FCC targets "No Urban" and No Spanish" dictates with new rules

story by Inside Radio

Under a new requirement on radio and television stations, the FCC will now require all broadcasters to certify their advertising sales contracts contain nondiscrimination clauses. The goal is to prevent ad buyers from placing buys based on race or ethnicity. The certification will be part of the new Former 303-S, used for license renewals.

While publicly attacked by ad buyers and broadcasters alike, reports of "No Urban/No Spanish" dictates have continued. Agencies use them to intentionally bypass Urban and Latino Radio and Television Stations, supposedly because the client has dictated that its ads not be placed with those outlets. "Discrimination simply has no place in broadcasting, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski says. The FCC says stations that don't include the clauses in sales contracts could potentially risk losing their license.

Enforcement Bureau chief Michele Ellison says the commissioners have asked her staff to bring a "renewed focus" to the issue. She says the Enforcement Bureau will work in "close collaboration" with the Media Bureau to give the new requirement meaning. It has spelled out the new rules in an enforcement advisory, which Ellison says "puts everyone on notice that the Commission has no tolerance for this type of insidious discrimination."

The Minority Media and Telecommunications Council (MMTC) has been pushing for such rules for years. MMTC President David Honig says with "strong enfrocement" the FCC can bring an end to the practice which he says sucks away 5% to 10% of stations' revenue. "No Urban and No Spanish dictates drain away an estimated $200 million a year from minority broadcasters," Honig says, calling the FCC's move a "huge step forward" for minority broadcasters.

Consultant Sherman Kizart has been working on the issue and was enlisted by the FCC to create a dialogue between agencies, minority broadcasters and the FCC to help voluntarily eliminate or significantly reduce the number of No-Buy Dictates. While Kizart says they continue to impact stations, the FCC's action is a "much needed tool" to eradicate the problem. "Deploying specific FCC staffers to work on this issue is a significant development in the FCC efforts to help minority broadcasters," Kizart says.