Media Contact: 
Janice Wise, (202) 418-8165
janice.wise@fcc.gov

For Immediate Release

FCC PROPOSES MODERNIZED LOCAL PUBLIC NOTICE REQUIREMENTS FOR BROADCAST APPLICANTS 

WASHINGTON, September 26, 2019—The Federal Communications Commission today adopted a Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM) that proposes a modernized and standardized set of rules for local public notice given by broadcast applicants.  

When filing certain applications, television and radio broadcast applicants are required by the Communications Act to give public notice to the local communities they serve to ensure that members of the public can participate in the broadcast licensing process.  The current rule requires certain applicants to provide written notice in a local newspaper, other applicants must broadcast on-air messages that announce the filing of an application, and some applicants must do both.  

Because the notice requirements differ based on the type of applicant, station, and application, the rules have become needlessly complex.  Moreover, given the changes in public use of online information sources instead of newspapers, the elimination of the main studio rule, and the transition from physical to online public inspection files, the current rules have become anachronistic.

Today’s Further Notice of Proposed Rule Making proposes to modernize and simplify the public notice requirements, reduce the costs and burdens of the existing procedures, and make it easier for the public to participate in the licensing process.  It would replace the current newspaper publication requirement with a written public notice posted online on a publicly accessible website that includes a direct link to the broadcast application in question.  Additionally, it proposes to:

· Simplify and standardize the public notice requirements for on-air announcements; 
· Clarify the local public notice obligations of international broadcast stations and low-power FM stations; and 
· Update the Commission’s rules concerning public notice for
stations designated for evidentiary hearings.

This FNPRM continues the Commission’s ongoing effort to modernize its media rules by eliminating or modifying regulations that are outdated, unnecessary, or unduly burdensome.
  
Action by the Commission September 26, 2019 by Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FCC 19-97).  Chairman Pai, Commissioners O’Rielly, Carr, Rosenworcel, and Starks approving.  Chairman Pai, Commissioners O’Rielly and Starks issuing separate statements.

MB Docket Nos. 05-6, 17-105, 17-264

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Media Relations: (202) 418-0500 / ASL: (844) 432-2275 / TTY: (888) 835-5322 / Twitter: @FCC / www.fcc.gov 

This is an unofficial announcement of Commission action.  Release of the full text of a Commission order constitutes official action.  See MCI v. FCC, 515 F.2d 385 (D.C. Cir. 1974).