By John Eggerton, Broadcasting & Cable Online, 1-31-20
State broadcast associations this week added their weight to the National Association of Broadcasters petition for changes to the FCC’s guidance on political ad disclosures.
NAB joined with Hearst Television, Graham Media Group, Nexstar, Fox, Tegna, and Scripps to ask the FCC to narrow its definition of non-candidate ads on “any political matter of national importance” (i.e., “issue” ads) and the disclosure obligations on broadcasters to identify the issues in those ads.
Broadcasters want the FCC to narrow the interpretation of “national importance” by specifying that the term applies only to national political actors in position to take national action, which would exclude ads targeted at state and local races, even ones that might mention issues of national importance.
The state associations did not mince words in expressing their support for the NAB. » Read More