Candidate Appearances, Equal Time, and the FCC's Online Public File Database: Empirical Data on TV Station Compliance During the 2016 Presidential Primary

Authors

Christopher Terry, University of MinnesotaFollow

Abstract

Following the appearances of presidential candidates Donald Trump, Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton on episodes of Saturday Night Live, local television affiliates were required to upload documents related to the appearances to the FCC’s online public file database. After discussing the FCC’s database, the Bona Fide News Exception and the modern application of Section 315’s Equal Time Requirements, this study examines the compliance by the local NBC affiliates in the top 100 television markets with the public file requirements for candidate appearances and subsequent equal time requests as a test of station compliance with the requirements of the FCC’s online public file system.

Recommended Citation

Christopher Terry, Candidate Appearances, Equal Time, and the FCC's Online Public File Database: Empirical Data on TV Station Compliance During the 2016 Presidential Primary, 25 Cath. U. J. L. & Tech (2017).
Available at: https://scholarship.law.edu/jlt/vol25/iss2/6