Garvey Schubert Petitions for Repeal of Main Studio Rule
The FCC should repeal its main studio rule, said Garvey Schubert’s Media, Telecom and Technology Group in a petition for rulemaking filed Wednesday. The rule requires broadcasters to maintain a main studio within their community of license. “Adoption of this…
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
If your job depends on informed compliance, you need International Trade Today. Delivered every business day and available any time online, only International Trade Today helps you stay current on the increasingly complex international trade regulatory environment.
proposal will not reduce or remove broadcasters’ ‘bedrock obligation’ to serve the needs and interests of their local communities,” the petition said. Rolling back the rule will let stations save money with smaller offices and less staff, the petition said. With the elimination of all physical components of the broadcast public file, there’s no longer a reason for the main studio rule, the petition said. Eliminating the rule could “greatly reduce the regulatory and economic burden that broadcasters face, especially small stations that are expending their very limited resources to comply with minimum operation and staffing requirements, without harming the relationship that these stations have with their communities,” the petition said. Commissioner Mike O’Rielly (see 1703280079) and Media Bureau staff (see 1610130055) expressed support in the past for eliminating the rule.