By:Nashrin Shyana Rauf- Puthiya Kural News Paper
The National Association of Broadcasters, a coalition of religious broadcasters, and the Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council (MMTC) are among those asking the Federal Communications Commission for more time to digest and respond to the latest proposal to regulate foreign-sponsored programing on U.S. radio and television. The FCC has set the first comment deadline for next Monday, Dec. 19 with reply comments due immediately after the holidays on January 3, 2023.
After a federal appeals court in July threw out the FCC’s first attempt at adopting new disclosure requirements on foreign broadcasters, the Commission in October adopted its second proposal (MB Docket No. 20-299). Among the requirements under consideration are rules that would require stations to certify they have informed the programming provider who is leasing time on their station of the foreign sponsorship identification rules. Radio and TV stations would also need to certify that they obtained – or tried to obtain – a certification from the entity that states whether or not it is a foreign governmental entity.
The proposal also looks to establish standardized certification language for stations and programming providers to use. The FCC says such a move would “minimize the compliance burden” on stations and programmers while also bringing “greater uniformity” to the certification process. The document would then be placed in a station’s public file. The Commission’s latest approach also seeks to clarify how it should distinguish between advertising and programming arrangements.
NAB says it is also gathering information from entities that lease time from stations, a group which it notes often has little contact with the FCC or files comments on proceedings. That includes what NAB describes as a diverse group of thousands of entities including religious organizations, small businesses promoting products and services, and programmers ranging from individual hobbyists who air programming based on their personal interests, to minority and female programmers looking to gain experience for future ownership opportunities.
“Given that the Notice implicates data that needs to be gathered from stations and lessees across the country, the fact that there are three significant federal holidays during the comment cycle is relevant as well,” says NAB. “ Although these represent only three business days, many employees take time off surrounding each of these holidays. Some offices close for portions of the holiday season, and others face significant year-end business obligations. These factors make it more challenging to gather relevant information from individual broadcasters and lessees affected by the proposed rules, build useful consensus around the issues in this proceeding, and draft comments and reply comments.”
To that point, attorney Charles Tobin has also filed a request with the FCC for a delayed deadline, saying many of the religious groups he works with are unaccustomed to such proceedings.
“The Religious Programmers do not regularly appear before the Commission, so this is a novel exercise for them,” said Tobin, adding, “Most churches, including the religious programmers, have significant additional obligations to our congregations at this time of year.”
NAB says National Religious Broadcasters and the affiliate association of the big four television networks also support pushing back the deadlines. The trade group also says because portions of the updated foreign sponsorship identification rules have been in effect since September, there is limited downside to waiting.
NAB also revealed in its filing that is working with the FCC on a new compliance system based on those rules that would incorporate FCC-specified language at lease inception and renewal.
Courtesy:www.insideradio.com
By:Nashrin Shyana Rauf- Puthiya Kural News Paper
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