Channels, Spring 2017

Channels • 2017 • Volume 1 • Number 2 Page 15 licensees to carefully consider the potential consequences of any contest or promotion they host or advertise. The 1966 Public Notice stemmed from some similar instances in which station contests put not only promotion participants at risk but also led to the damage of public property. When radio station KWK in St. Louis ran two treasure hunt promotions, participants damaged a local park by digging for buried treasure and had to be separated by police when multiple individuals found the treasure ( KWK Radio, Inc. , 1963, p. 1067). The Commission believes that any communication from a broadcaster that leads to “infringement of public or private property rights” goes against the fiduciary responsibility of serving the public interest ( Contests and Promotions Which Adversely Affect the Public Interest , 1966, p. 464). Safety, pertaining to public interest, means stations must look after the well-being of the individuals in the community they serve as well as the property in that community. Safety is only a part of the definition of public interest pertaining to promotions and contests. The other piece is accessibility or equal opportunity for the public to participate in a contest operated by the broadcaster. This is the “fairness” aspect of a broadcaster’s fiduciary role expressed through promotions. The broadcaster is serving the community, and if the broadcaster is awarding prizes to only certain persons in the community or only allowing certain persons to participate, then this is going against the fiduciary role. In a follow-up to the 1966 Public Notice, the Commission stated “contests should be conducted fairly...and that failure to do so falls short of the degree of responsibility expected of licensees” ( Failure of Broadcast Licensees to Conduct Contests Fairly , 1974, p. 1056). At issue was the fact some participants of various station promotions were not being granted equal opportunity or accessibility to participate. Radio station KWK failed in this area as the FCC found the station to be “perpetuating a fraud on its listeners” when they made listeners call in to the station in under sixty seconds to claim a prize on a phone line that was constantly busy, preventing listeners from claiming their prize (as cited in KWK Radio, Inc. , 1963). KWK did not allow opportunity for contestants to fully participate, going against the latter part of the definition of public interest. Accessibility does not just pertain to individuals participating but also includes equal access to the information regarding the contest, called the “material terms (47 C.F.R. 73.1216 (2015)). Before finishing the definition of public interest, it is important to explain the “detailed” component necessary for running promotion and contests that are under the definition. The controlling regulation for contests is section 73.1216 of Title 47 in the U.S. Code. Broadcasters must answer to the following: A licensee that broadcasts or advertises information about a contest it conducts shall fully and accurately disclose the material terms of the contest, and shall