[BC] NPR violation of 73.1206?

[Mike McCarthy]

First, you are correct, the live person answering the phone MUST be off the 
air and polled before they are put on the air/recorded if they did not make 
the call.  That rule has been violated many times and licensees fined big 
time each time a complaint was filed by an ambushed caller.

As for the licensee's culpability, they ARE the fiduciary holder of the 
license.  Therefore THEY (as in each and every licensee) ARE liable.  There 
are a number of precedents to this.  Most notably, the Janet Jackson 
wardrobe "malfunction" as well as countless Howard Stern and Mancow Muller 
indecency fines where the network wasn't fined.  However in the Jackson 
event, new rules/policies were put into place which do make the networks 
liable for indecent programming supplied to affiliates.

If you are a NPR affiliate who broadcast that story live or didn't block 
the live unpolled caller, you'd better have your counsel contact NPR and 
express great concern about them putting your good license and finances at 
risk.  Further, all good network agreements should have a indemnification 
clause which protects the stations against any liability put forward by the 
network. This is a text book case of why that indemnification is necessary.

MM



At 07:30 AM 11/23/2005 -0800, Harold Hallikainen wrote
>This morning's Morning Edition on NPR had a story about getting through
>telephone menu trees quickly. They gave a demo on the air where it
>appeared they made a call, worked their way through a menu, then told the
>person who answered they were being recorded for broadcast and asked if
>that was ok. It was my understanding that you had to have permission
>BEFORE recording a conversation for broadcast
>(http://sujan.hallikainen.org/FCC/FccRules/2006/73/1206/) and that getting
>permission during the recording was not adequate. Was this a violation?
>Since NPR is not a licensee, do they face any liability? Do, instead, the
>stations that broadcast the story face liability since NPR probably acted
>on their behalf?
>
>Harold
>
>--
>FCC Rules Updated Daily at http://www.hallikainen.com
>
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