If we want to be modern, working on a machine-readable format for the public file should come next

We have more work do if want to truly modernize the public file system that is the subject of our decision April 12. These filings include things like station authorizations, contour maps, ownership reports, equal employment opportunity filings, reports on children’s television programming, materials related to investigations and complaints, and joint sales agreements. They also include a political file that features sponsorship information concerning political advertisements paid for by candidates, groups, and individuals; details on when they run; and what issues of national importance they discuss. In 2012, the Federal Communications Commission decided it was time to begin uploading the contents of these public inspection files online. But now the hard truth: this system is dated. These filings are not machine-readable. They cannot be processed by a computer. That means it is all but impossible to use this system to study trends in everything from media ownership to political advertising. We should update the public file system for the digital age. It should be searchable, sortable, and downloadable. It should be transparent and useful for the public. So in our media modernization initiative, let me offer my colleagues a suggestion: if we truly want to be modern, working on a machine-readable format for the public file should come next.