Fairness and Accountability in Broadcasting Act - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to prohibit the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) from issuing or renewing any license for a broadcasting station based upon a finding that the issuance or renewal serves the public interest, convenience, and necessity unless such station: (1) covers issues of importance to the local community in a fair manner, taking into account diverse interests and viewpoints of the local community; (2) holds two public hearings each year in the local community to ascertain the needs and interests of the local communities that they serve; and (3) documents and reports in writing, on a biannual basis to the FCC, the programming that is broadcast to cover the issues of public importance as ascertained through the hearings process, and how such coverage reflects the diverse interests and viewpoints in the local community.
Allows any interested person to file a petition with the FCC to deny a license renewal for a broadcast station's failure to follow the above requirements.
Reduces from eight to four years the term of a broadcast license.
Take Action
Your position
Add a comment
to comment on this bill.
Annotate the text
Highlight any passage on the Summary or Full Text tab to attach a note. Annotations appear on the Annotations tab.