FCC Should Ease Burdens, O'Rielly Tells Radio Show
ATLANTA -- The FCC should remove regulatory burdens that have “completely outlived their utility,” said Commissioner Mike O'Rielly in an FCC session at the 2015 Radio Show Thursday. Along with outdated rules, the commission should also try harder to eliminate pirate radio operators, he said. Media Bureau Audio Division Chief Peter Doyle and Policy Division Assistant Chief Robert Baker discussed a petition to revamp low-power FM and how political advertising and online file rules apply to radio stations.
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By modernizing outdated rules and working toward a policy of allowing stations to put more information online, it should be possible to make things easier for broadcasters in “today’s hypercompetitive entertainment world,” O'Rielly said. The FCC 's successful rule change for broadcast contest rules shows that it would be possible to similarly update sponsorship identification and equal employment opportunity compliance rules, O'Rielly said. The commission could even do away with “the positively archaic media ownership rules” he said.
The Enforcement Bureau and FCC should release a comprehensive policy on pirate radio enforcement “before Halloween, or at the latest, Thanksgiving,” O'Rielly said. To effectively combat pirate radio, the commission will need to expand its attacks to “limitations on funding and housing,” O'Rielly said. “There is a lot we can do to bust-up pirate radio stations, including collaborating with federal, state, and local law enforcement, and other local authorities.” The FCC should work with local building inspection officials to go after pirates for using residential buildings for broadcasting, he said. “Critics have argued that this approach is naive, and it will not have any impact on pirate radio stations,” O'Rielly said. “Until someone puts out a better plan, beyond appeasement or huge increases in enforcement personnel, I suggest we pursue these actions with a willingness to adapt as necessary.”
With the coming political ad season, stations should be aware of the extent of their obligation to offer candidates the lowest unit rate, Baker said. Organizations have to show broadcasters proof that a given candidate’s campaign has authorized them to put out ads on his or her behalf in order to be entitled to the lowest unit rate, he said. Broadcasters aren't required to conduct extensive investigations of those buying political ads to make sure the sponsorship is correctly identified, he said. “You can rely on the person that hands you the check that they are who they say they are,” Baker said, unless someone produces “a mountain of evidence” to the contrary.
Broadcasters shouldn't read too much into the commission circulating the LPFM Advocacy Group's petition to revamp low-power FM to allow such stations to have commercials, Doyle said. He said statutory considerations would likely prevent the FCC from allowing LPFM stations to carry commercials. It would be “a very difficult slog” for the FCC to tackle that issue, he said. It would be “very daunting,” he said.