Broadcasters Focused on Employee Requirement of Main Studio Rule
Having to pay for the two employees required by the main studio rule is the biggest reason broadcasters want it eliminated, their lawyers told us. Paying for the people to staff the required main studio is “a fixed cost” that takes a big chunk out of the budget of smaller businesses, said David Honig, senior adviser to the Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council. MMTC supported the rule’s removal, as is proposed in a draft NPRM. “It’s a real burden on small business,” said Fletcher Heald broadcast attorney Davina Sashkin.
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Though attorneys said the proposal’s elimination of the requirement could draw the ire of the Communications Workers of America, the union only said it's reviewing the FCC proposal and didn’t comment on its substance. The National Hispanic Media Coalition also didn’t comment on the proposal, though it previously opposed the rule change eliminating requirements that broadcasters keep physical correspondence files in their stations. Commissioner Mike O’Rielly has said the absence of physical files justifies the elimination of the main studio rule (see 1703280079). Free Press has opposed eliminating the rule because it would hurt localism (see 1704270058). Despite the minimal vocal opposition, broadcast lawyers expect public interest pushback on eliminating the rule.
Cutting the rule won’t mean as much for larger broadcasters because they can collocate several stations at one location, and the two-employee requirement has a smaller impact on their larger staffing budgets, Sashkin said. Smaller stations often don’t need so many staff members on duty, and the rule results in employees getting paid to “play pinochle,” said Fletcher Heald broadcast attorney Frank Montero. Since rules allow radio stations to run unattended, smaller stations don’t have anything for the employees required by the main studio rule to do, Honig said. The rule disproportionately affects minorities, who tend to own smaller stations outside the expensive real estate of major cities, Montero said.
Chairman Ajit Pai and O’Rielly are seen as supporting the elimination of the main studio rule. It’s not clear how Commissioner Mignon Clyburn will vote. Her office didn't comment. Seen as a supporter of small and minority-owned businesses, her views also often are seen to align with public interest groups, attorneys said. The draft NPRM tentatively concludes the rule should be eliminated. It's possible the final rule could merely relax the requirement to one employee, possibly to secure a unanimous vote, several attorneys said.