Campaigns & Elections' Political Broadcast Manual - March 2008 - (Page 41)

ter that does not exceed five minutes in length. If the length exceeds five minutes, then the required announcement must be given at both the beginning and the end of the program. Broadcaster Responsibility It is the responsibility of the broadcaster to determine that all sponsored political messages comply with the above requirements. If the spot does not comply, the broadcaster must add or substitute the required announcement. If a station routinely includes the time required for sponsorship identification in computing the length of commercial announcements, then the same practice can be applied with respect to the tag added to political announcements. If there are problems regarding the sponsorship identification, the station should attempt to work them out with the candidate. If these problems cannot be resolved, the station is permitted to insert its own sponsorship identification in compliance with the FCC’s rules, even if it means covering up part of the candidate’s aural (or visual) message. The station is not required to provide additional time for the sponsorship identification free of charge. The broadcaster may choose whatever means it decides are appropriate to meets its responsibility for proper sponsorship identification. Recognizing that there may be instances where there may not be sufficient time to prescreen the political sponsorship ID, the FCC allows a station to run a spot the first time without risking a violation. Once aired, however, the station will be required to add, at the candidate’s expense for the costs of production, the required identification for future broadcasts if the spot is not in compliance. The 2002 BCRA serves to raise a troubling but as-yet unresolved question as to responsibility when a broadcaster becomes aware of a federal candidate’s failure to adhere to the specific on-air notice requirements, including an accurate certification that he or she intends to strictly comply. The Act provides that such a candidate forfeits the right to LUCs for all broadcast advertising on all stations during the entire campaign season after only a single infraction. During the last election, several federal candidates indeed made mistakes which were pointed out by their opponents, who demanded that the offender be charged commercial rates and suggested that any station continuing to offer lowest unit rates would be making illegal campaign contributions. FCC staff tends to support broadcasters’ good-faith interpretation of the Act and to defer the matter to the Federal Election Commission, which has primary jurisdiction over campaign financing. The FEC, in turn, has declined to give advance guidance and awaits an actual case in which to consider assessing liability, although the minutes of an FEC meeting where the subject was discussed in response to a petition of the Missouri Broadcasters Association reveals that the FEC commissioners justified their failure to act because of their March 2008 « 41 http://www.gettyimages.com/political http://www.gettyimages.com/political

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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