April 10, 2010 Deadline For

Quarterly Listing of Most Significant
Treatment of Community Issues

By Radio Stations

REMINDER: Fi= rst Quarter 2010 List Must Be Placed In the Public Inspection File By Ap= ril 10, 2010

The FCC requires that within ten d= ays after the end of each calendar quarter, each commercial and non-commer= cial AM and FM station must prepare and place in its local public inspection f= ile a list of the programs that have provided the most significant treatment = of community issues during the preceding three-month period. The list should include a brief narrative statement that identifies the issues that were given significant treatment, and describes the programs in which the issues were addressed. The program descriptions must include, but are not limited to, the date, time and title of = each program, and the duration of each responsive programming segment. =

You should keep in mind several things as you compile the quarterly issue-responsive programming list. First, care should be tak= en to list only those programs that actually represent the “most significant programming treatment of community issues.” Se= cond, the FCC has indicated that licensees who document significant programming directed to five to ten community issues during each quarter are, as a general matter, likely to be able to demonstrate compliance with the issue-responsive programming obligation. Third, in the event that a station is required to demonstrate compliance with the FCC requirements, it will be permitted to rely only upon listed and unlisted programming that is supported by documentation prepared “reasonably contemporaneously” with the subject programming. The FCC will= not consider “unsupported recollection.” Thus, as described below, all issue-responsive programming should be documented even = if it is not included in the quarterly listing.

Records pertaining to all unlisted programming should be maintained separately from the station’s quarterly issue responsive programming list and should not be placed in the public file. Additional supporting records (such as ascertainment methodology and results) relati= ng to issue-responsive programming, although not required to be kept by a licensee, could be extremely useful in the event that questions are raised about the adequacy of the station’s performance. For this rea= son, we highly recommend that stations maintain such records.

Finally, each radio station is required to retain the issue-respon= sive programming lists in its public inspection file until the FCC’s fin= al grant of the station’s next license renewal application (that is, until the grant of the renewal application filed at the end of the te= rm during which the documents were placed in the file).

The maintenance of the issues-responsive program lists throughout the lic= ense term (and beyond, if subsequent renewal is delayed for any reason) is required under the Commission’s public inspection file rule. = When a radio station licensee files its license renewal application with the F= CC, the licensee must certify that it placed all required documents, including all quarterly reports, in its public inspection file on a timely basis= . A licensee cannot truthfully make this certification if the station did n= ot prepare an issues-responsive programming list for each quarter and place = it in the public inspection file by the designated deadline. Fines of = up to $10,000 have been assessed when a licensee admits in its renewal application that one or more required quarterly reports were not prepared= and placed in the public file, as required, or that one or more reports have = been misplaced and are no longer available in the public file. Therefore, great care should be taken to ensure your station complies with this quarterly requirement.

Please do not hesitate to call us with any questions about this quarterly listing obligation.

March 12, 2010

This memorandum is intended only as a general discussion of these issues and should not be regarded as legal advic= e.

We would be pleased to provide additional deta= ils or advice about specific situations if desired.

2000 K Stre= et NW, Suite 600 | Washington, DC 20006-1809
tel. 202.429.8970 | fax 202.293.7783 | www.lermansenter.com

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