Federal Communications Commission FCC 17-3
STATEMENT OF
COMMISSIONER MIGNON L. CLYBURN
Re: Revisions to Public Inspection File Requirements – Broadcaster Correspondence File and 
Cable Principal Headend Location, MB Docket No. 16-161.
Last September I had the opportunity to meet with four different station owners during 
the NAB Radio Show in Nashville, TN. During our discussions, I asked each broadcaster this: How often 
do you receive requests from the public to examine the correspondence file? The near universal answer: 
“rarely if ever at all.” 
The broadcaster correspondence file rule was established more than 40 years ago as a way to 
"make information to which the public already has a right, more readily available, so that the public will 
be encouraged to play a more active part in dialogue with broadcast licensees." Stations were required to 
retain letters received from the public, pertaining to its operations. And while physical letters from 
viewers today may not play the role they once did, this does not lessen the importance of the public 
having a direct means to communicate with their local broadcaster. Thankfully, nothing in this Order 
changes that. Additionally, as social media becomes inextricably interwoven into the fabric of our 
everyday lives, platforms like Facebook and Twitter not only amplify a viewers’ message to their 
broadcaster, but they provide a public record that lives on in perpetuity. 
It is important to note that this Order ensures that those without access to the Internet, continue to 
have a voice by reiterating that the Commission’s broadcast license renewal process remains intact and 
consumers can continue to file an informal objection by mail or through the Commission’s toll-free phone 
number. Such objections have and will continue to be included in a station’s online file, as well as in the 
Commission’s licensing database, providing the public with a transparent view into any concerns 
expressed by the local community.