Federal Communications Commission Adopts Proposal to Support Local Journalism

The Federal Communications Commission adopted a proposal to advance its longstanding policy goal of supporting local journalism and broadcasters’ commitment to meet the needs and interests of local communities. The proposal explores incentivizing the production of local programming by prioritizing the processing and review of applications from broadcast stations that invest in and prioritize local programming in communities across the country. Specifically, the FCC proposes to adopt an application processing policy that, with respect to applications for renewal, transfer, or assignment of a license, would prioritize evaluation of those applications filed by stations that certify that they provide locally originated programming. These applications would be the first to be reviewed, which would likely result in quicker action and, if the application is granted, quicker approval of these applications.