STATEMENT OF
COMMISSIONER MIGNON L. CLYBURN
Re: Expansion of Online Public File Obligations To Cable and Satellite TV Operators and Broadcast 
and Satellite Radio Licensees, MB Docket No. 14-127.
When I voted four years ago to make public files that were then stored in broadcast television 
station headquarters available over a Commission-hosted online public file platform, I said that 
“‘disclosure’ and ‘transparency’ inspire confidence, increase the public’s trust, and convey good faith. 
The American people not only want those things," my statement read, "they demand them, and that is the 
basis for my approval of this item.”
Those expressions for me are just as true today as when I said them then, which is why I support 
the expansion of online public file obligations to include radio broadcasters, cable companies and satellite 
radio and television properties.
Our experience with the television online file transition has been, in a word, positive. At my 
request, the television online file migration was evaluated one year after the largest stations transitioned, 
and what we found, was that there was no reason to delay the transition for smaller stations.  Broadcasters 
saw the online database as easy to use and reliable, but most importantly, the public has found it 
incredibly valuable, judging by the almost 12 million visits to the hosted site since then.  
With this as a backdrop, the time has come for the remaining media entities to transition their 
public files online. Radio, cable, and satellite providers will be phasing into the online system in the same 
manner as we did for television stations. Once again, we will start with the larger stations and systems, 
giving smaller entities additional time, and if past is prologue, all providers should be at ease. The FCC 
listened to television broadcasters while it developed a system that is not only user friendly, it kept the 
burden of this online shift low. Our IT professionals should be commended for their diligent work in this 
regard. 
Today, we are once again simply modernizing the procedures of the existing public file 
requirements by moving from reams of papers and files stored in offices to the Internet, which has quickly 
shown to minimize the burdens on users while ensuring public access to valuable information.  
But not all of our stations and systems live in an online connected world, so for those properties 
that remain on the other side of the digital divide, provisions are in place for you to seek a waiver of this 
rule, giving additional time to join those of us who take being online for granted.  
Today’s item balances the needs of the public with the burdens imposed on the regulated, but it is 
not accidental that the main beneficiary of this online database is the American public. We rely on them 
as our primary source when it comes to a station’s programming, operations and compliance with the 
Commission’s rules and they will always be an integral part of our democratic fabric. So if the FCC can 
be instrumental in giving the public enhanced tools to do so, then we must make it so.
I want to thank the Media Bureau for their work on this item, especially Kim Matthews and Mary 
Beth Murphy.