Confused about what to put in your political file? In an Order of Reconsideration on Tuesday, The FCC tried to clarify what the requirements were for broadcasters during the political ad buying frenzy that take place every election cycle.
The FCC says its Political File Order is limited to requests for the purchase of broadcast time by issue advertisers whose commercials communicate a message relating to any political matter of national importance, not to requests for the purchase of broadcast time by or on behalf of a legally qualified candidate for public office.
The Commission also clarified that it was the FCC’s intention to apply a standard of reasonableness and good faith decisionmaking with respect to efforts of broadcasters in: (a) determining whether, in context, a particular issue ad triggers disclosure obligations under The Communications Act of 1934, identifying and disclosing in their online political files all political matters of national importance that are referenced in each issue ad and determining when it is appropriate to use acronyms or other abbreviations in their online political files when disclosing information about issue ads.
And with that clarification, the NAB says it’s happy. “NAB is pleased the FCC clarified that a broadcaster’s good faith judgment governs its efforts to capture each of the required pieces of the complex web of political advertising rules. This wise clarification will lead to better outcomes for the public and not mire broadcasters in ‘gotcha’ advocacy complaints. Broadcasters are committed to providing the public with complete and transparent files, and today’s order achieves that in a fair and even-handed fashion.”
Read the entire order HERE.
