NAB Spotlights Stations' Political Contributions

Member newsletter showcases station contributions to wider political dialogue

By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 7/10/2012 2:52:00 PM

The National Association of Broadcasters' July issue of its Licensed to Serve member newsletter focuses on broadcaster political contributions -- not in dollars to candidates, but contributions to the public through coverage of important political speech.

While top stations will have to start providing the FCC with info on political ad dollars at the beginning of next month, NAB is focusing on the political contributions broadcasters already make in the form of coverage of campaigns.

NAB cites more than a dozen examples of broadcasters sponsoring political debates, from the NBC News/Telemundo presidential partnership to a Raycom station hosting a mayoral debate in Honolulu.

The newsletter is a way to showcase the kind of public service commitment broadcasters argue cannot be measured by the amount of bandwidth they occupy, a public interest standard that is not applied to the wireless broadband players the FCC is promoting as the go-to data and video delivery system of the future.