The Federal Communications Commission released a report that outlines ways broadcasters can better serve their local communities as they move to digital broadcasting.
The Federal Communications Commission released a report on Jan. 18 that gave pointers to broadcasters on how to better fulfill their public interest obligations.
As it moves television broadcasters from analog to digital television, the FCC has been looking into ways to expand the public interest requirements, primarily in response to those who say broadcasters should have to pay for frequency spectrum allocations. Requirements broadcasters must currently meet include: airing programming that discusses community issues of concern, providing equal opportunities to candidates for public office, airing three hours of children’s programming per week, prohibiting indecent programming from certain times of the day and providing some programming with closed captions.
* Airing local public affairs programming daily in addition to news coverage.
* Setting aside airtime for expression for local community groups.
* Using the multichannel capacity to produce programming targeted to particular areas within their service areas.
* Airing public service announcements during peak viewing hours.
* Using web-based forums such as chat rooms to engage in regular contact with the communities to find out how to best serve their needs.
* Airing programming that serves the educational and informational needs of children of different ages.
* Using the DTV flexibility to serve children in dynamic, innovative ways such as datacasting and interactive video.
* Devoting at least five minutes each night for 30 days before an election to candidate-centered discussion.
* Developing new ways to provide disaster and emergency information.
* Expanding and enhancing closed captioning and video descriptions.
* Periodically reassessing how new technologies can be used to enhance service to the local community.
Not all the principles outlined in the FCC report related to digital broadcasting; many also applied to analog channels. Additionally, the report encouraged broadcasters to generate their own ideas of how to better serve their communities.