The FCC voted to eliminate the main studio rule. Implemented nearly 80 years ago, the rule required stations to have a brick and mortar station in or near the community they serve. It was designed to make it easy for listeners and viewers to give input to their local station.
But broadcasters say the rule is costing them dearly, in studio space and the personnel required to staff those studios. They also say allowing anyone to just walk into a station these days is potentially unsafe for broadcast personnel. In response to the vote, NAB said the association is “confident that cost savings realized from ending the main studio rule will be reinvested by broadcasters in better programming and modernized equipment to better serve our local communities.”
Supporters like Chairman Ajit Pai called the rule outdated now that people use social media, emails and phone calls to contact stations. Pai said “the overwhelming majority of public input favored our proposal.” The Order that passed 3-2 along party lines yesterday still requires stations to maintain a local or toll-free number to ensure the public has access to the station. Republican Commissioner Michael O’Rielly says this portion “reflects how the public currently communicates with local businesses.”
Democratic Commissioners Mignon Clyburn and Jessica Rosenworcel strongly opposed the change, saying it favors big, corporate owners over smaller ones. “Instead of taking a sledgehammer to the main studio rule, the FCC majority could have enacted a more measured approach, such as a revised waiver process that considers market size and economic hardship,” said Clyburn. Rosenworcel too, wished the Commissioners could have agreed to handle the issue with waivers, saying dropping the rule “will hollow out the unique role broadcasters play in local communities, a role that is not just tradition but is an essential part of broadcasting under the Communications Act.”
October 25, 2017
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