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 PUBLIC  NOTICE  Federal  Communications  Commission  445  12th  St.,  S.  W.  Washington,  D.  C.  20554  News  Media  Information  202  /  418-  0500  Fax-  On-  Demand  202  /  418-  2830  TTY  202  /  418-  2555  Internet:  http://  www.  fcc.  gov  ftp.  fcc.  gov 
 DA  03-  1046 
 March  31,  2003 
 MEDIA  BUREAU  ACTION 
 Interim  Policy  Concerning  Placement  of  Equal  Employment  Opportunity  Public  File  Report  in  a  Broadcaster’s  Public  File 
 MM  Docket  No.  98-  204 


 By  this  Public  Notice  the  Media  Bureau  establishes  an  interim  policy  concerning  the  enforcement  of  the  requirement  of  the  Equal  Employment  Opportunity  (“  EEO”)  rule  –  Section  73.2080  –  that  a  broadcaster 
 that  is  part  of  an  employment  unit  with  five  or  more  full-  time  employees  place  information  concerning  its  EEO  efforts  in  its  public  file  and  on  its  web  site,  if  it  has  one.  See  Section  73.2080(  c)(  6).  Pursuant  to  that 
 provision,  the  information  is  required  to  be  placed  in  the  station’s  public  file  on  the  anniversary  of  the  date  the  station  is  due  to  file  its  renewal  application.  The  information  relates  to  specified  EEO  activities 
 engaged  in  during  the  preceding  year. 
 Petitions  for  reconsideration  have  been  filed  by  two  groups  of  State  Broadcasters  Associations  urging,  among  other  matters,  that  the  requirement  should  be  modified  to  allow  a  ten  day  grace  period  for  the 
 specified  information  to  be  placed  in  the  public  file  because  broadcasters  may  not  have  sufficient  time  to  collect  and  review  data  concerning  activities  that  occur  shortly  before  the  renewal  filing  anniversary.  The 
 Commission  will  address  the  merits  of  these  requests  in  due  course.  We  will,  however,  adopt  an  interim  enforcement  policy  of  allowing  a  ten  day  grace  period  with  respect  to  EEO  public  file  reports  due  April  1, 
 2003.  Thus,  licensees  that  must  place  an  EEO  report  in  their  public  files  on  April  1,  2003,  will  comply  with  the  deadline  so  long  as  the  reports  are  placed  in  the  public  file  by  April  11,  2003. 


 Thereafter,  until  such  time  as  the  Commission  acts  on  the  petitions  for  reconsideration,  licensees  should  place  EEO  public  file  reports  in  their  public  files  by  the  due  date.  They  may,  however,  base  their  public 
 file  reports  on  activity  that  concludes  up  to  10  days  prior  to  the  due  date.  Licensees  who  choose  to  conclude  their  reports  prior  to  the  day  before  the  due  date  should  include  any  reportable  information 
 occurring  between  their  cutoff  date  and  the  due  date  in  next  year’s  public  file  report. 


 Media  Contact:  Michelle  Russo  202-  418-  2358  Media  Bureau  Contacts:  Lewis  Pulley  202-  418-  1456;  Roy  Boyce  202-  418-  1438. 
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