*Pages 1--11 from Microsoft Word - 698.doc* Federal Communications Commission FCC 00- 93 Before the Federal Communications Commission Washington, D. C. 20554 In the Matter of ) ) Ext ension of the Filing Requirement ) MM Docket No. 00- 44 For Children's Television Programming ) Reports (FCC Form 398) ) ) ) NOTICE OF PROPOSED RULE MAKING Adopted: March 9, 2000 Released: April 6, 2000 Comment Date: June 12, 2000 Reply Comment Date: July 12, 2000 By t he Commission: Commissioners Furcht got t -Rot h and Powell concurring and issuing a joint statement. I. INTRODUCTION 1. This Notice of Proposed Rule Making (Notice) proposes to amend Section 73.3526( e)( 11)( iii) of the Commission's rules to cont inue indefinit ely the requirement that commercial broadcast television licensees file with the Commission, on an annual basis, their quarterly Children's Television Programming Report s (FCC Form 398). The Commission's rules currently state that such reports shall be filed on an annual basis for an experimental period of three years, from January 1998 through January 2000. Continuation of the annual filing requirement will permit the Commission t o continue to enforce the Children's Television Act of 1990 (" CTA"), 1 and its rules implement ing t he CTA, by monit oring t he amount and qualit y of educat ional television programming for children and indust ry compliance wit h the Commission's children's educat ional programming requirement s. 1 Children's Television Act of 1990, Pub. L. No. 101- 437, 104 Stat. 996- 1000, codified at 47 U. S. C. §§ 303a, 303b, 394. 1 Federal Communications Commission FCC 00- 93 2 II. BACKGROUND 2. The CTA requires the Commission, in its review of each television broadcast license renewal application, to "consider the extent to which the licensee ... has served the educational and informat ional needs of children through the licensee's overall programming, including programming specifically designed to serve such needs." 2 In enacting the CTA, Congress found that, while television can benefit society by helping to educate and inform children, there are significant market disincentives for commercial broadcasters to air children's educational and informational programming. 3 The objective of Congress in enacting the CTA was to increase the amount of educational and informational programming available on television. 4 The CTA accomplished that objective by placing on every television licensee an obligat ion to provide such programming, including programming specifically designed to educate and inform children, and by requiring the FCC to enforce that obligat ion. 3. The Commission's initial rules implementing the CTA, adopted in 1991, included a very flexible definit ion of educat ional programming and did not est ablish quant it at ive guidelines regarding t he amount of educat ional programming licensees were required to provide. In addit ion, these init ial rules did not include measures designed t o inform the public about educat ional programming. Wit hin a few years after these initial rules took effect, questions began to be raised regarding the effectiveness of the new rules, and in particular about the content of the programs stations claimed were educational. 4. In August 1996, the Commission adopt ed its current educat ional programming rules t o strengthen its enforcement of the CTA. 5 The Commission's rules include several measures to improve public access to information about the availabilit y of programming "specifically designed" to serve children's educational and informational needs (otherwise known as "core" programming). These measures include a requirement t hat licensees ident ify core programming at the time it is aired and in information provided to publishers of television program guides. 6 Licensees are also required to designate a children's liaison at the station responsible for collecting comments on the station's compliance with the CTA. 7 In addit ion, the rules also est ablish a definit ion of "core" programming as 2 47 U. S. C. § 303b. 3 47 U. S. C. § 303a & b. See also S. Rep. No. 227, 101st Cong., 1st Sess 5- 9 (1989) (" Senate Report"). 4 See Senate Report at 1. 5 See Report and Order, Policies and Rules Concerning Children's Television Programming, MM Docket No. 93- 48, 11 FCC Rcd 10660 (1996) (" Children's Programming Report and Order"). 6 47 C. F. R. § 73.673. 7 47 C. F. R. § 73.3526( a)( 11)( iii). 2 Federal Communications Commission FCC 00- 93 3 well as a three- hour per week processing guideline pursuant to which broadcasters airing at least three hours per week of programming t hat meet s the definit ion of "core" will receive staff- level approval of their license renewal applications. 8 5. One of the most important public information measures adopted by the Commission in 1996 is t he requirement t hat licensees complet e a Children's Television Programming Report (FCC Form 398) each calendar quarter. 9 Among other things, these Reports identify the educational and informational programs aired by the licensee over the previous quarter and the days and times these programs were regularly scheduled, the age of the target child audience for each program, and the average number of hours per week of core programming broadcast over the past quart er. Licensees must include in the Reports an explanation of how each core program meets the definition of "core" programming adopt ed by the Commission. St at ions must also ident ify in their Report s the core programs the station plans to air during the next calendar quarter. 6. The Reports are prepared on a quarterly basis and must be placed in the station's public inspection file. Stations are required to publicize the existence and location of the reports. In addition, as noted above, the rules currently provide that, "for an experimental period of three years" these Report s must be filed wit h the Commission on an annual basis (four quart erly report s filed joint ly once a year) on the following dates: January 10, 1998, January 10, 1999, and January 10, 2000. The Report s must be filed wit h t he Commission elect ronically, 10 and the Commission posts the Reports on the FCC's Internet home page where they can be readily accessed by the public. 11 The Commission also encourages broadcasters to make these Reports available on their own websites. 8 47 C. F. R. § 73.671. 9 47 C. F. R. § 73.3526( a)( 11)( iii). 10 Mandatory electronic filing first applied to Reports filed January 10, 1999. See Report and Order, 1998 Biennial Regulatory Review - Streamlining of Mass Media Applications, Rules, and Processes, MM Docket No. 98- 43, 13 FCC Rcd. 23056 (1998), at ¶ 10, Memorandum Opinion and Order, FCC 99- 267 (rel. Oct. 6, 1999). An electronic version of Form 398 has been available since the spring of 1997, and some licensees have chosen voluntarily to file electronically since that time. 11 The address for the Commission' s home page is: http:// www. fcc. gov. 3 Federal Communications Commission FCC 00- 93 4 III. DISCUSSION 7. The public information initiatives adopted in 1996 are an integral part of the children's programming rules. These measures are designed to ensure t hat t he public, and especially parent s, has access to information regarding the educational programming being aired by broadcast ers so that parents and others can help achieve the goal of the CTA to increase the amount of educational programming available on t elevision. In adopt ing the public informat ion init iat ives as part of its revised educational programming rules, the Commission explained their purpose as follows: We conclude that the market inadequacies that led Congress to pass the Children's Television Act can be addressed, in part, by enhancing parents' knowledge of children's educat ional programming. One way to encourage licensees to provide such programming is t o encourage and enable the public, especially parent s, to int eract wit h broadcasters. Easy public access to information permits the Commission to rely more on marketplace forces to achieve the goals of the CTA and facilitates enforcement of the statute by allowing parents, educators, and others to actively monitor a station's performance. As CBS 'wholeheartedly' agrees, 'judgments of the quality of a licensee's programming, educational or otherwise, are best made by the audience, not the federal government. ' Thus, our rules should facilitate easy access to information regarding children's educat ional programming in the communit y. 12 8. Facilit at ing public access to the information contained in the Children's Television Programming Report s helps the market place to achieve the goals of the CTA in a number of ways. Parents who have access to information about educational programming, such as the tit les of the programs, the times they are regularly scheduled to air, and the age for which the programs are intended, can select such programming for their children to watch, thereby increasing the audience for such programs and the incentive of broadcasters to air, and producers to supply, more such programs. Better information also helps parents in working with broadcasters in their local communities to improve children's educational programming without government intervention. The information contained in the Reports can be used by parents, educators, and others interested in educational programming t o monit or a st at ion's performance in complying wit h the CTA and the Commission's rules. The Commission encourages parents and others to communicate directly with stations and program producers regarding the shows stations claim meet the FCC's definition of "core" programming. In this way, the public can play an act ive role in helping to enforce children's programming requirement s. Finally, requiring broadcast ers to ident ify programming t hey rely upon t o meet t heir obligat ion t o air educat ional programming makes broadcast ers more accountable to the 12 Children's Programming Report and Order, 11 FCC Rcd 10660, at ¶ 47. 4 Federal Communications Commission FCC 00- 93 5 public. Improving broadcaster accountabilit y minimizes t he need for government involvement to enforce the CTA and helps to ensure that broadcasters, with input from the public, rather than the Commission det ermine which television programs serve children's educat ional needs. 9. The requirement that broadcast ers file their Children's Television Programming Report s with the Commission was initially adopted, on an experimental basis, for a period of three years. To date, Reports have been filed for two successive years, January 10, 1998 13 and January 10, 1999. Under the current rules, the filing requirement expires after Reports for 1999 are filed January 10, 2000. We believe that the requirement that broadcasters file these Reports with the FCC should be cont inued. Therefore, we propose to ret ain the filing requirement indefinit ely, and request comment on this proposal. 10. Anecdotal evidence suggests that organizations devoted to informing parents and communit y members about children’s programming use the report s as a primary dat a source. For example, the Center for Research on the Influences of Television on Children at the University of Texas reviews local broadcast ers’ report s as part of an annual evaluat ion of children’s programming in the Austin, Texas market. The Center for Media Education uses the reports to develop tools for parent s. Ot her organizat ions, including the Nat ional Inst it ut e on Media and the Family and the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania, use the reports to track national t rends in children’s t elevision programming. The filing requirement is an import ant part of the emphasis placed by the rules on improving the flow of information to the public about educational programming. Filing permits the Commission to place the Reports on its website, making this information easily accessible in one central location. Members of the public can view Reports from a number of stations easily, and compare results, without having to contact each station individually. Cont inuat ion of the filing requirement is also import ant to ensure that t he Commission it self has access t o informat ion regarding licensee compliance wit h the children's programming rules. Wit hout the annual filing requirement , licensees would be required to report on their st at ion's children's programming only once every eight years, at the end of the license term. Ext ension of the license t erm to eight years necessarily places a heavier emphasis on facilit at ing public monit oring of licensee compliance with the rules, to assist the FCC in its enforcement role. Among other things, the Commission has relied upon information in the Reports to evaluate industry practices in connection wit h preempt ion of children's programming. 14 A review of the Children's Television Programming Reports filed with the Commission for 1998 indicates that, of the 4,964 quarterly reports filed, 63 13 While the Commission's requirement that broadcasters prepare quarterly Reports became effective in early 1997, the definition of core programming did not go into effect until September 1997. Thus, Reports filed in January 1998 contain information about core programming only for the fourth and part of the third quarter of 1997. 14 See, e. g., The Effect of Preemption on Children's Educational and Informational Programming, 1997- 1998 Television Season, FCC, DA 98- 2306 (Nov. 1998). 5 Federal Communications Commission FCC 00- 93 6 report ed less than 3 hours of core children's educat ional and informat ional programming, 2, 116 report ed exact ly 3 hours of core programming, and 1, 832 reported 4 or more hours of core programming. In adopt ing the children's programming rules, the Commission st at ed it would monit or t he broadcast indust ry's children's educat ional programming performance for three years based upon t he Children's Television Programming Report s filed wit h the Commission, and would review the reports at the end of the three- year period and take appropriate action as necessary to ensure that stations are complying with the rules and guidelines. 15 The Commission will commence that review after January 10, 2000, the filing due date for the last Children's Television Programming Reports of the three- year period. 11. We also request comment on whether our rules should be revised to require that Reports be filed quarterly, at the time they are prepared, rather than once a year. As broadcasters must prepare the Reports quarterly, requiring Reports to be filed on a quarterly basis is unlikely to impose a significant additional burden on licensees, especially now that Reports are required to be filed electronically and transmission to the Commission should require only a few additional keystrokes. Finally, we ask commenters to address whether any changes should be made to FCC Form 398 to make the Reports more informative or easier to prepare. For example, are there revisions to Form 398 that would make it easier for the reader to determine the number of times core programs are preempted and to obtain information about the rescheduling of any preempted episodes? IV. ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS 12. Comments and Reply Comments. Pursuant to Sections 1.415 and 1.419 of the Commission's rules, 47 C. F. R. §§ 1.415, 1.419, interested parties may file comments on or before June 12, 2000 and reply comments on or before July 12, 2000. Comments may be filed using the Commission's Elect ronic Filing Syst em (ECFS) or by filing paper copies. See Elect ronic Filing of Documents in Rulemaking Proceedings, 63 Fed. Reg. 24,121 (1998). 13. Comments filed through the ECFS can be sent as an electronic file via the Internet to . Generally, only one copy of an electronic submission must be filed. If multiple docket or rulemaking numbers appear in the caption of this proceeding, however, commenters must transmit one electronic copy of the comments to each docket or rulemaking number referenced in the caption. In completing the transmittal screen, commenters should include their full name, post al service mailing address, and the applicable docket or rulemaking number. Part ies may also submit an elect ronic comment by Int ernet e- mail. To get filing inst ruct ions for e- mail comment s, commenters should send an e- mail to ecfs@ fcc. gov, and 15 Children's Programming Report and Order, 11 FCC Rcd at 10726. 6 Federal Communications Commission FCC 00- 93 7 should include the following words in the body of the message, "get form,