PUBLIC
NOTICE
from
the Federal Communications Commission
PUBLIC NOTICE
Federal Communications Commission
News Media Information 202 / 418-0500
445 12th St., S.W.
Internet: http://www.fcc.gov
Washington, D.C. 20554
TTY: 1-888-835-5322
DA 12-1256
Released: August 2, 2012
ONLINE PUBLIC INSPECTION FILE
INTERFACE NOW AVAILABLE
MM Docket No. 00-168; MM Docket No. 00-44
Today all full-power television broadcasters will begin to upload new
public inspection file
documents to the Federal Communications Commission’s online public
inspection file site,
where the public will be able to access them. The interface for the
site has been developed to
vastly improve the accessibility of stations’ public files and to
minimize the burden on
broadcasters in providing them. The new site and interface implement
the decision in the FCC’s
recent Report & Order requiring television broadcast stations to
post their public inspection files
online in a central, Commission-hosted database.
Except for the political file, broadcasters will upload public file
documents that are generated on
and after August 2, but they will have six months after August 2 to
upload public file documents
that were in their public file prior to August 2. In the case of the
political file, only broadcasters
affiliated with the top four national TV networks in the top 50
television markets (Designated
Market Areas or DMAs) are required to upload their political files, and
only public file
documents generated on and after August 2 need be uploaded. Those
affiliated stations are not
required to upload any political file documents generated prior to
August 2. All other stations
will, for now, maintain their political files at their stations. These
stations will begin uploading
their political files to the Commission’s online site on July 1, 2014.
A list of the elements of the
public inspection file may be found in the text at the site, along with
brief explanations of each.
Please note that there are a few exceptions to the uploading
obligation, such as emails and letters
from the public and certain documents related to Commission
investigations. These exceptions
are further explained in the text at the site.
The Commission links to the public inspection file are as follows: for
access by the public –
http://stations.fcc.gov;
for
access
by TV broadcasters –
https://stationaccess.fcc.gov.
The Commission has conducted considerable testing of the interface,
both by Commission staff
and broadcasters, over the past several weeks. Work will continue,
including development of a
public search feature and permitting access to the interface though
Dropbox and others offerings.
Members of the public and broadcasters will find Frequently Asked
Questions (FAQs) on the
interface if they have questions. For further information, you can
contact the Licensing Support
Hotline at (877) 480-3201 option 2, (717) 338-2888, or (717) 338-2824
(TTY). The Hotline is
available to assist with questions Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m. to
6:00 p.m. ET. You may
also submit requests
and report any errors or problems with the online sites at
https://esupport.fcc.gov/request.htm.
In
order
to provide better service all calls to the Hotline
are recorded.
For press inquiries, contact Janice Wise,
janice.wise@fcc.gov,
202
418-8165.