FCC Eliminates Equal Employment Opportunity Broadcaster Mid-Term Filing Requirement

The Federal Communications Commission voted to eliminate the Broadcast Mid-Term Report (Form 397) filing requirement, concluding that this paperwork has become redundant and unnecessary. The FCC has used Form 397 in its mid-term reviews of broadcasters’ equal employment opportunity practices. But because almost all of the information collected in Form 397 is now available in broadcasters’ online public inspection files, and the remaining piece of information will be available there before the use of Form 397 is eliminated, the FCC has found that the requirement for broadcasters to file Form 397 is outdated and unnecessary.