Speaker 1: In this video, I'm going to be talking about the Federal Communications Commission, and what they are, and why they're important to broadcasting. So, let's take a quick trip in history. The year was 1934, and Congress had just passed the Communications Act of 1934. With the passage of the act, the Federal Communications Commission came into existence. So, what is the FCC tasked with? Well, basically, licenses and applications, making rules and regulations, enforcing those rules and regulations, and creating policy. The FCC is directed by five commissioners who are appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate for five-year terms. Each commissioner's term is staggered, and no more than three of the commissioners can be from the same political party at one time. One of the commissioners is appointed by the President to be the chair. There are seven bureaus and ten offices. The FCC website lists nine offices, but remember, the International Bureau was split out to the Space Bureau and the Office of International Affairs. So, each of these offices and bureaus, they have roles to play in the mission of the FCC, and that mission is to regulate interstate and international communications through cable, media, television, satellite, and wire. And the goal of the commission is to promote connectivity to ensure a robust and competitive market. Okay, well, one of the bureaus that we're interested in is the Mass Media Bureau, and the Mass Media Bureau has the Audio Services Division, and they are the ones who handle applications and radio stations. The Mass Media Bureau also has the Enforcement Division who, well, enforces the rules. They do investigations when it comes to that. The number one question that people usually ask me is, how can I get my own radio station? Well, there are two ways. The first is to buy an already licensed radio station from someone wanting to sell theirs. The other way is to apply for a new station. And this, let's be honest, is going to be an overly simplistic overview of the process. So, now anyone who is qualified can apply for a license. There are some forms you have to fill out, some fees you have to pay, and then it goes in front of the FCC. Then the applicant needs to give notice in the community where they're wanting to license the station. Generally, applications are processed in the order in which they are received. During the processing portion of the application process, the application is checked for engineering, legal, and financial aspects. If everything is okay, then the application gets turned into a construction permit, and you have 18 months to build a radio station. Once the station is built and program tests are complete, you've got your very own radio station that's licensed for eight years. This is usually a very long and expensive process, and one that you should probably go through with a communications attorney who specializes in FCC matters. Now, let's talk about the bad side of the FCC, enforcement. Well, I guess it's kind of a good side too. So, when a station is accused of doing something wrong, a complaint is made to the FCC's Enforcement Bureau. When the resources become available, investigators begin looking into the matter. Sometimes, during the process, a station is inspected. No station is allowed to turn away an FCC inspector if they show up during normal business hours. Usually, an FCC inspector will just come to the studio and take a look at some documents, but I've been in some cases where the FCC inspectors came to the transmitter site and had us turn the station off and on in order to take some measurements and inspect that our equipment is in proper working order. At the end of the investigation, the FCC will issue their decision. Sometimes it ends with a nothing to see here, move along, or a notice of violation followed by a notice of apparent liability. And those are some letters that broadcasters never want to get. I've seen both, but those are for a war story for my member section. Generally, most stations won't have any interaction with the FCC, except for every eight years when it's time to renew their license. One cool thing is a couple of cool things. On the FCC's website, you can find any station's public file that used to be maintained at each station's main studio, but now it's all online. Usually, the station website has a direct link to the public file, and you can use that to get more information about a station. Also, on the FCC's website, you can look up licenses. You can see radio station licenses, two-way radio, satellites, and all kinds of licenses. Well, that's a quick overview of the FCC. As we continue on through these topics of Broadcast Engineering Basics, this whole series is put into a playlist for you to go through when you want to learn more about these topics. So, until next time, stay safe, stay healthy, keep learning. I always do. I haven't stopped. And I will see you in the next video.