Broadcasters Petition for Reconsideration of FCC Political Ad Policies
The FCC shouldn’t have altered its political broadcasting rules without seeking public comment, said NAB, Hearst, Graham Media, Nexstar, Fox, E.W. Scripps and Tegna in a Friday-filed petition for reconsideration and clarification of two FCC orders on political advertising rules…
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issued in October (see 1910170037). The orders concerned numerous political file complaints against stations owned by the petitioners. The FCC “erred in creating new disclosure and recordkeeping requirements without the benefit of input from the vast majority of the industry required to maintain political advertising files,” the broadcasters said. The political ad policies created by the orders are “in some cases unlawful” or “overbroad” and “counterproductive,” the petition said. Requirements to disclose federal candidates and issues are burdensome and could reduce speech, and stations' good-faith efforts to disclose the focus of political ads should be sufficient, the filing said. The petition also seeks a clarification that the rules apply only to noncandidate political ads, and for reconsideration of a rule barring broadcasters from identifying sponsoring entities using acronyms. The FCC should adopt a “more rational” approach that “requires broadcasters to make reasonable good faith efforts to disclose the topics that are the focus or the ‘gist’” of political ads, the petition said.