[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 501 Introduced in House (IH)]






109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 501

    To enforce the public interest obligations of broadcast station 
                 licensees to their local communities.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            February 1, 2005

  Ms. Slaughter (for herself, Mr. Holt, Mr. Grijalva, Mr. Filner, Mr. 
     Rangel, Mr. Owens, Ms. Watson, Mr. Kucinich, Mr. Hinchey, Mr. 
McDermott, Ms. Woolsey, and Mr. George Miller of California) introduced 
 the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and 
                                Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To enforce the public interest obligations of broadcast station 
                 licensees to their local communities.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Fairness and Accountability in 
Broadcasting Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
            (1) The Communications Act of 1934 requires the Federal 
        Communications Commission and broadcast licensees to promote 
        the ``public interest,'' a phrase that appears 40 times in the 
        legislation.
            (2) Because broadcasters receive free licenses to use the 
        public's airwaves, estimated to be worth hundreds of billions 
        of dollars, they have an obligation to uphold the public's 
        interest, and to adequately inform the public about news and 
        opinion.
            (3) From 1949 to 1987, a policy of the Federal 
        Communications Commission (FCC) required that radio and 
        television stations air all sides of important or controversial 
        issues, and give equal time to all candidates.
            (4) Since the rescission of the Fairness Doctrine, the 
        country has experienced a proliferation of highly partisan 
        networks, news outlets, and ownership groups that disseminate 
        unbalanced news coverage and broadcast content.
            (5) News consumers, particularly those of talk radio, are 
        overwhelmingly exposed to a single point of view. A 2004 survey 
        by Democracy Radio revealed that 90 percent of all broadcast 
        hours on talk radio are characterized as conservative. This 
        imbalance results in issues of public importance receiving 
        little or no attention, while others are presented in a manner 
        not conducive to the listeners' receiving the facts and range 
        of opinions necessary to make informed decisions.
            (6) The 2004 survey, done by Democracy Radio, found that 
        there were 2,349 hours of local conservative programs broadcast 
        every week versus 555 hours of local progressive programs, and 
        39,382 hours of national conservative programs broadcast every 
        week versus 2,487 hours of national progressive programs.
            (7) An April 2004 poll, conducted by Media Matters for 
        America of likely voters shows overwhelming support across the 
        political and demographic spectrum for restoring rules 
        requiring fairness and balance on the public's airwaves. When 
        asked whether television and radio stations that use the 
        public's airwaves should be required to present the sides of an 
        issue in a reasonably balanced way including giving time to 
        opposing points of view.
            (8) Democracy is built on the concept that the views, 
        beliefs, and values of an informed citizenry provide the best 
        basis for political decision-making.

SEC. 2. IMPLEMENTATION OF PUBLIC INTEREST STANDARDS.

    Section 309 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 309) is 
amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(l) Implementation of Public Interest Standard.--
            ``(1) Purpose.--The purposes of this subsection are--
                    ``(A) to restore fairness in broadcasting;
                    ``(B) to ensure that broadcasters meet their public 
                interest obligations;
                    ``(C) to promote diversity, localism, and 
                competition in American media; and
                    ``(D) to ensure that all radio and television 
                broadcasters--
                            ``(i) are accountable to the local 
                        communities they are licensed to serve;
                            ``(ii) offer diverse views on issues of 
                        public importance, including local issues; and
                            ``(iii) provide regular opportunities for 
                        meaningful public dialogue among listeners, 
                        viewers, station personnel, and licensees.
            ``(2) Standards for public interest determinations.--The 
        Commission may not issue or renew any license for a 
        broadcasting station based upon a finding that the issuance or 
        renewal serves the public interest, convenience, and necessity 
        unless such station is in compliance with the requirements of 
        this subsection.
            ``(3) Coverage of issues of public importance.--Each 
        broadcast station licensee shall, consistent with the purposes 
        of this subsection, cover issues of importance to their local 
        communities in a fair manner, taking into account the diverse 
        interests and viewpoints in the local community.
            ``(4) Hearings on needs and interests of the community.--
        Each broadcast station licensee shall hold two public hearings 
        each year in its community of license during the term of each 
        license to ascertain the needs and interests of the communities 
        they are licensed to serve. One hearing shall take place two 
        months prior to the date of application for license issuance or 
        renewal. The licensee shall, on a timely basis, place 
        transcripts of these hearings in the station's public file, 
        make such transcripts available via the Internet or other 
        electronic means, and submit such transcripts to the Commission 
        as a part of any license renewal application. All interested 
        individuals shall be afforded the opportunity to participate in 
        such hearings.
            ``(5) Documentation of issue coverage.--Each broadcast 
        station licensee shall document and report in writing, on a 
        biannual basis, to the Commission, the programming that is 
        broadcast to cover the issues of public importance ascertained 
        by the licensee under paragraph (3) or otherwise, and on how 
        such coverage reflects the diverse interests and viewpoints in 
        the local community of such station. Such documents shall also 
        be placed, on a timely basis, in the station's public file and 
        made available via the Internet or other electronic means.
            ``(6) Consequences of failure.--
                    ``(A) Petitions to deny.--Any interested person may 
                file a petition to deny a license renewal on the 
                grounds of--
                            ``(i) the applicant's failure to afford 
                        reasonable opportunities for presentation of 
                        opposing points of view on issues of public 
                        importance in its overall programming, or the 
                        applicant's non-compliance with the 
                        Commission's programming rules and policies 
                        relating to news staging and sponsorship 
                        identification;
                            ``(ii) the failure to hold hearings as 
                        required by paragraph (3);
                            ``(iii) the failure to ascertain the needs 
                        and interests of the community; or
                            ``(iv) the failure to document and report 
                        on the manner in which fairness and diversity 
                        have been addressed in local programming.
                    ``(B) Commission review.--Any petition to deny 
                filed under subparagraph (A) shall be reviewed by the 
                Commission. If the Commission finds that the petition 
                provides prima facie evidence of a violation, the 
                Commission shall conduct a hearing in the local 
                community of license to further investigate the charges 
                prior to renewing the license that is the subject of 
                such petition.
                    ``(C) Other remedies.--Nothing in this subsection 
                shall preclude the Commission from imposing on a 
                station licensee any other sanction available under 
                this Act or in law for a failure to comply with the 
                requirements of this subsection.
            ``(7) Annual report.-- The Commission shall report annually 
        to the Congress on petitions to deny received under this 
        subsection, and on the Commission's decisions regarding those 
        petitions.''.

SEC. 3. TERM OF LICENSE.

    (a) Amendment.--Section 307(c)(1) of the Communications Act of 1934 
(47 U.S.C. 307(c)(1)) is amended by striking ``8 years'' each place it 
appears and inserting ``4 years''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a) shall be 
effective with respect to any license granted by the Federal 
Communications Commission after the date of enactment of this Act.
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