Goto Section: 73.3525 | 73.3527 | Table of Contents
FCC 73.3526
Revised as of October 1, 2014
Goto Year:2013 |
2015
§ 73.3526 Local public inspection file of commercial stations.
(a) Responsibility to maintain a file. The following shall maintain for
public inspection a file containing the material set forth in this
section.
(1) Applicants for a construction permit for a new station in the
commercial broadcast services shall maintain a public inspection file
containing the material, relating to that station, described in
paragraphs (e)(2) and (e)(10) of this section. A separate file shall be
maintained for each station for which an application is pending. If the
application is granted, paragraph (a)(2) of this section shall apply.
(2) Every permittee or licensee of an AM, FM, TV or Class A TV station
in the commercial broadcast services shall maintain a public inspection
file containing the material, relating to that station, described in
paragraphs (e)(1) through (e)(10) and paragraph (e)(13) of this
section. In addition, every permittee or licensee of a commercial TV or
Class A TV station shall maintain for public inspection a file
containing material, relating to that station, described in paragraphs
(e)(11) and (e)(15) of this section, and every permittee or licensee of
a commercial AM or FM station shall maintain for public inspection a
file containing the material, relating to that station, described in
paragraphs (e)(12) and (e)(14) of this section. A separate file shall
be maintained for each station for which an authorization is
outstanding, and the file shall be maintained so long as an
authorization to operate the station is outstanding.
(b) Location of the file. The public inspection file shall be located
as follows:
(1) For radio licensees, a hard copy of the public inspection file
shall be maintained at the main studio of the station. For television
licensees, letters and emails from the public, as required by paragraph
(e)(9) of this section, shall be maintained at the main studio of the
station. An applicant for a new station or change of community shall
maintain its file at an accessible place in the proposed community of
license or at its proposed main studio.
(2) A television station licensee or applicant shall place the contents
required by paragraph (e) of this section of its public inspection file
on the Commission's Web site, with the exception of letters and emails
from the public as required by paragraph (e)(9) of this section, which
shall be retained at the station in the manner discussed in paragraph
(b)(1) of this section; and the political file as required by paragraph
(e)(6) of this section, as discussed in paragraph (b)(3) of this
section. A station must provide a link to the public inspection file
hosted on the Commission's Web site from the home page of its own Web
site, if the station has a Web site, and provide contact information on
its Web site for a station representative that can assist any person
with disabilities with issues related to the content of the public
files. A station also is required to include in the online public file
the station's main studio address and telephone number, and the email
address of the station's designated contact for questions about the
public file. To the extent this section refers to the local public
inspection file, it refers to the public file of an individual station,
which is either maintained at the station or on the Commission's Web
site, depending upon where the documents are required to be maintained
under the Commission's rules.
(3) A television station licensee or applicant shall place the contents
required by paragraph (e)(6) of this section of its political
inspection file on the Commission's Web site. Political inspection file
material in existence 30 days after the effective date of this
provision shall continue to be retained at the station in the manner
discussed in paragraph (b)(1) of this section until the end of its
retention period. Any station not in the top 50 DMAs, and any station
not affiliated with one of the top four broadcast networks, regardless
of the size of the market it serves, shall continue to retain the
political file at the station in the manner discussed in paragraph
(b)(1) of this section until July 1, 2014. For these stations,
effective July 1, 2014, any new political file material shall be placed
on the Commission's Web site, while the material in the political file
as of July 1, 2014, if not placed on the Commission's Web site, shall
continue to be retained at the station in the manner discussed in
paragraph (b)(1) of this section until the end of its retention period.
However, any station that is not required to place its political file
on the Commission's Web site before July 1, 2014 may choose to do so,
instead of retaining the political file at the station in the manner
discussed in paragraph (b)(1) of this section.
(4) The Commission will automatically link the following items to the
electronic version of all licensee and applicant public inspection
files, to the extent that the Commission has these items
electronically: authorizations, applications, contour maps; ownership
reports and related materials; portions of the Equal Employment
Opportunity file held by the Commission; "The Public and Broadcasting";
Letters of Inquiry and other investigative information requests from
the Commission, unless otherwise directed by the inquiry itself;
Children's television programming reports; and DTV transition education
reports. In the event that the online public file does not reflect such
required information, the licensee will be responsible for posting such
material.
(c) Access to material in the file. (1) The file shall be available for
public inspection at any time during regular business hours. All or
part of the file may be maintained in a computer database, as long as a
computer terminal is made available, at the location of the file, to
members of the public who wish to review the file. Material in the
public inspection file shall be made available for printing or machine
reproduction upon request made in person. The applicant, permittee, or
licensee may specify the location for printing or reproduction, require
the requesting party to pay the reasonable cost thereof, and may
require guarantee of payment in advance (e.g., by requiring a deposit,
obtaining credit card information, or any other reasonable method).
Requests for copies shall be fulfilled within a reasonable period of
time, which generally should not exceed 7 days.
(2) The applicant, permittee, or licensee who maintains its main studio
and public file outside its community of license shall:
(i) Make available to persons within its geographic service area, by
mail upon telephone request, photocopies of documents in the file (see
§ 73.3526(c)(1)), excluding the political file (see § 73.3526(e)(6)),
and the station shall pay postage;
(ii) Mail the most recent version of "The Public and Broadcasting" to
any member of the public that requests a copy; and
(iii) Be prepared to assist members of the public in identifying the
documents they may ask to be sent to them by mail, for example, by
describing to the caller, if asked, the period covered by a particular
report and the number of pages included in the report.
Note to paragraph (c)(2): For purposes of this section, geographic
service area includes the area within the Grade B contour for TV, 1
mV/m contour for all FM station classes except .7 mV/m for Class B1
stations and .5 mV/m for Class B stations, and .5 mV/m contour for AM
stations.
(d) Responsibility in case of assignment or transfer. (1) In cases
involving applications for consent to assignment of broadcast station
construction permits or licenses, with respect to which public notice
is required to be given under the provisions of § 73.3580 or § 73.3594,
the file mentioned in paragraph (a) of this section shall be maintained
by the assignor. If the assignment is consented to by the FCC and
consummated, the assignee shall maintain the file commencing with the
date on which notice of the consummation of the assignment is filed
with the FCC. The assignee shall retain public file documents obtained
from the assignor for the period required under these rules.
(2) In cases involving applications for consent to transfer of control
of a permittee or licensee of a broadcast station, the file mentioned
in paragraph (a) of this section shall be maintained by the permittee
or licensee.
(e) Contents of the file. The material to be retained in the public
inspection file is as follows:
(1) Authorization. A copy of the current FCC authorization to construct
or operate the station, as well as any other documents necessary to
reflect any modifications thereto or any conditions that the FCC has
placed on the authorization. These materials shall be retained until
replaced by a new authorization, at which time a copy of the new
authorization and any related materials shall be placed in the file.
(2) Applications and related materials. A copy of any application
tendered for filing with the FCC, together with all related material,
and copies of Initial Decisions and Final Decisions in hearing cases
pertaining thereto. If petitions to deny are filed against the
application and have been served on the applicant, a statement that
such a petition has been filed shall be maintained in the file together
with the name and address of the party filing the petition.
Applications shall be retained in the public inspection file until
final action has been taken on the application, except that
applications for a new construction permit granted pursuant to a waiver
showing and applications for assignment or transfer of license granted
pursuant to a waiver showing shall be retained for as long as the
waiver is in effect. In addition, license renewal applications granted
on a short-term basis shall be retained until final action has been
taken on the license renewal application filed immediately following
the shortened license term.
(3) Citizen agreements. A copy of every written citizen agreement.
These agreements shall be retained for the term of the agreement,
including any renewal or extension thereof.
Note to paragraph (e)(3): For purposes of this section, a citizen
agreement is a written agreement between a broadcast applicant,
permittee, or licensee, and one or more citizens or citizen groups,
entered for primarily noncommercial purposes. This definition includes
those agreements that deal with goals or proposed practices directly or
indirectly affecting station operations in the public interest, in
areas such as--but not limited to--programming and employment. It
excludes common commercial agreements such as advertising contracts;
union, employment, and personal services contracts; network
affiliation, syndication, program supply contracts, etc. However, the
mere inclusion of commercial terms in a primarily noncommercial
agreement--such as a provision for payment of fees for future services
of the citizen-parties (see "Report and Order," Docket 19518, 57 FCC 2d
494 (1976))--would not cause the agreement to be considered commercial
for purposes of this section.
(4) Contour maps. A copy of any service contour maps, submitted with
any application tendered for filing with the FCC, together with any
other information in the application showing service contours and/or
main studio and transmitter location (State, county, city, street
address, or other identifying information). These documents shall be
retained for as long as they reflect current, accurate information
regarding the station.
(5) Ownership reports and related materials. A copy of the most recent,
complete ownership report filed with the FCC for the station, together
with any statements filed with the FCC certifying that the current
report is accurate, and together with all related material. These
materials shall be retained until a new, complete ownership report is
filed with the FCC, at which time a copy of the new report and any
related materials shall be placed in the file. The permittee or
licensee must retain in the public file either a copy of the contracts
listed in such reports in accordance with § 73.3615(a)(4)(i), or an
up-to-date list of such contracts. Licensees or permittees who choose
to retain a list of contracts must provide a copy of any contracts to
requesting parties within 7 days.
(6) Political file. Such records as are required by § 73.1943 to be
kept concerning broadcasts by candidates for public office. These
records shall be retained for the period specified in § 73.1943 (2
years).
(7) Equal Employment Opportunity file. Such information as is required
by § 73.2080 to be kept in the public inspection file. These materials
shall be retained until final action has been taken on the station's
next license renewal application.
(8) The public and broadcasting. At all times, a copy of the most
recent version of the manual entitled "The Public and Broadcasting."
(9) Letters and e-mail from the public. (i) All written comments and
suggestions received from the public regarding operation of the
station, unless the letter writer has requested that the letter not be
made public or when the licensee feels that it should be excluded from
public inspection because of the nature of its content, such as a
defamatory or obscene letter. Letters and electronic mail messages
shall be retained for a period of three years from the date on which
they are received by the licensee.
(ii) For purposes of this section, written comments and suggestions
received from the public include electronic mail messages transmitted
via the internet to station management or an e-mail address publicized
by the station. Personal e-mail messages sent to station employees need
not be retained. Licensees may retain e-mails either on paper or in a
computer file. Licensees who choose to maintain a computer file of
e-mails may make the file available to the public either by providing
the public with access to a computer terminal at the location of the
public file, or providing the public with a copy of such e-mails on
computer diskette, upon request. In the case of identical
communications, licensees and permittees may retain one sample copy of
the letter or electronic mail message together with a list identifying
other parties who sent identical communications.
(10) Material relating to FCC investigation or complaint. Material
having a substantial bearing on a matter which is the subject of an FCC
investigation or complaint to the FCC of which the applicant,
permittee, or licensee has been advised. This material shall be
retained until the applicant, permittee, or licensee is notified in
writing that the material may be discarded.
(11)(i) TV issues/programs lists. For commercial TV and Class A
broadcast stations, every three months a list of programs that have
provided the station's most significant treatment of community issues
during the preceding three month period. The list for each calendar
quarter is to be filed by the tenth day of the succeeding calendar
quarter (e.g., January 10 for the quarter October--December, April 10
for the quarter January--March, etc.) The list shall include a brief
narrative describing what issues were given significant treatment and
the programming that provided this treatment. The description of the
programs shall include, but shall not be limited to, the time, date,
duration, and title of each program in which the issue was treated. The
lists described in this paragraph shall be retained in the public
inspection file until final action has been taken on the station's next
license renewal application.
(ii) Records concerning commercial limits. For commercial TV and Class
A TV broadcast stations, records sufficient to permit substantiation of
the station's certification, in its license renewal application, of
compliance with the commercial limits on children's programming
established in 47 U.S.C. 303a and 47 CFR 73.670. The records for each
calendar quarter must be filed by the tenth day of the succeeding
calendar quarter (e.g., January 10 for the quarter October-December,
April 10 for the quarter January-March, etc.). These records shall be
retained until final action has been taken on the station's next
license renewal application.
(iii) Children's television programming reports. For commercial TV
broadcast stations, both analog and digital, on a quarterly basis, a
completed Children's Television Programming Report ("Report"), on FCC
Form 398, reflecting efforts made by the licensee during the preceding
quarter, and efforts planned for the next quarter, to serve the
educational and informational needs of children. The Report for each
quarter is to be placed in the public inspection file by the tenth day
of the succeeding calendar quarter. By this date, a copy of the Report
for each quarter is also to be filed electronically with the FCC. The
Report shall identify the licensee's educational and informational
programming efforts, including programs aired by the station that are
specifically designed to serve the educational and informational needs
of children, and it shall explain how programs identified as Core
Programming meet the definition set forth in § 73.671(c). The Report
shall include the name of the individual at the station responsible for
collecting comments on the station's compliance with the Children's
Television Act, and it shall be separated from other materials in the
public inspection file. The Report shall also identify the program
guide publishers to which information regarding the licensee's
educational and informational programming was provided as required in
§ 73.673, as well as the station's license renewal date. These Reports
shall be retained in the public inspection file until final action has
been taken on the station's next license renewal application. Licensees
shall publicize in an appropriate manner the existence and location of
these Reports.
(iv) DTV transition education reports. For full-power commercial TV
broadcast stations, both analog and digital, on a quarterly basis, a
completed Form 388, DTV Consumer Education Quarterly Activity Report.
The Report for each quarter is to be placed in the public inspection
file by the tenth day of the succeeding calendar quarter. By this date,
a copy of the Report for each quarter must be filed electronically
using the Commission's Consolidated DataBase System (CDBS). Stations
electing to conform to the requirements of § 73.674(b) must also
provide the form on the station's public Web site, if such exists. The
Report shall be separated from other materials in the public inspection
file. The first Report, covering the first quarter of 2008, must be
filed no later than April 10, 2008. The Reports must continue to be
included up to and including the quarter in which a station concludes
its education campaign. These Reports shall be retained in the public
inspection file for one year. Licensees and permittees shall publicize
in an appropriate manner the existence and location of these Reports.
(12) Radio issues/programs lists. For commercial AM and FM broadcast
stations, every three months a list of programs that have provided the
station's most significant treatment of community issues during the
preceding three month period. The list for each calendar quarter is to
be filed by the tenth day of the succeeding calendar quarter (e.g.,
January 10 for the quarter October--December, April 10 for the quarter
January--March, etc.). The list shall include a brief narrative
describing what issues were given significant treatment and the
programming that provided this treatment. The description of the
programs shall include, but shall not be limited to, the time, date,
duration, and title of each program in which the issue was treated. The
lists described in this paragraph shall be retained in the public
inspection file until final action has been taken on the station's next
license renewal application.
(13) Local public notice announcements. Each applicant for renewal of
license shall, within 7 days of the last day of broadcast of the local
public notice of filing announcements required pursuant to
§ 73.3580(h), place in the station's local public inspection file a
statement certifying compliance with this requirement. The dates and
times that the pre-filing and post-filing notices were broadcast and
the text thereof shall be made part of the certifying statement. The
certifying statement shall be retained in the public file for the
period specified in § 73.3580 (for as long as the application to which
it refers).
(14) Radio and television time brokerage agreements. For commercial
radio and television stations, a copy of every agreement or contract
involving time brokerage of the licensee's station or of another
station by the licensee, whether the agreement involves stations in the
same markets or in differing markets, with confidential or proprietary
information redacted where appropriate. These records shall be retained
as long as the contract or agreement is in force.
(15) Must-carry or retransmission consent election. Statements of a
commercial television or Class A television station's election with
respect to either must-carry or re-transmission consent, as defined in
§ § 76.64 and 76.1608 of this chapter. These records shall be retained
for the duration of the three year election period to which the
statement applies.
(16) Radio and television joint sales agreements. For commercial radio
and commercial television stations, a copy of agreement for the joint
sale of advertising time involving the station, whether the agreement
involves stations in the same markets or in differing markets, with
confidential or proprietary information redacted where appropriate.
(17) Class A TV continuing eligibility. Documentation sufficient to
demonstrate that the Class A television station is continuing to meet
the eligibility requirements set forth at § 73.6001.
Note 1 to paragraph (e): For purposes of this section, action taken on
an application tendered with the FCC becomes final when that action is
no longer subject to reconsideration, review, or appeal either at the
FCC or in the courts.
Note 2 to paragraph (e): For purposes of this section, the term "all
related material" includes all exhibits, letters, and other documents
tendered for filing with the FCC as part of an application, report, or
other document, all amendments to the application, report, or other
document, copies of all documents incorporated therein by reference and
not already maintained in the public inspection file, and all
correspondence between the FCC and the applicant pertaining to the
application, report, or other document, which according to the
provisions of § § 0.451 through 0.461 of this part are open for public
inspection at the offices of the FCC.
[ 63 FR 49497 , Sept. 16, 1998, as amended at 63 FR 70049 , Dec. 18, 1998;
64 FR 35947 , July 2, 1999; 64 FR 50645 , Sept. 17, 1999; 65 FR 7457 ,
Feb. 15, 2000; 65 FR 30006 , May 10, 2000; 65 FR 53614 , Sept. 5, 2000;
65 FR 67288 , Nov. 9, 2000; 70 FR 38 , Jan. 3, 2005; 73 FR 15450 , Mar.
24, 2008; 73 FR 36283 , June 26, 2008; 76 FR 71269 , Nov. 17, 2011; 77 FR 27655 , May 11, 2012]
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Goto Section: 73.3525 | 73.3527
Goto Year: 2013 |
2015
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