct and operate as proposed in your application.
After you build the station, you must file a license application, where
you certify that you have constructed the station consistently with the
construction permit.

We license radio and TV stations for a period of up to eight years.
Before we can renew a station\'s license, we must first determine
whether it has served the public interest. In addition, to have its
license renewed, a station must certify that:

• it has sent us certain specified reports that we require;

• its ownership is consistent with Section 310(b) of the Communications
Act, which restricts interests held by foreign governments and
non-citizens;

• there has not been a judgment against it by a court or administrative
body under federal, state, or local law; and

• it has placed certain specified material in its public inspection
file. (We discuss what has to go into the public inspection file later
in this manual).

**Employment Discrimination and Equal Employment Opportunity
(\"EEO\").** We require all radio and TV stations to afford equal
opportunity in employment. We also prohibit employment discrimination on
the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, or sex. We are in
the process of studying various options to implement these policies in
the form of specific rules that will comply with recent court decisions.

**Public Participation in Licensing Process.**

**Renewal Applications.** You can file a formal protest against a
station by filing a formal petition to deny its renewal application, or
by sending us an informal objection to the application. You must file a
petition to deny the application by the end of the first day of the last
full calendar month of the expiring license term. (For example, if the
license expires on December 31, you have to file your petition by the
end of the day on December 1). Before you file a petition to deny an
application, you should check our rules and policies, to make sure that
the petition complies with our procedural requirements. Before their
licenses expire, stations have to broadcast announcements giving the
date the license will expire, the date on which a renewal application
must be filed, and the date by which formal petitions against it must be
filed. You can file an informal objection at any point until we either
grant or deny the application.

**Other Types of Applications.** You can also participate formally in
the application process when a station is sold (technically called an
*assignment* of the license), undergoes a major stock transfer
(technically called a *transfer of control*), or proposes major
construction. The station owner is required to run a series of
advertisements in the closest local newspaper when it files these types
of applications. Later, the FCC will also run a \"Public Notice\" (all
FCC Public Notices are placed on our Internet home page at www.fcc.gov)
and open a 30 day period during which you may file petitions to deny
these applications. As with renewal applications, you can also file an
informal objection at any point until we either grant or deny the
application.

**BROADCAST PROGRAMMING: BASIC LAW AND POLICY**

**The FCC and Freedom of Speech.** The First Amendment and federal law
generally prohibit us from censoring broadcast material and from
interfering with freedom of expression in broadcasting.

Individual radio and TV stations are responsible for selecting
everything they broadcast and for determining how they can best serve
their communities. Stations are responsible for choosing their
entertainment programming, as well as their programs concerning local
issues, news, public affairs, religion, sports events, and other
subjects. They also decide how their programs (including call‑in shows)
will be conducted and whether to edit or reschedule material for
broadcasting. We do not substitute our judgment for that of the station,
and we do not advise stations on artistic standards, format, grammar, or
the quality of their programming. This also applies to a station\'s
commercials, with the exception of commercials for political candidates
during an election (which we discuss later in this manual).

**Access to Station Facilities.** Stations are not required to broadcast
everything

that is offered or suggested to them. Except as required by the
Communications Act and our rules concerning personal attacks, political
editorials, and the use of stations by candidates for public office
(which are discussed later in this manual), stations have no obligation
to have any particular person participate in a broadcast or to present
that person\'s remarks. Further, no federal law or rule requires
stations to broadcast \"public service announcements\" of any kind.

**Retention of Material Broadcast.** We generally do not require
stations to keep the material they broadcast. However, there are limited
exceptions to this policy for *personal attacks* and *political
editorials*.

**Personal Attacks.** Personal attacks occur when, during the
presentation of views on a controversial issue of public importance,
someone attacks the honesty, character, integrity, or like personal
qualities of an identified person or group. No more than a week after a
personal attack, the station must transmit the following three things to
the person or group attacked: (1) notification of the date, time, and
identification of the broadcast; (2) a tape, script or accurate summary
of the attack; and (3) an offer of a reasonable opportunity to respond
on the air.

**Political Editorials.** A political editorial is when a station
endorses or opposes a legally qualified candidate(s) during a broadcast
of *its own* opinion. (The opinions of other people broadcast over the
station are referred to as \"comments\" or \"commentary\"). Whether a
statement of opinion is an editorial or a commentary will usually be
made clear at the beginning of the statement. Within 24 hours after the
editorial, the station must transmit the following three things to the
other qualified candidate(s) for the same office, or to the candidate(s)
that were opposed: (1) notification of the date and time of the
editorial; (2) a script or tape of the editorial; and (3) an offer of a
reasonable opportunity for the candidate or a spokesperson for the
candidate to respond on the air.

**Station Identification.** Stations must make identification
announcements when they sign on and off for the day. They must also make
the announcements hourly, as close to the hour as possible, at a natural
programming break. TV stations may make these announcements on-screen or
by voice only. Official station identification includes the station\'s
call letters followed by the community or communities specified in its
license as the station\'s location. Between the call letters and its
community, the station may insert the name of the licensee, the
station\'s channel number, and/or its frequency. However, we do not
allow any other insertion.

**BROADCAST PROGRAMMING: LAW AND POLICY**

**ON SPECIFIC KINDS OF PROGRAMMING**

**Broadcast Journalism.** Under the First Amendment and the
Communications Act, the FCC cannot tell stations how to select material
for news programs, and we cannot prohibit the broadcasting of an opinion
on any subject. We also do not review anyone\'s qualifications to
gather, edit, announce, or comment on the news; these decisions are the
station\'s responsibility.

**Political Broadcasting.**

**Broadcasts by Candidates for Public Office.** When a qualified
candidate for public office has been permitted to use a station, the
Communications Act requires the station to \"afford equal opportunities
to all other such candidates for that office.\" The Act also states that
the station \"shall have no power of censorship over the material
broadcast\" by the candidate. We do not consider either of the following
two categories as a \"use\" that is covered by this rule:

• An appearance by a legally qualified candidate on a bona fide
newscast, interview or documentary (if the appearance of the candidate
is incidental to the presentation of the subject covered by the
documentary); or

• on‑the‑spot coverage of a bona fide news event (including political
conventions and related incidental activities).

**Political Editorials.** Within 24 hours of airing an editorial where
the station itself either supports or opposes a candidate for public
office, it must transmit the following three things to the other
qualified candidate(s) for the same office or to the candidate who was
opposed in the editorial: (1) notification of the date and the time of
the editorial; (2) a script or tape of the editorial; and (3) an offer
of a reasonable opportunity for the candidate or a spokesperson for the
candidate to respond on the air.

**Children\'s Television Programming.** Throughout its license term,
every TV station must serve the educational and informational needs of
children both through its overall programming, and through programming
that is *specifically designed* to serve those needs.

• [Educational and Informational]{.underline}. We consider programming
to be educational and informational if it in any respect furthers the
educational and informational needs of children 16 years old and under
(this includes their intellectual/cognitive or social/emotional needs).

• [Specifically Designed to Serve These Needs]{.underline}. A program is
considered \"specifically designed to serve educational and information
needs of children\" if: (1) that is its significant purpose; (2) it is
aired between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m.; (3) it is a
regularly scheduled weekly program; and (4) it is at least 30 minutes in
length.

Commercial TV stations must identify programs specifically designed to
educate and inform children at the beginning of the program, in a form
left to their discretion, and must provide information identifying such
programs to publishers of program guides. Additionally, in TV programs
aimed at children 12 and under, advertising may not exceed 10.5 minutes
an hour on weekends and 12 minutes an hour on weekdays.

**Criticism, Ridicule, and Humor Concerning Individuals, Groups, and
Institutions.** The First Amendment\'s guarantee of freedom of speech
protects programming that stereotypes or otherwise offends people with
regard to their religion, race, national background, gender, or other
characteristics. It also protects broadcasts that criticize or ridicule
established customs and institutions, including the government and its
officials. If there is to be genuine free speech, people must be free to
say things that the majority may abhor, not only things that the
majority finds tolerable or congenial.

**\"Clear and Present Danger.\"** The Constitution protects advocacy of
using force or of violating the law. However, the Supreme Court has said
that the government may curtail speech if it is both: (1) intended to
incite or produce dangerous activity; and (2) likely to succeed in
achieving that result. Even where this \"clear and present danger\" test
is met, we believe that any review that might lead to a curtailment of
speech should be performed by the appropriate criminal law enforcement
authorities, and not by the FCC.

**Obscenity and Indecency.** Federal law prohibits the broadcasting of
obscene programming and regulates the broadcasting of \"indecent\"
language.

[Obscene speech]{.underline} is not protected by the First Amendment and
cannot be broadcast at any time. To be obscene, material must have all
three of the following characteristics:

• an average person, applying contemporary community standards, must
find that the material, as a whole, appeals to the prurient interest;

• the material must depict or describe, in a patently offensive way,
sexual conduct specifically defined by applicable law; and

• the material, taken as a whole, must lack serious literary, artistic,
political, or scientific value.

[Indecent speech]{.underline} is protected by the First Amendment and
cannot be outlawed. However, the courts have upheld Congress\'s
prohibition of the broadcast of indecent speech during times of the day
when there is a reasonable risk that children may be in the audience.
Broadcasts that fall within the definition of indecency and that are
aired between 6:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. are subject to indecency
enforcement action by the FCC. Indecent speech is defined as \"language
or material that, in context, depicts or describes, in terms patently
offensive as measured by contemporary community standards for the
broadcast medium, sexual or excretory organs or activities.\"

Profanity that does not fall under one of the above two categories is
fully protected by the First Amendment and cannot be regulated.

**Violent Programming \-- The V-Chip and TV Program Ratings**. Some
members of the public have expressed concern about violent television
programming and the impact this programming has on children. In response
to these concerns, Congress passed a law in 1996 to require TV sets with
screens 13 inches or larger to be equipped with \"v-chip technology\"
\-- a device that allows parents to program their TV sets to block
display of TV programming that carries a certain rating. This technology
was developed together with a voluntary television rating system created
by the television industry, which enables parents to identify
programming which contains sexual, violent, or other indecent material
they believe may be harmful to their children. The FCC has established
rules requiring that by July 1, 1999, half of televisions with screens
13 inches and larger have the v-chip, and that by January 1, 2000, all
such televisions have the v-chip.

**Station‑Conducted Contests.** Stations that broadcast or advertise
information about a contest that they conduct must fully and accurately
disclose the material terms of the contest, and they must conduct the
contest substantially as announced or advertised. Contest descriptions
may not be false, misleading, or deceptive with respect to any material
term. Material terms include the factors that define the operation of
the contest and affect participation.

**Broadcast Hoaxes.** Broadcasting false information concerning a crime
or a catastrophe

violates the FCC\'s rules if:

• the station knew the information was false;

• broadcasting the false information directly caused substantial public
harm; and

• it was foreseeable that broadcasting the false information would cause
substantial public harm.

In this context, a \"crime\" is an act or omission that makes the
offender subject to criminal punishment by law, and a \"catastrophe\" is
a disaster or imminent disaster involving violent or sudden events
affecting the public. \"Public harm\" must begin immediately; it must
cause direct and actual damage to property or to the health or safety of
the general public, or diversion of law enforcement or other public
health and safety authorities from their duties.

**Lotteries.** Federal law prohibits broadcasting any advertisement for
a lottery or any information concerning a lottery. A lottery is any
game, contest, or promotion that contains the elements of prize, chance,
and \"consideration\" (a legal term that means an act or promise that is
made to induce someone into an agreement).

There are a number of exceptions to this prohibition. Some of the
exceptions are: (1) lotteries conducted by a state acting under the
authority of state law, where the advertisement or information is
broadcast by a radio or TV station licensed to a location in that state
or in any other state that conducts such a lottery; (2) gaming conducted
by an Indian Tribe under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act; (3) lotteries
authorized or not otherwise prohibited by the state in which they are
conducted, and which are conducted by a not‑for‑profit organization or a
governmental organization; and (4) lotteries conducted as a promotional
activity by commercial organizations that are clearly occasional and
ancillary to the primary business of that organization, as long as the
lotteries are authorized or not otherwise prohibited by the state in
which they are conducted. The prohibition regarding lottery advertising
is currently under review by the Supreme Court.

**Soliciting Funds.** No federal law prohibits broadcast requests for
funds for legal

purposes (including appeals by stations for contributions to meet their
operating

expenses) if the money or other valuable things contributed are used for
the announced purposes. It is up to an individual station to decide
whether to permit fund solicitations. Fraud by wire, radio or television
is prohibited by federal law and may lead to FCC sanctions, as well as
to criminal prosecution by the U.S. Department of Justice.

**Broadcasting Telephone Conversations.** Before recording a telephone
conversation for broadcast, or broadcasting a telephone conversation
live, a station must inform any party to the call of its intention to
broadcast the conversation. However, this does not apply to
conversations whose broadcast can reasonably be presumed (for example,
telephone calls to programs where the station customarily broadcasts the
calls).

**BROADCASTING AND ADVERTISING**

**Business Practices, Advertising Rates, and Profits.** Except with
respect to political advertisements, we do not regulate a station\'s
advertising rates or its profits. Rates charged for broadcast time are
matters for negotiation between sponsors and stations. Further, except
for certain classes of political advertisements (which we discuss
elsewhere in this manual), stations are free to accept or reject any
advertising.

**Sponsorship Identification.** Sponsorship identification or disclosure
must accompany any material that is broadcast in exchange for money,
service, or anything else of value paid to a station, either directly or
indirectly. This announcement must clearly say that the time was
purchased and by whom. In the case of advertisements for commercial
products or services, it is sufficient to announce the sponsor\'s
corporate or trade name, or the name of the sponsor\'s product (where it
is clear that the mention of the product constitutes a sponsorship
identification).

**Underwriting Announcements on Noncommercial-Educational Stations.**
Noncommercial educational stations may acknowledge contributions over
the air, but they may not promote the goods and services of for‑profit
donors or underwriters. Acceptable \"enhanced underwriting\"
acknowledgements of for‑profit donors may include (1) logograms and
slogans that identify but do not promote; (2) location information; (3)
value-neutral descriptions of a product line or service; and (4) brand
names, trade names, and product service listings. However, such
acknowledgements may not interrupt a noncommercial station\'s regular
programming.

**Amount of Advertising.** Except with respect to children\'s television
programming, no law or regulation limits the amount of commercial matter
that a station may broadcast. In TV programs aimed at children 12 and
under, advertising may not exceed 10.5 minutes an hour on weekends and
12 minutes an hour on weekdays.

**Loud Commercials.** In surveys and technical studies of broadcast
advertising, we have found that loudness is a judgment that varies with
each listener and is influenced by many factors (such as an
announcement\'s content and style). We have also found no evidence that
stations deliberately raise audio and modulation levels to emphasize
commercial messages.

Broadcast licensees have primary responsibility for the adoption of
equipment and procedures to avoid objectionably loud commercials. You
should address any complaint about such messages to the station(s)
involved. You should identify each message by the sponsor or product\'s
name and by the date and time of the broadcast.

**False or Misleading Advertising.** The Federal Trade Commission has
primary

responsibility for determining whether an advertisement is false or
deceptive and for taking action against the sponsor. Also, the Food and
Drug Administration has primary responsibility for the safety of food
and drug products. You should contact these agencies regarding
advertisements that you believe may be false or misleading.

**Offensive Advertising.** Unless a broadcast advertisement is found to
be in violation of a

specific law or regulation, the government cannot take action against
it. If you think that an advertisement is offensive because of the kind
of item advertised, the scheduling of the announcement, or the way the
message is presented, then you should address your complaint directly to
the stations and networks involved. This will help them become better
informed about audience opinion.

**Tobacco and Alcohol.** Federal law prohibits advertising for
cigarettes, little cigars, smokeless tobacco, or chewing tobacco on
radio, TV, or any other medium of electronic communication under the
FCC\'s jurisdiction. The law does not ban the advertising of smoking
accessories, cigars, pipes, pipe tobacco, or cigarette‑making machines.

Congress has not enacted any law prohibiting broadcast advertising for
any kind of alcoholic beverage. Also, the FCC does not have a rule or
policy regulating advertisements for alcoholic beverages.

**Subliminal Programming.** We sometimes receive complaints regarding
the alleged use of subliminal techniques in radio and TV programming.
Subliminal programming is designed to be perceived on a subconscious
level only. Regardless of whether it is effective, the use of subliminal
perception is inconsistent with a station\'s obligation to serve the
public interest because the broadcast is intended to be deceptive.

**INTERFERENCE**

**Blanketing Interference.** Some people who are close to a radio
station\'s transmitting antenna may experience impaired reception of
other stations. This is called \"blanketing\" interference. We require
the station causing the interference to resolve most interference
complaints received within the first year of operation at no cost to the
person complaining, provided that the person is located within the
station\'s blanketing contour (115 dBu contour for FM stations, 1 V/m
contour for AM stations). However, stations are not required to resolve
interference complaints based on malfunctioning or mistuned receivers,
improperly installed antenna systems, or the use of high gain antennas
or antenna booster amplifiers. Mobile receivers and non‑radio frequency
(RF) devices such as tape recorders or CD players are also excluded.
Stations are not financially responsible for resolving interference
complaints located outside the blanketing contour. However, we encourage
broadcasters to cooperate with complaining parties by giving them
technical help.

**How to Resolve Interference Problems.** If you believe that you are
receiving blanketing or any other type of interference, we encourage you
to first communicate directly to the station allegedly causing the
interference. If the station does not satisfactorily resolve the
problem, you can mail, fax, or e-mail a complaint to us at the following
address:

For radio stations: Federal Communications Commission

Audio Services Division, Mass Media Bureau

445 12th St., SW

Washington, DC 20554

Fax number: (202) 418-1410

E-mail address: jcrutchf@fcc.gov

For TV stations: Federal Communications Commission

Video Services Division, Mass Media Bureau

445 12th St., SW

Washington, DC 20554

Fax number: (202) 418-2827

E-mail address: dbennett@fcc.gov

Your complaint should include: (1) your name, address and phone number;
(2) the call letters of the station(s) involved; (3) the location(s)
where the interference occurs; and (4) the specific devices receiving
the interference. The more specific your complaint is, the easier it is
to identify and resolve the interference.

**COMMENTS OR COMPLAINTS ABOUT A STATION**

**Comments to Stations and Networks.** We encourage you to write
directly to station management and network officials to comment on
broadcast service. These are the people who are responsible for
selecting the station\'s programs and announcements. Letters to stations
and networks keep them informed about audience needs and interests, as
well as on public opinion on specific material. Individuals and groups
can often resolve problems with stations at the local level.

**Comments to the FCC.** We give full consideration to the comments and
inquiries we receive about broadcasting. As stated above, we encourage
you to first contact the station or network directly about programming
issues. If your concerns are not resolved this way, you can mail, fax,
or e-mail a complaint about a radio or TV station to us at the following
address:

Federal Communications Commission

Enforcement Bureau

Investigations and Hearing Division

445 12th St., SW

Washington, D.C. 20554

Fax number: (202) 418-1124

Telephone number: (202) 418-1420

E-mail address: complaints-enf@fcc.gov

You should generally include the following information in your
complaint: (1) the call letters of the station; (2) the city and state
where the station is located; (3) the name, time, and date of the
specific program or advertisement in question, if applicable; (4) the
name of anyone contacted at the station, if applicable; and (5) a
statement of the problem, as specific as possible, together with an
audio or video tape or transcript of the program or advertisement (if
possible). Please include your name and address if you would like
information on the final disposition of your complaint; however, you may
request confidentiality. We prefer that you submit complaints in
writing, although you may submit complaints that are time-sensitive by
telephone, especially if they involve safety. Please be aware that we
can only act on allegations that a station has violated a provision of
the Communications Act or the FCC\'s rules or policies.

In addition to (or instead of) filing a complaint, you can file a
petition to deny an application that a station has filed, such as a
license renewal application. (This is discussed earlier in the manual).
For further information on filing a petition to deny an application,
please consult our rules or contact an attorney. You may read our rules
online on our home page at www.fcc.gov.

**Some Activities That Are Not Regulated by the FCC.** We license
individual stations only. We do not license TV or radio networks (such
as CBS, NBC, ABC, Fox, etc.), except as owners of particular stations.

We do not regulate information provided over the Internet.

We cannot regulate closed‑circuit radio or television. Therefore, we do
not control what is carried over closed‑circuit systems in, for example,
department stores. We have no authority over sports teams or leagues, or
over the promoters of prizefights, rodeos, bullfights and other
exhibitions. Arrangements for broadcasting sports events and other
exhibitions are made in private contracts between owners of the rights
(such as sports teams or leagues) and the stations and/or networks
involved.

We cannot regulate the production, distribution and rating of motion
pictures; the publishing of newspapers, books, or other printed
material; or the manufacture and distribution of audio and video
recordings. We do not administer copyright laws. Other related groups
and activities that we do not regulate are newsgathering organizations
(including press associations) that provide stations with news and
comment; music‑licensing organizations such as ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC;
record companies; and companies that measure the size and other
characteristics of radio and TV audiences.

We do not intervene in private disputes involving stations. Instead, we
let the parties, courts, or other agencies resolve them. For example, we
do not intervene in conflicts involving the nondelivery of merchandise
ordered through stations, or a station\'s failure to meet its payrolls
or satisfy other debt claims.

**THE LOCAL PUBLIC INSPECTION FILE**

**Requirement to Maintain a Public Inspection File.** Our rules require
all TV and radio stations and applicants for new stations to maintain a
file available for public inspection containing documents relevant to
the station\'s operation. The public inspection file generally must be
maintained at the station\'s main studio. To obtain the address and
phone number of a station\'s main studio, consult your local telephone
directory or call information.

**Purpose of the File.** As discussed above, stations have an obligation
to serve their local community\'s needs and interests and to comply with
certain programming and other rules. Because we do not monitor a
station\'s programming, viewers and listeners are a vital source of
information about the programming and possible rule violations. The
documents in each station\'s public inspection file have information
about the station that can assist the public in this important role.

As discussed above, all stations have an obligation to cover important
issues facing their communities, to comply with requirements governing
use of their facilities by candidates for public office, and to refrain
from airing indecent programming during times children are likely to be
in the audience. In addition, TV stations must air educational
programming for children and limit the amount of advertising in
children\'s programs. We encourage a continuing dialogue between
broadcasters and members of the public to ensure that stations meet
their obligations and remain responsive to the needs of the local
community.

**Viewing the Public Inspection File.** The station must make its public
inspection file available at its main studio at any time during regular
business hours. Although you do not need to make an appointment to view
the file, making one may be helpful both to the station and to you.

A station that chooses to maintain all or part of its public file in a
computer database must provide you a computer terminal if you wish to
review the file. If they want, they may also post their public file on
the station\'s World Wide Web site on the Internet. If you want to view
a station\'s public file over the Internet, you should ask the station
if this is possible.

You may request copies of materials in the file by visiting the station
in person. In addition, if the station\'s public file is located outside
of its community of license (and you live within the station\'s service
area *and* your request does not involve the station\'s political file),
you may also request copies of materials in the file over the telephone.
To facilitate telephone requests, we require stations to provide you a
copy of this manual free of charge if you want one. The manual can help
you identify documents you may ask to have mailed to you. Stations can
assist callers in this process and answer questions about the actual
contents of the public file. This information includes, for example, the
number of pages and time periods covered by a particular ownership or
children\'s television programming report, or the types of applications
actually maintained in the station\'s public file and the dates they
were filed with the FCC. We also encourage (but do not require) stations
to place the descriptions of their public files on any Internet home
page that they maintain. You pay for any photocopies, and the station
may require a guarantee of payment in advance (such as with a deposit or
a credit card). The station must pay postage for copies requested by
telephone.

**Contents of the File.** Stations must keep the following materials in
their public inspection file:

**The License.** Stations must keep a copy of their current FCC license
in the public file, together with any material documenting FCC-approved
modifications to the license. The license reflects the station\'s
technical parameters (authorized frequency, call letters, operating
power, transmitter location, etc.), as well as any special conditions
imposed by the FCC on the station\'s operation. The license also
indicates when it was issued and when it will expire.

**Applications and Related Materials.** The public file must contain
copies of all applications filed with the FCC that are still pending
before either the FCC or the courts. These include applications to sell
the station (technically known as \"assigning\" or \"transferring\" the
license) or to modify its facilities (for example, to increase power,
change the antenna system, or change the transmitter location).

Also, the station must keep copies of any construction or sales
application whose grant required us to waive our rules. Applications
that required a waiver, together with any related material, will reflect
the particular rule(s) that we waived.

The station must also keep renewal applications that we granted for less
than a full license term until final grant of their next renewal
application. We may grant such short-term renewals when we are concerned
about the station\'s performance over the previous term. These concerns
will be reflected in the renewal-related material in the public file.

**Citizen Agreements.** Stations must keep a copy of any written
agreements they make with local viewers or listeners. These \"citizen
agreements\" deal with programming, employment, or other issues of
community concern. The station must keep these agreements in the public
file for as long as they are in effect.

**Contour Maps.** The public file must contain copies of any service
contour maps or other information submitted with any application filed
with the FCC that reflects the station\'s service contours and/or its
main studio and transmitter location. These documents must stay in the
file for as long as they remain accurate. Not all stations are required
to have contour maps.

**Material Relating to an FCC Investigation or a Complaint.** Stations
must keep material relating to any matter that is the subject of an FCC
investigation or a complaint that the station has violated the
Communications Act or our rules. The station must keep this material
until we notify it that the material may be discarded. Since we are not
involved in disputes regarding matters unrelated to the Communications
Act or our rules, stations do not have to keep material relating to such
matters in the public file.

**Ownership Reports and Related Material.** The public file must contain
a copy of the most recent, complete Ownership Report filed for the
station. This report has the names of the owners of the station and
their ownership interests, lists any contracts related to the station
that are required to be filed with the FCC, and identifies any interest
held by the station licensee in other broadcast stations.

**List of Contracts Required to be Filed with the FCC.** Stations have
to keep either a copy of all the contracts that they have to file with
us, or an up-to-date list identifying all such contracts. If the station
keeps a list and you ask to see copies of the actual contracts, the
station must give them to you within seven days.

Contracts required to be maintained or listed in the public inspection
file include:

\(1\) contracts relating to network service (network affiliation
contracts);

\(2\) contracts relating to ownership or control of the licensee or
permittee or its stock. Examples include articles of incorporation,
bylaws, agreements providing for the assignment of a license or permit
or affecting stock ownership or voting rights (stock options, pledges,
or proxies), and mortgage or loan agreements that restrict the licensee
or permittee\'s freedom of operation;

\(3\) management consultant agreements with independent contractors, and
station management contracts that provide for a percentage of profits or
sharing of losses.

**Political File.** Stations must keep a file containing records of all
requests for broadcast time made by or for a candidate for public
office. The file must identify how the station responded to such
requests and (if the request was granted) the charges made, a schedule
of the time purchased, the times the spots actually aired, the rates
charged, and the classes of time purchased. The file must also reflect
any free time provided to a candidate. The station must keep the
political records for two years after the spot airs. You can find the
political broadcasting rules elsewhere in this manual.

**Annual Employment Reports and Related Material.** We require all radio
and TV stations to afford equal opportunity in employment. We also
prohibit employment discrimination on the basis of race, color,
religion, national origin, or sex. We require stations to file reports
annually describing how they have complied with these policies. However,
some of the specific rules implementing these policies were struck down
by the D.C. Circuit Court in 1998. As a result, we are in the process of
studying them to make them consistent with the court\'s requirements.

**Copies of this Manual.** Stations must keep a copy of this manual in
the public file. You can also read it on our Internet web site at
www.fcc.gov.

**Letters and E-Mail from the Public.** Commercial stations must keep
written comments and suggestions received from the public regarding
their operation for at least three years. Noncommercial stations are not
subject to this requirement.

**Issues/Programs List.** Every three months, all stations must prepare
and place in their file a list of programs that have provided their most
significant treatment of community issues during the preceding three
months. The list must briefly describe both the issue and the
programming where the issue was discussed. The stations must keep these
lists for the entire license term.

**Children\'s Television Programming Reports.** The Children\'s
Television Act of 1990 and our rules require all TV stations to air
programming that serves the educational and informational needs of
children 16 and under, including programming that is specifically
designed to serve such needs. In addition, commercial TV stations must
make and retain Children\'s Television Programming Reports identifying
the educational and informational programming for children aired by the
station. (Noncommercial stations are not required to prepare these
reports.) The report must include the name of the person at the station
responsible for collecting comments on the station\'s compliance with
the Children\'s Television Act. The station has to prepare these reports
each calendar quarter, and it must place them in the public file
separately from the file\'s other material. Stations must keep the
reports for the remainder of their license terms. You can also view each
station\'s reports on our web site at www.fcc.gov.

**Records Regarding Children\'s Programming Commercial Limits.** The
Children\'s Television Act of 1990 and our rules limit the type and
amount of advertising that may be aired in TV programming directed to
children 12 and under. On weekends, commercial television stations may
air no more than 10.5 minutes of commercials per hour during children\'s
programming, and no more than 12 minutes on weekdays. Stations must keep
records that substantiate compliance with these limits for the remainder
of the license term.

**Radio Time Brokerage Agreements.** A time brokerage agreement is a
type of contract that generally involves a station\'s sale of discrete
blocks of airtime to a broker, who then supplies the programming to fill
that time and sells the commercial spot announcements to support the
programming. Commercial radio stations must keep a copy of every
agreement involving: (1) time brokerage of that station; or (2) time
brokerage by any other station owned by the same licensee.

**List of Donors.** Noncommercial TV and radio stations must keep a list
of donors supporting specific programs for two years after the program
airs.

**Local Public Notice Announcements.** When someone files an application
to build a new station or to renew, sell, or modify an existing station,
we often require the applicant to make a series of local announcements
to inform the public of the application\'s existence and nature. These
announcements are either published in a local newspaper or made over the
air on the station, and they are intended to give the public an
opportunity to comment on the application. Copies of these announcements
must be retained in the public inspection file.

**Must-Carry or Retransmission Consent Election.** There are two ways
that a broadcast TV station can choose to be carried on a cable TV
system: \"must-carry\" and \"retransmission consent.\"

[Must-Carry]{.underline}. All TV stations are generally entitled to be
carried on cable television systems in their local markets. A station
that chooses to exercise this right receives no compensation from the
cable system.

[Retransmission Consent]{.underline}. Instead of exercising their
\"must-carry\" rights, commercial TV stations may choose to receive
compensation from a cable system in return for granting permission to
the cable system to carry the station. This option is available only to
commercial TV stations.

Every three years, commercial TV stations must decide whether their
relationship with each local cable system will be governed by must-carry
or by retransmission consent agreements. Each commercial station must
keep a copy of its decision in the public file for the three-year period
to which it pertains.

Noncommercial stations are not entitled to compensation in return for
carriage on a cable system, but they may request mandatory carriage on
the system. A noncommercial station making this request must keep a copy
of the request in the public file for the duration of the period to
which it applies.