Broadcast attorney David Oxenford says he’s been getting a lot of questions from broadcasters about government officials who want to get messages on the air about the coronavirus. What if that message is voiced by a legally qualified candidate?
In his most recent blog post Oxenford writes that when political candidates appear on public service-type announcements – either free PSAs provided by the station or paid spots purchased by some governmental entity.
when political candidates appear on PSA’s – either free or paid – you can run them but you’ll need to note the advertising purchase in your FCC Online Public Inspection File. He says the spots do constitute a “use” by a candidate, and they can also give rise to equal opportunities by opposing candidates. And he adds that if it’s a paid commercial with the candidates voice then any equal time to which opposing candidates are entitled would be on a similar paid-for basis.
Check out Oxenford’s full blog HERE for more details
