§  73.3527   Local public inspection file of noncommercial educational
stations.

   (a) Responsibility to maintain a file. The following shall maintain for
   public inspection a file containing the material set forth in this
   section.

   (1) Applicants for a construction permit for a new station in the
   noncommercial educational broadcast services shall maintain a public
   inspection file containing the material, relating to that station,
   described in paragraph (e)(2) and (e)(11) of this section. A separate
   file shall be maintained for each station for which an application is
   pending. If the application is granted, paragraph (a)(2) of this
   section shall apply.

   (2) Every permittee or licensee of an AM, FM, or TV station in the
   noncommercial educational broadcast services shall maintain a public
   inspection file containing the material, relating to that station,
   described in paragraphs (e)(1) through (e)(11) of this section. In
   addition, every permittee or licensee of a noncommercial educational TV
   station shall maintain for public inspection a file containing
   material, relating to that station, described in paragraphs (e)(12) of
   this section. A separate file shall be maintained for each station for
   which an authorization is outstanding, and the file shall be maintained
   so long as an authorization to operate the station is outstanding.

   (b) Location of the file. The public inspection file shall be located
   as follows:

   (1) For radio licensees, a hard copy of the public inspection file
   shall be maintained at the main studio of the station. An applicant for
   a new station or change of community shall maintain its file at an
   accessible place in the proposed community of license or at its
   proposed main studio.

   (2) A noncommercial educational television station licensee or
   applicant shall place the contents required by paragraph (e) of this
   section of its public inspection file on the Commission's Web site,
   with the exception of the political file as required by paragraph
   (e)(5) of this section, which may be retained at the station in the
   manner discussed in paragraph (b)(1) of this section until July 1,
   2014. Effective July 1, 2014, any new political file material shall be
   placed on the Commission's Web site, while the material in the
   political file as of July 1, 2014, if not placed on the Commission's
   Web site, shall continue to be retained at the station in the manner
   discussed in paragraph (b)(1) of this section until the end of its
   retention period. However, any noncommercial educational station that
   is not required to place its political file on the Commission's Web
   site before July 1, 2014 may choose to do so instead of retaining the
   political file at the station in the manner discussed in paragraph
   (b)(1) of this section. A station must provide a link to the public
   inspection file hosted on the Commission's Web site from the home page
   of its own Web site, if the station has a Web site, and provide contact
   information for a station representative on its Web site that can
   assist any person with disabilities with issues related to the content
   of the public files. A station also is required to include in the
   online public file the station's main studio address and telephone
   number, and the email address of the station's designated contact for
   questions about the public file. To the extent this section refers to
   the local public inspection file, it refers to the public file of an
   individual station, which is either maintained at the station or on the
   Commission's Web site, depending upon where the documents are required
   to be maintained under the Commission's rules.

   (3) The Commission will automatically link the following items to the
   electronic version of all licensee and applicant public inspection
   files, to the extent that the Commission has these items
   electronically: Authorizations; applications; contour maps; ownership
   reports and related materials; portions of the Equal Employment
   Opportunity file held by the Commission; and “The Public and
   Broadcasting”.

   (c) Access to material in the file. (1) The file shall be available for
   public inspection at any time during regular business hours. All or
   part of the file may be maintained in a computer database, as long as a
   computer terminal is made available, at the location of the file, to
   members of the public who wish to review the file. Material in the
   public inspection file shall be made available for printing or machine
   reproduction upon request made in person. The applicant, permittee, or
   licensee may specify the location for printing or reproduction, require
   the requesting party to pay the reasonable cost thereof, and may
   require guarantee of payment in advance (e.g., by requiring a deposit,
   obtaining credit card information, or any other reasonable method).
   Requests for copies shall be fulfilled within a reasonable period of
   time, which generally should not exceed 7 days.

   (2) The applicant, permittee, or licensee who maintains its main studio
   and public file outside its community of license shall:

   (i) Make available to persons within its geographic service area, by
   mail upon telephone request, photocopies of documents in the file ( see
   §  73.3527(c)(1)), excluding the political file ( see §  73.3527(e)(5)),
   and the station shall pay postage;

   (ii) Mail the most recent version of “The Public and Broadcasting” to
   any member of the public that requests a copy; and

   (iii) Be prepared to assist members of the public in identifying the
   documents they may ask to be sent to them by mail, for example, by
   describing to the caller, if asked, the period covered by a particular
   report and the number of pages included in the report.

   Note to paragraph ( c )(2): For purposes of this section, geographic
   service area includes the area within the protected service contour in
   a particular service: Grade B contour for TV, 1 mVm contour for all FM
   station classes except .7 mV/m for Class B1 stations and .5 mV/m for
   Class B stations, and .5 mV/m contour for AM stations.

   (d) Responsibility in case of assignment or transfer. (1) In cases
   involving applications for consent to assignment of broadcast station
   construction permits or licenses, with respect to which public notice
   is required to be given under the provisions of §  73.3580 or §  73.3594,
   the file mentioned in paragraph (a) of this section shall be maintained
   by the assignor. If the assignment is consented to by the FCC and
   consummated, the assignee shall maintain the file commencing with the
   date on which notice of the consummation of the assignment is filed
   with the FCC. The assignee shall retain public file documents obtained
   from the assignor for the period required under these rules.

   (2) In cases involving applications for consent to transfer of control
   of a permittee or licensee of a broadcast station, the file mentioned
   in paragraph (a) of this section shall be maintained by the permittee
   or licensee.

   (e) Contents of the file. The material to be retained in the public
   inspection file is as follows:

   (1) Authorization. A copy of the current FCC authorization to construct
   or operate the station, as well as any other documents necessary to
   reflect any modifications thereto or any conditions that the FCC has
   placed on the authorization. These materials shall be retained until
   replaced by a new authorization, at which time a copy of the new
   authorization and any related materials shall be placed in the file.

   (2) Applications and related materials. A copy of any application
   tendered for filing with the FCC, together with all related material,
   including supporting documentation of any points claimed in the
   application pursuant to §  73.7003, and copies of FCC decisions
   pertaining thereto. If petitions to deny are filed against the
   application and have been served on the applicant, a statement that
   such a petition has been filed shall be maintained in the file together
   with the name and address of the party filing the petition.
   Applications shall be retained in the public inspection file until
   final action has been taken on the application, except that
   applications for a new construction permit granted pursuant to a waiver
   showing and applications for assignment or transfer of license granted
   pursuant to a waiver showing shall be retained for as long as the
   waiver is in effect. In addition, license renewal applications granted
   on a short-term basis shall be retained until final action has been
   taken on the license renewal application filed immediately following
   the shortened license term.

   (3) Contour maps. A copy of any service contour maps, submitted with
   any application tendered for filing with the FCC, together with any
   other information in the application showing service contours and/or
   main studio and transmitter location (State, county, city, street
   address, or other identifying information). These documents shall be
   retained for as long as they reflect current, accurate information
   regarding the station.

   (4) Ownership reports and related materials. A copy of the most recent,
   complete ownership report filed with the FCC for the station, together
   with any subsequent statement filed with the FCC certifying that the
   current report is accurate, and together with all related material.
   These materials shall be retained until a new, complete ownership
   report is filed with the FCC, at which time a copy of the new report
   and any related materials shall be placed in the file. The permittee or
   licensee must retain in the public file either a copy of the contracts
   listed in such reports in accordance with §  73.3615(d)(3), or an
   up-to-date list of such contracts. Licensees and permittees who choose
   to maintain a list of contracts must provide a copy of any contracts to
   requesting parties within 7 days.

   (5) Political file. Such records as are required by §  73.1943 to be
   kept concerning broadcasts by candidates for public office. These
   records shall be retained for the period specified in §  73.1943 (2
   years).

   (6) Equal Employment Opportunity file. Such information as is required
   by §  73.2080 to be kept in the public inspection file. These materials
   shall be retained until final action has been taken on the station's
   next license renewal application.

   (7) The Public and Broadcasting. At all times, a copy of the most
   recent version of the manual entitled “The Public and Broadcasting.”

   (8) Issues/Programs lists. For nonexempt noncommercial educational
   broadcast stations, every three months a list of programs that have
   provided the station's most significant treatment of community issues
   during the preceding three month period. The list for each calendar
   quarter is to be filed by the tenth day of the succeeding calendar
   quarter (e.g., January 10 for the quarter October-December, April 10
   for the quarter January-March, etc.). The list shall include a brief
   narrative describing what issues were given significant treatment and
   the programming that provided this treatment. The description of the
   programs shall include, but shall not be limited to, the time, date,
   duration, and title of each program in which the issue was treated. The
   lists described in this paragraph shall be retained in the public
   inspection file until final action has been taken on the station's next
   license renewal application.

   (9) Donor lists. The lists of donors supporting specific programs.
   These lists shall be retained for two years from the date of the
   broadcast of the specific program supported.

   (10) Local public notice announcements. Each applicant for renewal of
   license shall, within 7 days of the last day of broadcast of the local
   public notice of filing announcements required pursuant to
   §  73.3580(h), place in the station's local public inspection file a
   statement certifying compliance with this requirement. The dates and
   times that the pre-filing and post-filing notices were broadcast and
   the text thereof shall be made part of the certifying statement. The
   certifying statement shall be retained in the public file for the
   period specified in §  73.3580 (for as long as the application to which
   it refers).

   (11) Material relating to FCC investigation or complaint. Material
   having a substantial bearing on a matter which is the subject of an FCC
   investigation or complaint to the FCC of which the applicant,
   permittee, or licensee has been advised. This material shall be
   retained until the applicant, permittee, or licensee is notified in
   writing that the material may be discarded.

   (12) Must-carry requests. Noncommercial television stations requesting
   mandatory carriage on any cable system pursuant to § §  76.56, 76.1614,
   76.1620, and 76.1709 of this chapter shall place a copy of such request
   in its public file and shall retain both the request and relevant
   correspondence for the duration of any period to which the request
   applies.

   (13) DTV transition education reports . For full-power noncommercial
   educational TV broadcast stations, both analog and digital, on a
   quarterly basis, a completed Form 388, DTV Consumer Education Quarterly
   Activity Report. The Report for each quarter is to be placed in the
   public inspection file by the tenth day of the succeeding calendar
   quarter. By this date, a copy of the Report for each quarter must be
   filed electronically using the Commission's Consolidated DataBase
   System (CDBS). Stations electing to conform to the requirements of
   §  73.674(b) must also provide the form on the station's public Web
   site, if such exists. The Report shall be separated from other
   materials in the public inspection file. The first Report, covering the
   first quarter of 2008, must be filed no later than April 10, 2008. The
   Reports must continue to be included up to and including the quarter in
   which a station concludes its education campaign. These Reports shall
   be retained in the public inspection file for one year. Licensees and
   permittees shall publicize in an appropriate manner the existence and
   location of these Reports.

   Note 1 to paragraph ( e ): For purposes of this section, a decision
   made with respect to an application tendered with the FCC becomes final
   when that decision is no longer subject to reconsideration, review, or
   appeal either at the FCC or in the courts.

   Note 2 to paragraph ( e ): For purposes of this section, the term “all
   related material” includes all exhibits, letters, and other documents
   tendered for filing with the FCC as part of an application, report, or
   other document, all amendments to the application, report, or other
   document, copies of all documents incorporated therein by reference and
   not already maintained in the public inspection file, and all
   correspondence between the FCC and the applicant pertaining to the
   application, report, or other document, which according to the
   provisions of § §  0.451 through 0.461 of the rules are open for public
   inspection at the offices of the FCC.

   [ 63 FR 49499 , Sept. 16, 1998, as amended at  64 FR 35947 , July 2, 1999;
    65 FR 7457 , Feb. 15, 2000;  65 FR 36378 , June 8, 2000;  65 FR 53614 ,
   Sept. 5, 2000;  73 FR 15450 , Mar. 24, 2008;  73 FR 36283 , June 26, 2008;
    76 FR 71269 , Nov. 17, 2011;  77 FR 27656 , May 11, 2012]

   return arrow Back to Top