FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: News Media contact:

January 18, 2001 David Fiske (202) 418-0513

**FCC Chairman Kennard Identifies Eleven Principles**

**for Broadcasters in Serving the Public Interest**

FCC Chairman William Kennard today released a report outlining eleven
major principles on how broadcasters can fulfill their statutory duty to
serve the public interest.

Entitled "Report to Congress on the Public Interest Obligations of
Television Broadcasters as They Transition to Digital Television," the
report said this broad examination of television broadcasters' public
interest obligations is intended to promote thoughtful discussion among
and between broadcasters and their communities. It added that it is not
an exhaustive list of ways that broadcasters can serve the public
interest, and urged licensees to consider other innovative ways to serve
the public interest.

The report responds to a May 25, 2000, request from Senators John
McCain, Joe Lieberman, Robert Byrd, and Sam Brownback, for the
Commission to engage in a broad reexamination of the public interest
standard. It draws on comments received in the Commission's pending
Notice of Inquiry on the subject that was released on December 20, 1999,
and at a Commission En Banc Hearing on the subject held October 16,
2000. The report noted that many of the principles outlined in the
report apply to existing analog television broadcasting as well as to
broadcasters transitioning to digital television (DTV)

Specific principles identified in the report include the following:

[Local Issue-Oriented Programming]{.underline}: Broadcasters must air
programming that covers issues that are important to their local
communities. The report said this could include: airing local public
affairs programming daily in addition to news coverage; using good
journalistic practices in covering local issues of public concern so as
to present conflicting viewpoints and giving persons attacked a
reasonable right of reply; setting aside airtime for expression for
local community groups: and using the flexibility of digital technology
to improve service to communities, such as multicasting to provide
localized programming.

[Public Service Announcements]{.underline}: Broadcasters should exercise
their best efforts to attract and air local public service announcements
during peak viewing hours. The report said this would ensure that such
PSAs have maximum exposure for maximum service to the community.

[Communications with Communities]{.underline}: Broadcasters should
gather information from their communities about their interests and
needs and engage in an ongoing dialogue with all segments of their
communities about those interests and needs.

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This could include: using web-based forums such as "chat-rooms" to have
ongoing and regular contact with communities; providing information back
to communities about how the broadcaster has attempted to serve local
needs; ensuring that the station's public file is accessible to the
community and that personnel are trained to respond to the public's
request for access; and using on-air announcements to encourage the
public to provide feedback.

[Enriching Children]{.underline}: Broadcasters should air and take
reasonable steps to promote programming that enriches children. This
could include: airing programming that serves the educational and
informational needs of children of different ages and in different
stages of cognitive and psycho-social development; airing children's
educational and informational programming at appropriate and consistent
times; limiting the amount of commercial advertising in children's
programming and the use of direct links to commercial websites; working
with local community organizations and newspapers to inform parents
about the availability and nature of children's educational and
informational programming; and using the flexibility of digital
technology to serve children in dynamic, innovative ways, such as
datacasting and interactive video.

[Protecting Children]{.underline}: Broadcasters should do more to
protect children from potentially harmful program content. This could
include striving to ensure that violent or sexual content is limited or
is presented responsibly in programming directed to children or with a
significant child audience; refraining from airing programming that is
inappropriate for children when a significant number of children are
reasonably expected to be in the audience; improving application of the
existing program ratings system and airing public service announcements
or other on-air announcements to educate parents about the ratings
system and the V-chip; refraining from airing ads for motion pictures,
programming, and products that are not appropriate for children when a
significant number of children would reasonably be expected to be in the
audience; and exercising good judgment on the use of new applications,
such as interactive television, during children's programming.

[Enhancing Democracy]{.underline}: Broadcasters should air programming
that covers political candidates and events of significance to their
communities. This could include: covering political conventions, and
local and national debates; devoting at least five minutes each night
for thirty days before an election to candidate-centered discourse; not
imposing "blanket bans" on the sale of airtime available to state and
local candidates; and using digital technology to enhance democracy in
innovative ways.

[Disaster and Emergency Information]{.underline}: Broadcasters should
make use of DTV's enhanced capabilities to provide the best disaster and
emergency information possible. This could include: developing new ways
to provide disaster and emergency information needs, such as pinpointing
specific households or neighborhoods that are at risk; implementing
disaster warnings and emergency information in a way that accounts for
the needs of persons with disabilities; making disaster and emergency
information available in a variety of languages; and working with
appropriate emergency communications specialists and manufacturers to
determine the most effective means to transmit disaster warnings and
emergency information.

[Consumer Privacy]{.underline}: Broadcasters should protect the privacy
of their viewers, especially children, if and when they collect
identifiable information. The report said that as digital television
evolves, privacy issues will unfold and the Commission should continue
to monitor and suggest remedies where it finds potential threats to
consumer privacy.

[Diversity]{.underline}: Broadcasters' activities should reflect the
diversity of their communities. This could include: assessing
programming to determine whether it reflects the changing society of the
21^st^ century and meets the needs of all communities; and reaching out
to all segments of communities when filling job openings.

[Disabilities Access]{.underline}: Broadcasters must make their services
accessible to persons with disabilities. This could include: taking
advantage of DTV's capabilities to expand and enhance closed captioning;
taking advantage of DTV's enhanced audio capacity to provide programming
with video description; making ancillary or supplementary, and web-based
services, accessible to persons with hearing and visual disabilities;
and assessing the needs of persons with disabilities in deploying new
services.

[Technology and the Public Interest]{.underline}: Broadcasters should
periodically reassess how new technologies can be used to enhance
service to their local communities. The report noted that digital
technology offers broadcasters new and improved ways to serve their
communities, and they should take advantage of these opportunities in
order to best serve the public interest.

The full text of the report is available on the Commission website at
www.fcc.gov

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Mass Media Bureau Contact: Eric Bash 202-418-2130