public broadcasting in the united states quizlet
We prefer that you submit complaints in writing, although you may submit complaints that are time-sensitive by telephone, especially if they involve safety concerns. Frequencies used for broadcasting were to be held by the government, not owned by licensees. [18], In the United States, the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) serves as the nation's main public television provider. Programming Inciting Imminent Lawless Action.The Supreme Court has ruled that the government can curtail speech if it is both: (1) intended to incite or produce imminent lawless action; and (2) likely to incite or produce such action. Even when this legal test is met, any review that might lead to a curtailment of speech is generally performed by the appropriate criminal law enforcement authorities, not by the FCC. Receivers are being marketed that incorporate both modes of reception, with the ability to automatically switch to the analog signal if the digital signal cannot be detected or is lost by the receiver. The Communications Act authorizes the Commission to "make such regulations not inconsistent with law as it may deem necessary to prevent interference between stations and to carry out the provisions of the Act." The Commission has defined this program matter to include language that is both so grossly offensive to members of the public who actually hear it as to amount to a nuisance and is sexual or excretory in nature or derived from such terms. Program owners must send program files to distributors and providers with all required captions and use an agreed upon mechanism to inform the distributors and providers of the programming that is subject to the requirements. The purpose of this Manual is to provide you with the basic tools necessary to ensure that the stations that are licensed to serve you meet their obligations and provide high quality broadcast service. The FCC has five Commissioners, each of whom is appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate. Closed captioning is a technology designed to provide access to television programming by persons with hearing disabilities by displaying, in text form, the audio portion of a broadcast, as well as descriptions of background noise and sound effects. . Effective technical assistance does not mean referring the complainant to the equipment manufacturer. In addition, commercial stations must provide information identifying these programs to the publishers of program guides. Libertarianism is a political ideology that emphasizes freedom and voluntary association with small government. For additional information about the underwriting rules, see https://www.fcc.gov/eb/broadcast/enhund and https://www.fcc.gov/media/radio/nature-of-educational-broadcasting. Soliciting Funds Lotteries conducted by a state acting under the authority of state law, when the advertisement or information is broadcast by a radio or TV station licensed to a location in that state or in any other state that conducts such a lottery; Gambling conducted by an Indian Tribe under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act; Lotteries authorized or not otherwise prohibited by the state in which they are conducted, and that are conducted by a not-for-profit organization or a governmental organization; and. Purpose of the File A full range of enforcement actions is available for EEO violations, including imposing reporting conditions, forfeitures, short -term license renewal, and license revocation. There is a very plausible argument that public service broadcasting (PSB), as an idea and a set of institutions, was one of the singular, great creations of the 20th century. Public television and radio in the U.S. has, from the late 1960s onward, dealt with severe criticism from conservative politicians and think-tanks (such as The Heritage Foundation), which allege that its programming has a leftist bias. Federal law prohibits the airing of advertising for cigarettes, little cigars, smokeless tobacco, and chewing tobacco on radio, TV, or any other medium of electronic communication under the FCC's jurisdiction. Loud Commercials. (1) The Corporation for Public Broadcasting shall have a Board of Directors (hereinafter in this section referred to as the "Board"), consisting of 9 members appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. Jazz is another traditional, but declining, public radio programming staple. Some stations also derive a portion of their funding from federal, state and local governments and government-funded colleges and universities, in addition to receiving free use of the public radio spectrum. If the emergency information is provided in the video portion of a regularly scheduled newscast or a newscast that interrupts regular programming, it must be made accessible through an aural description of the emergency information. The station licensee knew that the information was false; Broadcasting the false information directly causes substantial public harm; and. The FCC requires certain apparatus that receive, play back, or record video programming to make available a secondary audio stream for providing video description services and accessible emergency information. In the Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation (CALM) Act, Congress directed the FCC to establish rules that require broadcasters and pay TV providers ensure the commercials they transmit to viewers comply with an industry-developed technical standard, the Advanced Television Systems Committees A/85 Recommended Practice. (This includes listeners of NPR programming as well as original or other syndicated content aired on these stations.). cookie run: kingdom apk 2022 . Our role in overseeing program content is very limited. [5][6][7], Early public stations were operated by state colleges and universities, and were often run as part of the schools' cooperative extension services. Licensee Discretion Television commercials must have the same average volume as the programs they accompany. However, the advertising of smoking accessories, cigars, pipes, pipe tobacco, or cigarette-making machines is not prohibited. A lottery is any game, contest, or promotion that contains the elements of prize, chance, and "consideration" (a legal term that means an act or promise that is made to induce someone into an agreement). Public radio and television stations often produce their own programs as well as purchase additional programming from national producers and program distributors such as NPR, PBS, Public Radio International (PRI), American Public Television (APT), American Public Media (APM), and Public Radio Exchange (PRX). Lotteries Broadcast Journalism If your concerns are not resolved, with the exception of complaints about obscene, indecent, or profane programming, which should be submitted in the manner described previously -- and complaints about blanketing interference discussed earlier -- the best way to provide all the information the FCC needs to process your complaint about other broadcast matters is to fully complete an on-line complaint at https://consumercomplaints.fcc.gov/hc/en-us. In recognition of the vital role that broadcasting plays in the electoral process, the Communications Act and the Commissions rules impose specific obligations on broadcasters regarding political advertising. For purposes of the commercial limits, commercial matter is airtime sold for purposes of selling a product or service and promotions of television programs or video programming services other than childrens or other age-appropriate programming appearing on the same channel, or promotions for childrens educational and informational programming appearing on any channel. For a more complete description of these procedures and requirements, see https://www.fcc.gov/media/television/broadcast-television-license-renewal for television for television, and https:www.fcc.gov/media/radio/broadcast-radio-license-renewal for radio. Closed Captioning. However, religious stations are permitted to require that some or all of their employees meet a religious qualification. In light of the First Amendment and Section 326 of the Communications Act, we do not substitute our judgment for that of the licensee, nor do we advise stations on artistic standards, format, grammar, or the quality of their programming. However, that notification is not necessary when the other party knows that the conversation will be broadcast or this knowledge can be reasonably presumed, such as when the party is associated with the station (for example, as an employee or part-time reporter) or originates the call during a program during which the station customarily broadcasts the calls. Material Relating to an FCC Investigation or Complaint This is the latest report in Pew Research Centers ongoing investigation of the state of news, information and journalism in the digital age, a research program funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts, with generous support from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. However, the courts have upheld Congress' prohibition of the broadcast of indecent material during times of the day when there is a reasonable risk that children may be in the audience, which the Commission has determined to be between the hours of 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. Indecent programming is defined as language or material that, in context, depicts or describes, in terms patently offensive as measured by contemporary community standards for the broadcast medium, sexual or excretory organs or activities. Broadcasts that fall within this definition and are aired between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. may be subject to enforcement action by the FCC. Before a party can build a new TV or radio station, it first must apply to the FCC for a construction permit. As discussed further in this Manual, broadcast licensees must periodically make available detailed information about the programming they air to meet the needs and problems of their communities, which can be found in each stations public file. Tobacco and Alcohol Advertising. The term public opinion is used to describe. Programming Inciting "Imminent Lawless Action" Once the application is received, the FCC will issue a Public Notice and begin a 30-day period during which petitions to deny the application can be filed. Most communities also have public-access television channels on local cable television systems, which are generally paid for by cable television franchise fees and sometimes supported in part through citizen donations. While the details about public sources of revenue were unavailable for this analysis, NewsHour did provide information about its breakdown of nonpublic funding. To be obscene, the material must have all of the following three characteristics: Indecent Material. More information about the Commissions childrens television requirements can be viewed at https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/childrens-educational-television, and https://www.fcc.gov/media/television/childrens-educational-television-reporting-form-2100-schedule-h. Station-Conducted Contests. Commercial and Noncommercial Educational Stations Support for continuing CPB funding by liberals, independents and many conservatives in Congress has led to many of these efforts being defeated at the federal level, although there have been successful attempts to reduce though not eliminate funding for public television stations by some state legislatures. Many types of contests, depending on their particulars, also are covered under this definition. It thus has a certain flexibility in a time of great change. The U.S. government operates some limited direct broadcasting services, but all are either highly specialized (and, since the dawn of the millennium, automated) information services (WWV/WWVH time service, NOAA Weather Radio) or targeted at foreign audiences like Voice of America. Specifically Designed to Serve These Needs. Complaints about interference involving radio stations are handled by the Media Bureaus Audio Division. If your location is close to a radio station's transmitting antenna, then you may experience impaired reception of other stations. As discussed in more detail further in this Manual, each commercial station and most noncommercial stations must provide the public with information about how it has met its obligation in a quarterly report. We license only individual broadcast stations. Each commercial and noncommercial station also must maintain a public inspection file on the FCCs website https://publicfiles.fcc.gov/ that contains these reports, as well as other materials pertaining to the stations operations and dealings with the FCC and with the community it is licensed to serve. The Commission often receives complaints concerning broadcast journalism, such as allegations that stations have aired inaccurate or one-sided news reports or comments, covered stories inadequately, or overly dramatized the events that they cover. (American Public Media, which has provided data for this sheet in the past, did not do so this year.) If the emergency information is provided visually during regular programming, such as through a screen crawl or scroll, the visual information must be accompanied with an aural tone to alert persons with visual disabilities that the station is providing this information, and that they should tune to the secondary audio stream where such information must be provided aurally. The Communications Act. Also included is a brief description of each item, but the description should not be relied upon in place of the underlying rules description of that item. This is called "blanketing" interference. (with the notable exceptions of the United States, Mexico and Brazil). Each licensee, regardless of size, must file an FCC Form 396 EEO Program Report with its license renewal application. Stations in this era were internally funded, and did not rely on listener contributions to operate; some accepted advertising. With the exception of a few secondary or tertiary stations in certain major and mid-sized cities that rely entirely on syndicated content from American Public Television and other distributors, the vast majority of public television stations in the U.S. are member outlets of PBS. Public broadcasting refers to any television, radio, and digital media that receives funding from the public through license fees, subsidies, or tax dollars. In many cases where there is interference on your television set or radio, the source of the problem could be with your equipment, which may not be adequately designed with circuitry or filtering to reject the unwanted signals of nearby transmitters. In light of their discretion to formulate their programming, station licensees are not required to broadcast everything that is offered or otherwise suggested to them. It was foreseeable that broadcasting the false information would cause such harm. Commercial television broadcast licensees must limit the amount of commercial matter that may be aired during childrens programs to not more than 10.5 minutes per hour on weekends and not more than 12 minutes per hour on weekdays. Petitions to deny the application must be filed by the first day of the last full calendar month before the expiring license term. Equal Employment Opportunity File To implement the CTAs educational and informational programming mandate, the Commission has adopted a core programming processing guideline that applies to commercial and noncommercial educational television licensees. Which media content is regulated by the Federal Communications Commission FCC )? Television, radio, and digital media that receive partial funding from license fees and government subsidies is known as public broadcasting. The FCC reviews EEO compliance at the time it considers the station renewal application, when it reviews public file reports at the mid-point of license terms, when it receives EEO complaints, and during random station audits. We release a document called a Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) in which we explain the new rules or rule changes being proposed and establish a filing deadline for the public to comment. The Federal Trade Commission has primary responsibility for determining whether an advertisement is false or deceptive and for taking action against the sponsor. At the same time, nonprofit broadcasting fell to only 2 percent of the market (McChesney, 1992). For example, casino gambling is generally considered to be a lottery subject to the terms of the advertising restriction although, as discussed below, the prohibition is not applied to truthful advertisements for lawful casino gambling. Alternatively, you can also file an informal objection, which has fewer procedural requirements, often takes the form of a simple letter, and will be considered if received at any time before we either grant or deny the application. These devices must include a simple and easy to use mechanism for accessing closed captioning. The number of member organizations flagship educational and community organizations that operate at least one station stood at 254, down 4% from the previous year. Silhouette images from motion picture films were broadcast to the general public on a regular basis, at a resolution of just 48 lines. The FCC has stated that rigging or slanting the news is a most heinous act against the public interest. The Commission will investigate a station for news distortion if it receives documented evidence of rigging or slanting, such as testimony or other documentation, from individuals with direct personal knowledge that a licensee or its management engaged in the intentional falsification of the news. For additional information about the rule concerning lotteries, see https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/broadcasting-contests-lotteries-and-solicitation-funds. Equal Opportunities In early 2016, KIOF-LP (97.9 FM) in Las Vegas, Nevada began airing VOA News hourly, and is the only known public radio station in the United States to broadcast the VOA news service since the SmithMundt Act restrictions were lifted. Broadcast licenses generally expire on a staggered basis, by state, with most radio licenses expiring between October 1, 2019, and August 1, 2022, and most television licenses expiring between October 1, 2020, and August 1, 2023, one year after the radio licenses in the same state. A license would be issued only if The Commission will upload to the online file itself any document required to be retained in the file that also must be filed electronically with the Commission. No federal law prohibits the broadcast by stations of requests for funds for legal purposes (including appeals by stations for contributions to meet their operating expenses), if the money or other contributions are used for the announced purposes. protect former slaves from discrimination in public accommodations such as hotels and theaters. Access to Emergency Information. Obscene material is not protected by the First Amendment and cannot be broadcast at any time. Our procedural rules can be found in Title 47 CFR, Part 1. To ensure that parents and other interested parties are informed of the educational and informational childrens programming their area stations offer, commercial television licensees must identify each program specifically designed to educate and inform children by displaying the icon E/I throughout the program.