This is more logical to me, but only if we do without the "localism" motherhood.
"Pai gave the example of a broadcaster in Minnesota who would like to build out
a construction permit for an AM station in a nearby town, ..."
Exactly. Regional nets. The more important point is not the brick and block
studio, or even the full time staff. The more important point is the rule that
a station be capable of producing content. Okay with me if that goes away, but
just say it like it is. Without phoniness and obfuscation.
Bert
----------------------------------------
http://www.tvtechnology.com/news/0002/fcc-proposes-to-nix-main-studio-rule/281053
FCC Proposes to Nix Main Studio Rule
Docket No. 17-106
May 18, 2017
By Paul McLane
WASHINGTON-It's an idea that could bring major change to the way that broadcast
businesses manage their facilities, staff and content distribution.
The Federal Communications Commission has formally released a Notice of
Proposed Rulemaking, proposing to eliminate the main studio rule. It requires
each AM, FM and television broadcast station to have a main studio in or near
its local community. The commission had indicated earlier that it planned to do
so as new Chairman Ajit Pai moves quickly to pursue his agenda of removing what
he sees as outdated or unnecessary regulations, which he outlined at NAB.
The proposal would be a major change, removing a business restriction that
U.S. broadcasters have taken as a given for decades yet chafed under. The
notice also proposes to eliminate the requirement that the main studio have
full-time management and staff present during normal business hours and the
requirement that it be able to originate programming.
"The main studio rule, which the FCC adopted more than 70 years ago, was
originally implemented on the premise that local access to the main studio
facilitated input from community members and the station's participation in
community activities," the commission stated Thursday.
"Today, modern communications enable stations and community members to interact
more directly, without the presence of a local broadcast studio. In addition,
community members already, or soon will, have online access to a station's
public file, removing the need for community members to visit the main studio
to access the file. Television broadcasters completed their transition to the
online public file in 2014, and radio broadcasters will complete their
transition by early 2018."
In commenting on the vote, which all three commissioners approved, Pai gave the
example of a broadcaster in Minnesota who would like to build out a
construction permit for an AM station in a nearby town, but who told Pai that
the "Main Studio Rule is a killer; the cost to maintain a staff-it would make
the construction of this facility a ticket of doom." Read Pai's full statement
below.
Docket number on the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking is No. 17-106.
Below is the text of Chairman Pai's statement on the action:
Re: Elimination of Main Studio Rule, MB Docket No. 17-106. The first commercial
radio broadcast in the United States took place in Pittsburgh on November 2,
1920. That night, KDKA reported the results of the presidential election
between Warren Harding and James Cox. The studio used for that broadcast was a
tiny, makeshift wooden shack on top of the Westinghouse Company's plant in East
Pittsburgh.
Broadcast studios have changed a lot over the last 90-plus years-including
KDKA's, which I've had the privilege to visit. And so too have the purposes
that a studio serves. That brings us to the FCC's main studio rule.
The FCC first conceived the main studio rule almost 80 years ago. The rule
requires each AM, FM, and television broadcast station to maintain a main
studio located in or near its community of license. Back then, perhaps, this
made sense. Local access to a station's main studio enabled the local public to
provide input, and it allowed stations to participate in community activities.
But today, the rule appears outdated, unnecessary, and unduly burdensome.
Community access and engagement remain important in the digital era, but
technology has rendered physical studios unnecessary for those purposes. That's
because such activities are much more likely to occur via social media, email,
or phone rather than through an in-person visit to a broadcast studio.
Furthermore, broadcasters have shown that the main studio rule is a continuous
cost that keeps them from serving their local communities in meaningful ways,
like broadcasting additional local programming. Recently, a broadcaster in
Minnesota wrote to me saying that the "archaic" rule has "outlived [its]
usefulness." He added that he'd like to build out his construction permit for
an AM station in a nearby town, but that the "Main Studio Rule is a killer; the
cost to maintain a staff-it would make the construction of this facility a
ticket of doom." Unfortunately, despite his belief that he'd be able to air
meaningful local content without a main studio, it appears that the cost of
complying with the rule may make it hard for him to extend service to that
nearby community.
The proceeding we begin today could grant this broadcaster and all others
affected by this rule the flexibility to use their limited resources in a way
that best serves their communities.
Today's Notice is an important step towards bringing the FCC's media rules into
the digital age. And for that, we have Michelle Carey, Martha Heller, Holly
Saurer, and Diana Sokolow from the Media Bureau to thank. We will continue to
rely on your expertise as we move forward with modernizing many more media
rules to reflect today's marketplace.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
You can UNSUBSCRIBE from the OpenDTV list in two ways:
- Using the UNSUBSCRIBE command in your user configuration settings at
FreeLists.org
- By sending a message to: opendtv-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the word
unsubscribe in the subject line.
