Campaigns & Elections' Political Broadcast Manual - March 2008 - (Page 39)

prising the hours between midnight and 6 A.M. when children were less likely to be in the audience. The FCC then held that a broadcaster who made a reasonable, good faith judgment that a spot was indecent could restrict it to the “safe harbor” period. Subsequently, however, the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit struck down the FCC’s “safe harbor” for indecent programming. Even so, the Court did not disturb a broadcaster’s right to precede an indecent political spot with a warning. However, preceding such a spot with a disclaimer could be considered prejudicial and preferential unless ads for all legally qualified candidates for the same office receive the same disclaimer. Although this type of situation remains troubling (especially since the penalty for refusal to run a federal spot could extend to license revocation), no recent attempts have been made to air indecent material under the guise of a political use, and so perhaps the problem has subsided. Nonetheless, should it recur, then broadcasters will have to consider the risks of running, rejecting or attempting to channel the objectionable material. So far, there have been no cases in which a broadcaster was exempted from airing a use that could constitute a direct incitement to immediate lawlessness. Indeed, the FCC has held that threats against the station do not warrant an exemption from the no-censorship provision. Aside from these two exceptions, which are rarely encountered, censorship of a use is forbidden. Musical backgrounds, which clash with a station’s image, libelous remarks or even racial slurs may not be censored by a station during a use. Nor can a broadcaster engage in procedural censorship, such as requiring a tape or script in advance (to screen for content) or attempting to limit the topics to be discussed. An advance tape or script may be requested, but only to check its qualification as a use, to verify that it contains proper sponsorship identification, and to measure its length. If a candidate refuses to supply advance material, he or she cannot be compelled to do so, but can simply be reminded of sponsorship and length requirements and the consequences for violation. Similarly, if a candidate wishes to appear live, the broadcaster may not inquire as to the proposed content beyond what is necessary to provide required facilities. A broadcaster may add content-neutral audio and/or visual disclaimer tags to political spots. Acceptable disclaimers could identify the spot as a paid political advertisement or a statement that the views expressed do not represent those of the station; however, such tags must be added to all advertising broadcast on behalf of every candidate for the same office. A broadcaster may not add a disclaimer that in any way might be construed as an editorial comment. In exchange for its inability to exercise any control over the content of a “use,” a broadcaster is immune from liability for any libel or defamation contained in a use that it broadcasts. This federal protection preempts any state or local laws to the contrary. However, the immunity only extends to “uses.” Broadcasts by supporters of a candidate or advocacy groups are not immune. The broadcaster can protect itself from liability through a requirement of prior approval of a script or tape of any material other than a use. In addition, a station may freely address issues raised by political advertising in its news and public affairs programming. XI. Sponsorship Identification The Communications Act and the FCC’s rules require that any sponsored message identify who paid for it. The Federal Election Campaign Act goes further to require a statement as to whether a political message was authorized by any candidate. The 2002 Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (“BCRA”) seeks to assign personal responsibility of the candidate or other sponsor. These requirements apply to all political messages and are not limited to “uses.” These requirements are: • If a program or spot is both paid for and authorized by a candidate or his campaign committee, the announcement must identify the candidate and state that it is paid for or sponsored by [the name of the candidate or the legal name of the candidate’s campaign committee]. • Federal candidates must read the required statement and must state that the candidate has approved the broadcast. Radio ads must name the office sought. The last four seconds of a television spot must consist either of an unobscured view of the candidate making the required statement or the candidate’s voice accompanied by a clearly identifiable photographic or similar image of the candidate, together with a clearly readable printed text of the statement. The image must be at least 80% of screen height and the text must be in letters at least 4% of screen height and must reasonably contrast with the background. In addition to the foregoing, a further requirement applies to spots qualifying for the lowest unit rate that contain a direct reference to another federal candidate for the same office. Radio spots must identify the office sought. TV spots must state that the candidate’s authorized committee paid for the broadcast. In addition, in order to qualify for lowest unit rates, a Federal candidate must certify to a station that he or she will comply with all of these notice requirements. • March 2008 « 39

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Campaigns & Elections' Political Broadcast Manual - March 2008

Campaigns & Elections' Political Broadcast Manual - March 2008 Contents Introduction – The Scope of the Political Broadcasting Rules “Legally Qualified” Candidates Reasonable Access “Uses” of Broadcast Facilities Exempt Programs Requests for Equal Opportunities Equal Opportunities Lowest Unit Charges The Disclosure Censorship of Uses Sponsorship Identification Political File Contents Access to the Political File The Fairness Doctrine Political Editorials Personal Attacks Issue Advertising News Distortion Conclusion

Campaigns & Elections' Political Broadcast Manual - March 2008

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