Dan Kirkpatrick, in the always useful CommLawBlog, crafts an informative and timely piece for radio broadcasters (especially those in major media markets and swing states), “Political Advertising 2012 — A Refresher Course for the Final Month.”
Kirkpatrick notes that while a detailed presentation would be impossible, unfamiliarity and ignorance are not acceptable either. He says, “What follows is a crash refresher course highlighting a few issues that broadcasters should be thinking about, including a few new issues that are arising for the first time this year.”
He looks at such topics as who can buy ads, who cannot be turned down, pricing concerns and paperwork; lots of paperwork. Kirkpatrick says, “The broadcast of political messages is covered by a complex set of laws and regulations and all station personnel involved with programming, sales and traffic should be aware that decisions about what ads to run, when to run them and how much to charge for them may have serious consequences for the station.”
