Just announced, the FCC has extended the deadline for uploading Quarterly Issues Programs list to your online public file from January 10 to January 31. As you may know, the Commission has been having issues with its Online Public Inspection File system and because of that the deadline has been extended until the end of the month.
As a reminder the Issues and Programs Quarterly Reports should show what your station has aired regarding issues that serves its community during that period of time. Here are some guidelines.
- The issues list should be fairly general rather than specific. Issues might include unemployment, police protection, schools, pollution, jails, the availability of drug and alcohol rehabilitation facilities, and DWI.
- The issues list should be no fewer than four issues and no more than ten. Most community issues are expressed as community needs and should change from quarter to quarter. For example, the issue “Education” may be more commonly discussed in the fall when school starts and might include the issue of overcrowded schools, while “Environment” may be more top of mind during the summer when people are outdoors and forest fires are a danger to air quality.
The response a station is expected to make to those issues is programming to help meet that community need. Most of these programs are discussion programs, interviews, or documentaries.
- The programs list should include programs that address the issues of concern in your community, that are outlined in your issues list. These are the programs that are generally considered “Public Affairs” programs.
- List each program with the time and date it airs as well as the program length. The program descriptions should include a brief narrative of the show’s content, including the name of the show host, the guest, the guest’s title or position and the topic of the show.
Stations should also note regular programming that serves your community. Some examples include news, weather and traffic reports. Add a line to your Quarterly Report that says something like “[THE STATION] provides local weather and traffic reports three times an hour every morning and afternoon and once an hour outside drive time” or “[THE STATION] carries 5 minutes of network news followed by 5 minutes of local news every hour.”
For an example of an Issues and Programs List, download the example from the DC attorneys at Davis, Wright and Tremaine.
