Broadcasters With On-Air Employee/Candidates Could Owe Equal Time to Opponents, Oxenford Says
A broadcaster with an on-air employee running for office may need to provide equal opportunities to opponents under FCC rules, blogged Wilkinson Barker broadcast attorney David Oxenford. “Stations need to take precautions to avoid the potential for owing significant amounts…
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of free time to competing candidates, where those candidates can present any political message -- if they request it within 7 days of the personality’s appearance.” If a station's meteorologist were running for office but still doing the weather report, an opposing candidate could demand equal time, Oxenford said. Stations could hope the opposition doesn’t make an equal time request, limit the employee’s air time, obtain waivers from the opponents, or allow the candidate to continue to broadcast “in exchange for a negotiated amount of air time for the opponents,” Oxenford said Wednesday.