Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
Elimination of Main Studio Rule
Elimination of Main Studio Rule
A Rule by the Federal Communications Commission on 12/08/2017
....
SUMMARY:
In this document, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC or Commission) eliminates the rule that requires each AM, FM, and television broadcast station to maintain a main studio located in or near its community of license. The FCC also eliminates existing requirements associated with the rule, including the requirement that the main studio have full-time management and staff present during normal business hours, and that it have program origination capability.
....
2. We agree with the vast majority of commenters? in this proceeding that the main studio rule should be eliminated. We are persuaded that eliminating the rule will result in significant cost savings for broadcasters and other public interest benefits. For example, the record shows that in some small towns and rural areas the cost of complying with the current main studio rule dissuades broadcasters from launching a station, even if the broadcaster has already obtained a construction permit for the station. Eliminating the rule thus may lead to increased broadcast service in those areas. In addition, as commenters suggest, eliminating the main studio rule will provide broadcasters with the same flexibility as Internet radio stations and cable and satellite providers, none of which are subject to a main studio requirement. While we recognize the importance of local broadcast television and radio stations as a source of news and information, we agree with NAB that the record does not provide any “evidence that the physical location of a station's main studio is the reason local broadcasters are able to deliver content that meets the needs and interest[s] of their communities, or that the location and staffing of the studio has any relationship to the ability of a station to serve its local audience.”
3. We affirm the tentative conclusion in the NPRM that technological innovations have rendered local studios unnecessary as a means for viewers and listeners to communicate with or access their local stations and to carry out the other traditional functions that they have served. The record shows that it is exceedingly rare for a member of the public to visit a station's main studio, with community members overwhelmingly choosing instead to communicate with stations through more efficient means such as email, station Web sites, social media, mail, or telephone. This has been the case even more so since the Commission created the online public inspection file. Once broadcasters fully transition to the online public file in early 2018, requiring stations to maintain a fully staffed main studio for purposes of providing access to the file will no longer be practical or justifiable. It is also relevant that community members already participate in station shows from outside the main studio, for example by appearing via telephone or Skype. As some commenters state, in-person visits from community members are now “unnecessary, if not obsolete,” as a result of the “near ubiquity of remote communication.”?
4. We disagree with arguments that in the absence of a local main studio, the Commission will be unable to ensure that a station serves its local community. Broadcast licensees still will be required to include in their public inspection files, on a quarterly basis, a list of those “programs that have provided the station's most significant treatment of community issues during the preceding three month period,” including a brief description of each relevant program. Further, as part of the broadcast station license renewal process, the Commission is required to find that “the station has served the public interest, convenience, and necessity” during its preceding license term. In particular, “[o]ne of a television broadcaster's fundamental public interest obligations is to air programming responsive to the needs and interests of its community of license.”
A Rule by the Federal Communications Commission on 12/08/2017
....
SUMMARY:
In this document, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC or Commission) eliminates the rule that requires each AM, FM, and television broadcast station to maintain a main studio located in or near its community of license. The FCC also eliminates existing requirements associated with the rule, including the requirement that the main studio have full-time management and staff present during normal business hours, and that it have program origination capability.
....
2. We agree with the vast majority of commenters? in this proceeding that the main studio rule should be eliminated. We are persuaded that eliminating the rule will result in significant cost savings for broadcasters and other public interest benefits. For example, the record shows that in some small towns and rural areas the cost of complying with the current main studio rule dissuades broadcasters from launching a station, even if the broadcaster has already obtained a construction permit for the station. Eliminating the rule thus may lead to increased broadcast service in those areas. In addition, as commenters suggest, eliminating the main studio rule will provide broadcasters with the same flexibility as Internet radio stations and cable and satellite providers, none of which are subject to a main studio requirement. While we recognize the importance of local broadcast television and radio stations as a source of news and information, we agree with NAB that the record does not provide any “evidence that the physical location of a station's main studio is the reason local broadcasters are able to deliver content that meets the needs and interest[s] of their communities, or that the location and staffing of the studio has any relationship to the ability of a station to serve its local audience.”
3. We affirm the tentative conclusion in the NPRM that technological innovations have rendered local studios unnecessary as a means for viewers and listeners to communicate with or access their local stations and to carry out the other traditional functions that they have served. The record shows that it is exceedingly rare for a member of the public to visit a station's main studio, with community members overwhelmingly choosing instead to communicate with stations through more efficient means such as email, station Web sites, social media, mail, or telephone. This has been the case even more so since the Commission created the online public inspection file. Once broadcasters fully transition to the online public file in early 2018, requiring stations to maintain a fully staffed main studio for purposes of providing access to the file will no longer be practical or justifiable. It is also relevant that community members already participate in station shows from outside the main studio, for example by appearing via telephone or Skype. As some commenters state, in-person visits from community members are now “unnecessary, if not obsolete,” as a result of the “near ubiquity of remote communication.”?
4. We disagree with arguments that in the absence of a local main studio, the Commission will be unable to ensure that a station serves its local community. Broadcast licensees still will be required to include in their public inspection files, on a quarterly basis, a list of those “programs that have provided the station's most significant treatment of community issues during the preceding three month period,” including a brief description of each relevant program. Further, as part of the broadcast station license renewal process, the Commission is required to find that “the station has served the public interest, convenience, and necessity” during its preceding license term. In particular, “[o]ne of a television broadcaster's fundamental public interest obligations is to air programming responsive to the needs and interests of its community of license.”
1 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
= new reply since forum marked as read
