1. Rules & Regulations
Chapter 10

2. Broadcasting Rules & Regulations
• Broadcasting has always had special requirements and
responsibilities placed on it by the government for two
reasons/rationales:
• Scarcity theory: finite number of frequencies; such a
valuable resource that it should not be privately
owned
• Pervasive presence theory: broadcasting is available to
everyone, and once a TV or radio is on, you are
exposed to what is broadcast (in your home/private
life)
• http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CFR-2009-title47-vol4/pdf/C

3. History
• 1910: Wireless Ship Act – large passenger ships
must be quipped with wireless sets
• Radio Act of 1912: spurred by the Titanic
disaster, required broadcasters to seek a license,
call letters were assigned (to avoid station &
frequency overlap), established frequencies and
hours of operation
• Radio Act of 1927: recognizes the public owns
the frequencies, radio stations must operate in
the public interest, gov’t cannot censor,
commissioned the Federal Radio Commission

4. History
• Communications Act of 1934: FRC – FCC,
licensing, candidates for public office must be
given reasonable access to broadcast facilities,
use of facilities by candidates for public office
is outlined, FCC cannot censor content
• 1959: amended to prevent quiz-show rigging
• 1962: Communications Satellite Act: expands
regulatory powers of the FCC

5. Cable Regulation
• 1950s: FCC wanted no involvement
• 1960s: FCC got involved on behalf of over the air
broadcasters to hamper cable’s growth and
competition
• 1970s: rules got more favorable to cable operators
• 1980s: deregulation; Cable Communications Policy Act
of 1984 – allowed cable systems the freedoms to set
their own rates
• Telecommunications Act of 1996: ownership
deregulation, enter cross-business lines, V-chip, license
renewal terms for TV and radio

6. Regulatory Forces
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FCC
Congress
Courts
White House
Industry Lobbyists
The Public
State & Local Governments
The Marketplace

7. Federal Communications Commission
• Consists of 5 commissioners, one of whom serves
as chair, appointed by the president and
confirmed by the Senate, for staggered 5-year
terms. No more than three members can be a
part of the same political party.
• Consumer and Gov’t Affairs Bureau: informs
consumers about telecommunications goods and
services and coordinates policy efforts with other
governmental agencies
• Enforcement Bureau: upholds FCC rules and
regulations

8. Federal Communications Commission
• International Bureau: represents the FCC in
satellite and other matters that involve the US
with other countries
• Wireless Telecommunications Bureau: regulates
cell phones, pagers, two-way radios, and similar
devices
• Wireline Competition Bureau: regulates
telephone companies
• Media Bureau: oversees AM/FM radio, TV and
satellite services

9. Congress
• Congress looks over the shoulder of the FCC
• FCC does not make law, Congress does!
• Can enact legislation that affects media (1969,
Cigarettes are banned in ads on radio and TV,
laws regarding children’s television
programming)
• Controls the FCC’s budget
• All presidential appointments to FCC require
Congress approval

10. The Courts
• If Congress looks over one shoulder of the
FCC, the courts look over the other!
• If a broadcaster, cable operator or citizen
disagrees with an FCC decision, it can be
appealed in federal court
• Important in determining policy; affirmed the
FCC’s right to regulate indecent programming,
deregulation rulings, etc.

11. The White House
• The president appoints members to the FCC
• National Telecommunications and Information
Administration (NTIA): part of the Commerce
Department, it allocates radio frequencies used
by the federal gov’t, makes grants available to
public telecom facilities, advises the
administration on telecom matters, represents
the administration’s interests before the FCC and
Congress
• Initiate communications legislation

12. Industry Lobbyists
• Lobbyist: represents a special interest and
tries to influence legislators’ voting behavior
• Each major network has their own lobbyists,
as do many trade organizations (NAB)
• Can affect the passing or blocking of
legislation in Congress

13. The Public
• Media Access Project,
Parents Television Council
are both grass-roots citizen
organizations that have
affected policy
• Put pressure on lawmakers
• Parents Music Resource
Center (Video 1, 2, 3)

14. State and Local Governments
• Federal law supersedes state and local
regulations, but many federal laws don’t cover
specific issues that state and local laws might
• States usually have individual laws regarding
defamation, laws covering lotteries, public
broadcasting stations, privacy laws

15. The Marketplace
• Refers to general economic forces like supply,
demand, competition and price
• FCC looks to the marketplace as a
determinant of public opinion/interest

16. The Role of the FCC
• License Granting: new licenses are not often
granted (usually transferred)
• Obtaining a license: must be a US citizen to
apply, character qualifications (police record),
financial and technical considerations (can you
afford to run a radio station, do you have the
equipment to do so?)
• Diversity of Ownership: Telecom Act of 1996
relaxed many regulations on ownership

17. The Role of the FCC
• License Renewal: TV and Radio, every 8 years.
Broadcasters must file the renewal form, and supply
documentation about station ownership, public file
and complaints
• Competing applications: if your station has a poor
history with the FCC and someone else applies for your
license, they could get it – renewal is not automatic.
Renewal expectancy means that if your station is in
good standing, your license should be fine for renewal
– but no guarantees.
• License denial: programming violations, lying to the
FCC on applications

18. FCC Enforcement
• Issue a letter of reprimand that scolds a
station for some practice that is not in the
public interest
• Cease-and-desist order
• Fines
• Failing to renew a license for a full-term
(probation – 6 months – 2 years)
• Refusing renewal/revoking license

19. FCC and Policymaking
• The FCC can enact rules
governing some aspect of
broadcasting and/or cable
• First, must publish a proposal
in the Federal Register
• Office of Strategic Planning
and Analysis – analyzes
trends and attempts to
anticipate future policy
problems

20. The FCC and Cable, Satellite and the
Internet
• Cable: FCC does not license cable TV systems
• Franchised by local and state gov’t
• Premium and pay-per-view rates are not regulated by the
FCC; basic rates are regulated by state and local gov’t
• Cable Television Consumer Protection and Competition Act
of 1992: requires that cable systems must carry the signals
of local broadcast stations
• Communications Satellite Act of 1962: FCC has power to
regulate technical issues concerning satellite TV
• Satellite Home Viewer Improvement Act 1992: permitted
satellite carriers to carry local stations, as well as provide
distant stations.
• FCC does not regulate the internet or ISPs

21. Other Federal Laws
• Communications Act, Section 315: Equal opportunities rule
mandates equal time for opposing political candidates
• Children’s Television Act of 1990: put a cap on the number of
commercials allowed in children’s programming (10.5 minutes per
hour on weekends, 12 minutes per hour on weekdays), TV stations
must have 3 hours a week of educational programming
• Copyright: after 1978, life of the author plus 70 years, before 1978
a total of 95-120 years
• Music Licensing: Organizations provide rights to the music for use
and collect and distribute royalty payments. American Society of
Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), Broadcast Music
Incorporated (BMI) and SESAC
• Blanket rights: Media firms pay a flat fee for music use

22. Copyright and the Internet
• 1999: music industry files a lawsuit against Napster for
copyright infringement; Napster argued they were
protected by the fair use provision. Courts ruled against
Napster, and put them out of business in 2002
• Music industry filed several hundred lawsuits against
individuals they claimed had illegally downloaded
copyrighted material
• 2005: music industry sues Grokster and wins
• 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act: ISPs cannot be sued;
internet radio stations must pay internet broadcast
royalties (.076 cents per song per listener, 1.17 cents per
listener, or 10.9% of their subscriber revenues)

23. Obscenity, Indecency, Profanity
• Section 1464 of US Criminal Code states that
anybody who utters profane, indecent, or
obscene language over radio or TV is liable to
fine or imprisonment
• Both the FCC and the Department of Justice
can prosecute under this sections
• If guilty, fine up to $10,000, loss of license and
jail time

24. Obscenity, Indecency, Profanity
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Defined as the irreverent or blasphemous
use of the name of God
Obscenity: the program as a whole, must be
(1) contain material that depicts or
describes in a patently offensive way
certain sexual acts defined in state law; (2)
appeal to the prurient interest of the
average person applying contemporary
community standards, and (3) lack serious
political, artistic, social, literary or scientific
value
Broadcast indecency: something broadcast
is indecent if it depicts or describes sexual
or excretory activities or organs in a fashion
that’s patently offensive according to
contemporary community standards for the
broadcast media at a time of day when
there is a reasonable risk that children may
be in the audience

25. Pacifica v. FCC
• Broadcast of George Carlin’s
Filthy Words (1973)
• Video
• WBAI FM (NYC) broadcast the
routine uncensored, in the
afternoon of October 30 1973
• A man was driving with his son
in the car when he heard it;
filed a complaint with the FCC
• 1978: Supreme Court rules in
favor of the FCC
• Established safe harbor rules

26. Fleeting Expletive
• An excited utterance of a curse word during a live
broadcast
• Supreme Court upholds the FCC’s right to penalize
networks for fleeting expletives, though a court of
appeals found the FCC did not follow proper procedure
during the original 2008 Supreme Court case
• There are no clear rules, only that the FCC may seek
action if they desire/ respond to complaints
• Most live broadcasts are not live – many networks and
affiliates use delay systems
• More examples!@3$51!

27. The Law & Broadcast Journalism
• Defamation: causing harm to someone’s
reputation
• Slander, libel
• To prove libel: the person has been defamed, the
statements have been published/broadcast, the
person is identified, the media were at
fault/error, what was published was false
• Defense against libel: truth, privilege, fair
comment & criticism, actual malice

28. Invasion of Privacy
• Private facts: private facts must be
highly offensive to a person of
“reasonable sensitivities”
Examples: publishing medical
records
• Intrusion and trespass: being on
someone’s private property is
trespass; taking photos of
someone with a telephoto lens
from across the street is intrusion
• False light: closely related to libel,
presenting someone in a false way
• Commercial exploitation: using
someone’s image without consent

29. Protecting Sources
• Criminal and civil law
• Journalists have argued for
privilege
• Shield laws vary from state to
state. Most follow a three part
test:
1. That the journalist has information
that bears directly on the case
2. That the evidence cannot be
obtained from any other sources
3. That the evidence is crucial in the
determination of the case

30. Cameras in the Courtroom
• 1932 trial of the man accused of
kidnapping and murdering Charles
Lindbergh’s baby
• Canon 35 of the ABA prohibited
cameras and microphones in the
courtroom (enacted state by state)
• 1962: Supreme Court affirms ban,
but states that as technology gets
better, they may not be such a
distraction in the courtroom
• 1981: Supreme Court rules that
televising a trial is not inherently
prejudicial
• States make their own laws granting
access

31. Regulating Advertising
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State regulations, overseen by Federal Trade
Commission
FTC was set up in 1914 to regulate unfair business
practices
Five commissioners, appointed by the president,
confirmed by Congress – serve 7 year terms
Bureau of Consumer Protection: handles
advertising complaints
Guards mainly against deceptive advertising
Deception: any kind of falsehood constitutes
deception
Puffery: reasonable room for exaggeration in
advertising
Consent decree, cease-and-desist orders
Most advertising rules and practices are selfregulated by industry (automobile,
pharmaceuticals)