FCC Ready for Cable, Satellite, Radio to Pony Up Files

The Federal Communications Commission has signaled a final vote Jan 28 on its proposal to require radio, cable and satellite to post public inspection files, including political files, online. That could come in time for campaign finance watchers to scope out their political files as they currently do broadcasters.

In December 2014, the FCC approved a proposed rulemaking that requires cable and direct-broadcast satellite (DBS) systems and radio stations (and XM-Sirius) to post their public files, including political files, in an FCC-administered online database. TV broadcasters already have to file records of political ad buys to a searchable, FCC-hosted database (the FCC has said it has had millions of hits on that database), but the FCC held off extending that requirement, and other public file requirements — like EEO, children's TV and more — to cable and satellite operators, which are all still required to keep those files available for public inspection locally. "This proposal does not include new disclosure requirements and would lower long-term costs for industry," FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler blogged of the planned vote. "This modernization of the public inspection file is plain common sense. The evolution of the Internet and the expansion of broadband infrastructure have transformed the way society accesses information today. Most important, the public will gain greater transparency and easier access to the information contained in the public files."