Online Public File Brings Opportunity for Enforcement
The shift to online public files for radio and TV made it easier for the FCC to catch broadcasters in violations, and is expected to lead to increased disclosures of late or misfiled documents when license renewals come around next June , broadcast attorneys said in interviews. Broadcasters saw online public files as a way to increase convenience and pave the way for eliminating the main studio rule, but the increased scrutiny of fillings is an unintended consequence, said Fletcher Heald's Steve Lovelady. “Given that the contents of the online public file can be viewed by anyone, anywhere, just by launching an Internet browser, we would expect more complaints about incomplete files, and more scrutiny by the FCC,” blogged Wilkinson Barker's David Oxenford.
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With radio having been required to use online public file only for a few months, many broadcast lawyers are advising clients to take additional care with their filings. When public files were physically located in stations, the FCC could do a random check, but the chance was more remote, said Garvey Schubert's Melodie Virtue. With filings online, it’s easy for officials to notice something incorrect about a station’s quarterly issues/programs lists while checking for another document, Virtue said. The agency is likely to mainly issue warnings, with radio just having transitioned, lawyers said. Oxenford expects a stiffer response during license renewals.
The FCC declined to comment on enforcement. A spokesman said the goal of the transition to online public files for broadcasters was “to make the files more accessible to the public.”
Public station WTJU Charlottesville hasn’t found complying onerous, but it’s operated by the University of Virginia and has access to counsel and resources, said General Manager Nathan Moore. Smaller, less well-heeled stations or large groups with volumes of paper work could have a more difficult time, he said. Not running afoul of FCC rules is “a concern,” Moore said, saying he believes in the underlying premise of online public file: “I’m a fan of transparency.” There’s “a spectrum of compliance” with online public file rules, with some stations following the rules rigorously and some still grappling with the system, Virtue said.
The online public file not only makes it easier for the FCC to access filings, it also adds a time stamp to documents when filed, attorneys said. That stamp can provide obvious, permanent documentation that something has been late-filed, said Wiley Rein's Greg Masters. With physical files, it was possible -- though against the rules -- for a station to “fix” a deficient public file as renewal season approached by adding and backdating filings that might have been missed, lawyers said. With the time stamp, that’s no longer possible, Lovelady said. “Everything is visible,” Masters said.
Because of the time stamp, many broadcasters, especially in radio, will disclose public file violations during the upcoming renewal period, attorneys said. Those that made filing errors and don’t disclose will be found out in audits and hit with stiffer penalties, Lovelady said: Stations “should be most concerned in the context of renewal applications.”