Campaigns & Elections' Political Broadcast Manual - March 2008 - (Page 40)

• If a third party pays for the program, and it is authorized by the candidate or his committee, then the sponsorship portion of the announcement must read: “Paid for (or sponsored) by [name of third party] and authorized by [name of candidate or his committee].” If the program is paid for by a third party and not authorized by any candidate, then the announcement must identify the sponsor (by name, address and phone number or website) and state that the broadcast is not authorized by any candidate. In addition, any such broadcast concerning a federal candidate or soliciting contributions to influence federal elections must state:“ is responsible for the content of this advertising;” with the blank to be filled in with the names of the payer and any connected organizations. A television spot must accompany the audio statement with the printed text of the statement for a period of at least four seconds using well-contrasted letters at least 4% of screen height. • Note that in all of the above announcements, the words “paid for by” or “sponsored by” are mandatory. Substitutions such as “brought to you by” or “made possible by” are not acceptable. Donated Time If a station donates time to a candidate, such time either can be identified as “provided by Station XXXX as a public service” or mention of sponsorship can be omitted. (The authorization portion of the tag would still be required, though.) Note that donations of time will trigger free equal opportunities upon request by opponents. If an opposing candidate claims such equal opportunities, then the only announcement required would be that the material is authorized by the candidate or his or her committee. Similar considerations apply if a candidate agrees to accept spots or program time in lieu of equal opportunities against a station employee who is a candidate. Solicitation of Funds If a program or spot is financed by a political committee and solicits political contributions, the following must be added: “A copy of our report is filed with the Federal Election Commission and is available for purchase from the Federal Election Commission, Washington, D.C.” Controversial Issues of Public Importance FCC rules require that any matter which discusses a controversial issue of public importance (including most political material), that is furnished to a station as an inducement for broadcast (whether or not any payment is made), must contain an announcement that it was furnished and by whom. This could include audio feeds and film clips supplied by a candidate for use in a newscast or other programming. However, FCC staff advises that if a station edits such material into a substantially different form or embeds a portion into its own program, then an announcement would not be required. Recently, the issue has arisen in the context of “video news releases” (VNRs) furnished by advertisers but designed to look as if they are part of a regularly scheduled news program. The FCC has launched an inquiry to determine whether these VNRs constitute a violation of its sponsorship identification rules. When material is furnished to a station and used in a program, an announcement should be made in the program as in the above three examples, but with the words “Furnished by” substituted for “Paid for by” or “Sponsored by.” Placement of the Sponsorship Identification Regardless of which announcement applies, it must appear or be heard either at the beginning or at the end of any spot or other broadcast mat-               http://www.cook-communications.com http://www.cook-communications.com

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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