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Buffalo Radio Public Affairs Programming

K

Kal

Any current or recently 'disconnected' radio person might know, but are stations required to do Public Affairs and/or PSA type programs any longer? We used to have to make an attempt at those years ago. Now it seems that all you hear is paid 'Super Reds Vitamin' and 'Colon Blow' shows pretending to be PA.

Kal
 
LOL - again KAL
I was wondering the same thing recently! (Savage will have the inside - and then the outside on that I'm sure ;D)
 
Yes, stations are still required to produce and run Public Affairs programs, and must be documented in the station's public file (just finished the Quarterly Reports for our cluster.)

Years ago that was a way to get started in the biz-- board op for the God Squad!
 
Penrod Rightout said:
Yes, stations are still required to produce and run Public Affairs programs, and must be documented in the station's public file (just finished the Quarterly Reports for our cluster.)
Click to expand...
Indeed. Public Affairs programming usually goes hand-in-hand with the quarterly "Issues & Programming" statement provided by the station in the Public File and the FCC pays particular attention to that file. They want to see "documentation." Having been through two local FCC inspections at WGR and passed both, I can attest to that. Word to the wise, make sure your Public File is in order, well-organized, your Operating logs are up-to-date and the EAS notifications are well documented. The local FCC reps are decent fellows, not out to bust your balls, but to make sure the station is in compliance with the Rules and Regs. Usually, the station will get advance notice of their visit. They'll even give you a compliment from time to time.
 
Thanks guys!

I was just wondering because as I mentioned, all you hear these days are the 'Colon Blow' shows. The stations must be burying them in the wee hours of the overnights! Or maybe they air regularly during transmitter maintenance?

PA programs are something I used to enjoy producing/hosting.

Kal
 
Kal said:
Thanks guys!

I was just wondering because as I mentioned, all you hear these days are the 'Colon Blow' shows. The stations must be burying them in the wee hours of the overnights! Or maybe they air regularly during transmitter maintenance?
Click to expand...

Sorry, but you won't hear "Colon Blow" on WCJW, but we invite you to check out our locally produced "Common Ground" show which airs at 12:10 PM (not AM) on Sundays, the daily Agri-business report from 5 to 6 AM, and our ongoing coverage of local news and public affairs.

We run this stuff not only to comply with FCC rules, but because our listeners demand it. The issues-program lists are simply a regulatory PITA.
 
I could have sworn that when deregulation reared its ugly head back in the 1980s that public affairs programs, like local news, were no longer required to be carried by radio stations.

According to the posts on here apparently I was wrong. :-\
 
You are required to report the public affairs issues you've covered every quarter - but I don't believe there are any specific requirements as to how or how often you cover them. I know a lot of stations simply run an hour or half-hour every Sunday to handle this, but that's not how everyone does it.
 
A lot of music stations do bury such programming on weekend overnights, Sunday morning between 5 and 8 AM,or late Sunday evening after 10. The FCC doesn't care all that much when you deal with these issues as long as you can come up with program topics and guest lists that sound reasonable.

Of course, for news/talk stations this isn't an issue, because it's assumed that you're dealing with issues of public concern 24/7 unless you're running play-by-play. Such stations keep guest lists and topic lists for all their talk shows, as well as summarize major news stories they've been covering on an ongoing basis. Not hard, since a news/talk station is compiling those lists just in the course of preparing their daily promos and media releases.
 
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