Don’t Let Fines And A Consent Decree Turn Filing Time Into Crying Time!!
Through the years minimal attention has been paid to the contents of station Quarterly Issues/Programs filings by some stations – and now the FCC has taken notice!
Yes, the FCC did change from providing detailed guidance on what constitutes a proper Quarterly Issues/Programs filing some years back, but the FCC did NOT reduce the requirement for the filing and for its contents. As you prepare your filing, it’s worth asking your FCC attorney for updated guidance, or search the web for sample acceptable format and contents for current Issues/Programs filings.
Several recent NM ABIP inspection visits have revealed everything from stations that are clearly wholeheartedly compliant with exemplary Issues/Programs file entries, to stations in which the Issues/Programs filings are clearly deficient. Deficient and/or late filings have been getting noticed by the FCC which has been issuing fines and initiating Consent Decrees.
Let’s start with an exemplary fine: KVUE(TV), Austin, Texas, was recently fined $6,000 for failing to timely file its Quarterly Issues/Programs reports. It appears that the station did, in fact, file all the required reports, but a number of them weren’t timely filed.
And then there are those arduous Consent Decrees. If the FCC initiates a Consent Decree for your station arising from a deficient Issues/Programs file, here’s typically what happens. This case history is drawn from a recent determination of deficient Issues/Programs filings by WCVH(FM), Flemington, New Jersey, which also received a fine for its non-compliance.
If you enter into a Consent Decree like WCVH(FM)’s, typically you will have to: (take a deep breath – this is going to take a minute!)
Create a Compliance Officer.
Within 30 calendar days after the Effective Date, the Licensee shall designate a responsible party to serve as a Compliance Officer and to discharge the duties set forth below. The Compliance Officer shall report directly to the Licensee’s President (or equivalent senior officer/owner) on a regular basis, and shall be responsible for developing, implementing, and administering the Compliance Plan and ensuring that the Licensee complies with the terms and conditions of the Compliance Plan and this Consent Decree. The Compliance Officer shall have specific knowledge of the Filing Date Rule prior to assuming his/her duties. The Bureau acknowledges that the Compliance Officer, President, and/or Board Member may be the same individual.
Compliance Plan.
Licensee represents that, in addition to its existing policies and procedures, it has adopted, is currently in the process of implementing, and agrees to abide by the Compliance Plan outlined in paragraph 16 [of the actual FCC order for WCVH(FM)] for the purpose of ensuring compliance with the Filing Date Rule. Licensee agrees, to the extent that it has not already done so, to implement this Compliance Plan at the Station no later than thirty (30) days after the Effective Date and to keep such Compliance Plan in effect for three (3) years after the Effective Date.
Licensee or its successor-in-interest, as licensee of the Station, as appropriate, will institute the following procedures to ensure compliance with the Commission’s application filing Rules.
Unless otherwise provided, all terms defined in the Consent Decree apply to this Compliance Plan.
Licensee will conduct training for all Station employees on compliance with Commission Rules applicable to station operations. To augment this training, outside counsel, or other comparable professionals, will conduct an on-site workshop for all of the Station’s employees. This workshop will be recorded and used as refresher training for staff and management at least once every twelve (12) months, and to train any new employee within five (5) days of commencement of his or her duties at the Station.
Licensee will engage communications counsel on an ongoing basis to provide guidance on Commission compliance issues, to provide regular updates and notices on applicable developments in communications law, and to review its applications and reports prior to filing with the Commission. In regard to the last matter, the Station’s licensee recognizes and acknowledges that any and all information provided to the Commission must completely and candidly set forth all relevant facts and circumstances, regardless of whether such a submission may disclose a violation of the Act or the Rules.
Licensee will use a commercially-available calendaring system, such as Microsoft Outlook or Google Calendar, to track filing deadlines. An authorized representative of Licensee will provide an annual declaration to the Bureau certifying that, since the commencement of this Compliance Plan or the filing of its last report, if any, Licensee has maintained and is maintaining such a calendar system each year of the three-year term of this Compliance Plan.
In the event the Station’s licensee is unable to so certify, it will disclose the reasons there for and indicate what steps it has taken to come into compliance with this Compliance Plan.
All of which is to express that it’s less costly and lots less work to simply make timely and sufficient Issues/Programs public file entries. Now that our public files are on-line, the FCC really is looking over your shoulder!! If the FCC finds that your station’s on-line public file is deficient, you might actually think filing time has become crying time!!
