REC Networks, Blackbelt Differ on Main Studio Rule
The FCC should replace the main studio rule with a requirement that stations have a local person in the communities they serve, REC Networks commented in docket 17-106 responding to the FCC proposal to eliminate the rule. The requirement for…
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a brick-and-mortar studio should be replaced with “a rule of universal local accountability,” said the low-power FM group. To promote such accountability, the FCC should “take challenges to license renewals more seriously and force the national owners to start becoming accountable to their community of license or step aside,” the filing said. “Where it comes to challenging renewals, it should not have to take the death of a listener for the Commission to finally wake up. The rubber-stamping of renewals must not happen in the next renewal cycle.” KDND(FM) Sacramento's renewal was challenged amid such circumstances (see 1705020065 and 1706060052). The main studio rule is “antiquated, outdated and is an unnecessary expense for many small market stations who are struggling to survive,” Blackbelt Broadcasting commented. Funding to maintain a main studio staff “could better be utilized for additional projects such as covering local sports, community events, and news (public forums, town hall meetings) where a main studio is unnecessary,” it said.