FCC considering allowing non-comms to raise money on-air for charities

[radioboy]

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) today invited comment on whether to
allow public broadcasters to spend a modest amount of their total annual
broadcast time – up to one percent, or about 88 hours per year – to conduct
on-air fundraising activities for charities and other nonprofits. This proposal
is a recommendation of The Information Needs of Communities report, which was
released in June 2011. The proposal gives viewers of public broadcasting the
opportunity to raise funds for non-profit organizations in their communities and
around the world. The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) is another step in
the Commission's effort to review existing regulations and reduce unnecessary
burdens.

Under longstanding FCC policy, noncommercial educational (NCE) public broadcast
stations can only conduct fundraising activities for the benefit of the station
itself. Fundraising activities for third-parties is prohibited if fundraising
activities conducted on-air would substantially alter or suspend regular
programming. The policy reflects concerns that public stations are licensed to
meet their mission of public service to local audiences through noncommercial
and educational programming, not through fundraising activities for other
organizations.

The Commission previously granted waivers of this policy to permit NCE stations
to raise funds in support of relief efforts for unique catastrophic events, such
as Hurricane Katrina, the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the January 2010
earthquake in Haiti, and, most recently, the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami
in Japan. This proposal would eliminate the need for noncommercial stations to
seek a waiver just as emergencies are occurring.

The recent INC Report recommended that the FCC consider affording noncommercial
broadcasters more flexibility by allowing NCE stations to engage in fundraising
for charities and other third-party non-profit organizations. The INC Report
suggested that in some cases, having local charities on the air can be a useful
way of informing residents about problems in their communities. Allowing such
activities can also help public broadcasters meet their public service or
religious missions.

Specifically, the NPRM seeks comment on whether:

· The ban on third-party fundraising remains necessary to preserve the
noncommercial nature of NCE stations, or whether it would serve the public
interest to grant NCE stations some flexibility to conduct fundraising on behalf
of other non-profits;

· There should be any limitations on the NCE stations that may engage in
third-party fundraising and how to define the class of non-profit entities that
may benefit from third-party fundraising;

· Third-party fundraising should not exceed one percent of an NCE
broadcaster's total annual airtime. A modest one-percent annual limit, which
averages to almost 88 hours or almost 4 days of programming airtime, could help
to ensure that unrelated non-profit fundraising does not undermine the
educational programming mission of these stations;

· There should be a durational limit on each specific fundraising
program or effort;

· To require NCE stations that engage in third-party fundraising to
submit annual reports to the Commission on their fundraising activities, and if
so, what information should be included in these reports; whether to require NCE
stations to include their reports on third-party fundraising in their public
files; and

· NCE stations should be required to certify in their renewal
applications that they have complied with any limits on third-party fundraising.


Action by the Commission April 25, 2012, by Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FCC
12-43). Chairman Genachowski, Commissioners McDowell and Clyburn. Statement
issued by Chairman Genachowski.

 

[fredcantu]

Some people may see 88 hours as 1% of air time, others see 10,560 30-second spots where non-profits can directly appeal for donations. This seems to legalize the "call to action" that is not allowed in normal sponsored announcements on non-comms. I can see a flood of church spots on religious-formatted stations.

 

[Ai4i]

I can see a flood of church spots on religious-formatted stations.

That is an excellent point.
In my mind, I was thinking of classical stations promoting local orchestras and opera companies, rather than just their events.

 

[TheBigA]

In my mind, I was thinking of classical stations promoting local orchestras and opera companies, rather than just their events.

Me too. Especially with all the commercial classical stations going away, and orchestras moving to non-coms in Boston, NYC, and other places. The orchestras have taken a huge hit because of their loss of commercial radio sponsorships. Commercial broadcasters are less interested in cultural institutions than they used to be. Changes in tax laws haven't helped.

However, I agree that EMF can probably benefit from this as well.

 

[Radio Blood]

Has anyone heard or read how this might effect the licensee? Will the license still be restrained from fundraising for other needs or remain under the rules for raising broadcast costs only?

 

[Ai4i]

Any additional revenue derived justly would go into the station, HOWEVER, I do not know whether station management is under any constraints with regard to salaries.

 

[Goat Rodeo Cowboy]

Some people may see 88 hours as 1% of air time, others see 10,560 30-second spots where non-profits can directly appeal for donations. This seems to legalize the "call to action" that is not allowed in normal sponsored announcements on non-comms. I can see a flood of church spots on religious-formatted stations.

Is this the appropriate place to use the old, worn vergiabe that "the devil is in the details". It will all depend on how the final rules changes are worded and public comments may help shape those words.

I am under the impression that today's NCE and LPFM stations can probably run schedules of announcements for churches under the present rules. The current rules forbid "call to action" language for COMMERCIAL sponsors.

The thrust of the rules change seems to be geared for "beg-a-thon" type events. Today an NCE or LPFM cannot set up a three day fund-raising event for the county-wide little league group or the Habitat for Humanity organization, or what we used to call The Community Chest which tends to now come under the term United Way. Such a station could not set up a remote at the all day car-wash to raise funds to send the high school band to march in the Rose Bowl Parade.

But I am under the impression there is already room within the rules to sell "underwriting" announcements to the Hebron Valley Baptist Church Pancake Breakfast with a specific call-to-action to go to Sally Creek and Old Federal Road and buy a breakfast for $7.00 since it is on behalf of a not-for-profit entity.

Rules or no rules, we could probably have a robust discussion on whether a station could generate much business selling announcements that simply have as a call-to-action: please send money to Church "A". Can we assume that most people who listen to religious programming already write checks to their currently favorite church and are not good prospects for making a contribution to Church "B" just because they were invited to by an announcement on the radio? That would be a totally different transaction than the classic "teaching program" where an evangelist on the radio asks support for his teaching program where the listener is receiving a treasured series of lessons, lectures, sermons or whatever you want to call them.

 

[aaronread]

I think this is one of those "road to hell is paved with good intentions" situations. As GRC notes, there's been lots of times when a non-comm has wanted to do a limited-duration (few days at most) on-air beg-a-thon to raise funds for a good cause. Be it Hurricanes Katrina or Irene, or any one of a thousand other causes, both local and national.

The problem is that it's all but impossible to create new rules that explicitly allow such things without also opening the door to tremendous abuse of the system. There's just too many potential conflicts of interest in play here. For example, I could also easily see ill-advised parent colleges suddenly demanding that their popular NPR affiliates start fundraising on behalf of the college, too...not realizing (or caring) that such actions would be fantastically counter-productive. Or perhaps more subtly; if a station's board of trustees has some members who are also connected with another non-profit that could use some extra cash, you'd probably see that station under a lot of pressure to start begging more and more than is healthy for the station.

As GRC notes, it is perfectly legal to solicit funds on the air for another non-profit. The key is that it cannot be an interruption of regular programming; 30 second announcements are not considered "an interruption" in this context. Of course, they're not as effective as pitching on-air for 4 to 10 minutes at a stretch, either, but that kind of pitching is considered "an interruption" and thus is illegal.

What people consistently seem to forget (or deliberately ignore) is that EVERY station's content/product does NOT exist in a vacuum vis a vis its funding structure. You CANNOT change the funding structure of public broadcasting AND preserve the current system of operations and programming. That goes both ways, too...if Jamie Dimon gave $2bil to CPB to distribute to stations, it most definitely would impact things...probably for "the better" in the eyes of many stations, but possibly it'd make them even more "dangerously" complacent, too.