The next Quarterly Issues/Programs List (âQuarterly Listâ) must be placed in stationsâ Public Inspection Files by July 10, 2024, reflecting information for the months of April, May, and June 2024.
Content of the Quarterly List The FCC requires each broadcast station to air a reasonable amount of programming responsive to significant community needs, issues, and problems as determined by the station. The FCC gives each station the discretion to determine which
issues facing the community served by the station are the most significant and how best to respond to them in the stationâs overall programming.
To demonstrate a stationâs compliance with this public interest obligation, the FCC requires the station to maintain and place in the Public Inspection File a Quarterly List reflecting the âstationâs most significant programming treatment of community issues during the preceding three month period.â By its use of the term âmost significant,â the FCC has noted that stations are not required to list all responsive programming, but only that programming which provided the most significant treatment of the issues identified.
Given that program logs are no longer mandated by the FCC, the Quarterly Lists may be the most important evidence of a stationâs compliance with its public service obligations. The lists also provide important support for the certification of Class A television station compliance discussed below. We therefore urge stations not to âskimpâ on the Quarterly Lists, and to err on the side of over-inclusiveness. Otherwise, stations risk a determination by the FCC that they did not adequately serve the public interest during their license term. Stations should include in the Quarterly Lists as much issue-responsive programming as they feel is necessary to demonstrate fully their responsiveness to community needs. Taking extra time now to provide a thorough Quarterly List will help reduce risk at license renewal time.
