In this “political” year with Congressional mid-term elections in November, including many hotly contested races for seats in the US House of Representatives and the Senate, as well as many state and local elections, I receive many questions from broadcasters across the country. Perhaps the area in which most questions are received deals with the “political file,” particularly because these files are now available online. The fact that this file can now be viewed by anyone anywhere across the country has raised many questions that were perhaps less top of mind when the file was available only by physically visiting the main studio of a broadcast station. So, with the election just over a month away, meaning that the busiest advertising period will be coming up between now and the election, I thought that it would be worth taking a look at some of the online public file issues.

As an initial matter, it is worth mentioning that the political file has two main purposes. First, it is designed to provide information to the public about who is trying to convince them to vote in a certain way or to take action on other political issues that may be facing their country or community. Second, the file is to inform one candidate of what uses of broadcast stations his or her opponents are making. Thus, the documents placed in the file must be kept in the file for only two years from the date that they were created – perhaps on the assumption that at that point, we will be on to the next election cycle and old documents really won’t matter to the public or to competing candidates in the last election. But what needs to go into the file?

For any request for advertising made by any legally qualified candidate for any public office (Federal, state or local), the following information needs to be maintained in the file:

  • Whether the request to purchase time was accepted or rejected;
  • If accepted, the rate charged for the ads in the advertising schedule;
  • The date and time that the ads are to be aired, with the exact times that they were aired to be added to the file after they run;
  • The class of advertising time purchased (which will be determined by the rights associated with the spots, e.g. whether they are fixed or preemptible, the daypart or rotation in which the spots will run, etc.)
  • The name of the candidate and his or her authorized committee, and the treasurer of the committee.

All information should go into the file as soon as an order is received – certainly within 24 hours. The only exception is for the details of the exact times that the spots ran, which can be inserted into the file when your traffic system generates those reports – provided that they must be provided sooner on request.

That same information as provided for a candidate ad needs to be put into the file for any advertising relating to a “political matter of national importance.” That would include any ad by a non-candidate group (e.g., a PAC, labor union, corporation or other interested individual) dealing with any issue likely to be dealt with here in Washington. Such issues would include:

  • Any ad dealing with a legally qualified candidate for Federal office (either attacking or supporting a candidate); or
  • Any national legislative issue of public importance (e.g., an ad saying “write your Congressman and tell him to vote” for or against some issue being dealt with by the Federal government).

In the political file for these Federal issue ads, in addition to all of the information for candidate ads, the file also needs to include a description of the issue that the ad addresses. That can be the name of the candidate that the ad supports or attacks, or the name of a Federal issue that the ad addresses. In some cases the ad can address both a candidate and an issue. In that case, it is probably safest for the political file to list both the candidate and the issues addressed. The FCC’s Media Bureau issued a decision in January 2017 requiring that dual identification (see our article here), but that decision was withdrawn when the current FCC Chairman came into office with a promise that the FCC would reexamine the issue and release a new decision (see our article here). While that new order has apparently been drafted and has been on circulation among the Commissioners for a vote since May 2018, the decision has not yet been released. Watch for a clarification that could come at any time.

All issue ads, whether dealing with Federal, state or local issues (state and local issues could include state ballot initiatives, local zoning or school bond issues, or attacks on state or local candidates), also require information about the sponsor of the ads. The information includes the following:

    • The name of the person or entity purchasing the time, and
    • A list of the chief executive officers, members of the executive committee or of the board of directors of such entity.

In the decision referenced above on which we are awaiting a final FCC ruling, the Media Bureau had required that stations, if they are given only a single name of an officer or director of an entity buying issue ads, ask the ad buyer for the names of additional officers or directors – on the assumption that it is unlikely that any organization has but a single officer or director. While that responsibility has not yet been clarified, it is probably advisable that stations make such inquiries.

We note that many stations use forms to gather the information necessary to respond to these questions – often forms generated by a group owner or one of the “PB” forms created by the NAB. These are good models to use to gather the information for the file, but the station still needs to make sure that the information provided by the political buyer fully responds to the questions on the form. We have heard of many cases where non-candidate groups do not want to say on the form that they are buying ads on a Federal issue, even when they are clearly attacking a candidate for Federal office, perhaps because they do not want all the information about the advertising buy (including the price and schedule) to be revealed in the public file. Stations need to inquire if the information provided is not complete, as the burden is on the station, not the ad buyer, for this information to be complete and accurate, and timely placed in the online public file.

Also, do not put information into the file about the method of payment for the ads. We have seen cases where checks from advertisers, or worse yet, information about their electronic payment methods, have been included in the public file, potentially revealing sensitive information that could compromise bank accounts. Do not place this information into the file.

Finally, be alert to state record-keeping requirements. States including Washington and New York have recently enacted state laws that may impose different or additional paperwork obligations on political advertising (see our article here). If your station is in one of those states, be sure to not only observe the FCC’s rules, but also those of the state in which you are located.

Good luck in keeping all these rules straight in the last weeks before the election. For more information about political advertising obligations, see our Guide to Political Broadcasting, here. And, of course, ask your own lawyer as these issues arise, as they raise many tricky issues that may depend on the specific facts of your case to get the right answer.