The Federal Communications Commission’s (“FCC”) Local Public Notice Rule Changes have been published in the Federal Register and will go into effect tomorrow, October 30. These changes – which we detailed at length in a previous post – eliminate the obligation to publish a public notice of certain broadcast applications in newspapers, requiring instead that applicants publish these notices in the Online Public Inspection File (“OPIF”) or application databases. Among other changes, the new rules will also standardize the on-air announcement requirements for broadcast local public notices.
Please note that FCC staff has clarified that the change in the public notice rules does not affect license renewal applications which were filed and released on public notice prior to tomorrow’s effective date. If you still have questions in regards to how this will impact your station, please contact Keenan Adamchak at (703) 812-0415 or adamchak@fhhlaw.com.