The FCC should require broadcast stations to make political files...
The FCC should require broadcast stations to make political files publicly available online, said Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., and seven other Democratic senators. In a Wednesday letter to Chairman Julius Genachowski, the senators supported the FCC proposed rule to make…
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that change. Currently, stations are only required to make the files available on paper. “Taking the additional step of having these documents available online would create transparency in a time of increasing campaign-finance secrecy,” the senators said. “The information in these files should be available in an online, searchable database, and disclosures should include information about the people and organizations that purchase political advertisements.” The senators urged the FCC to take broadcasters’ views into consideration “and do everything possible to find a cost-effective and efficient method for publishing this information online, especially for small- and medium-sized stations."