An Arkansas based media company has agreed to pay a $60,000 penalty following an investigation by the Federal Communications Commission(FCC) which uncovered money had been exchanged for political broadcasting presented as news.
According to an order filed Aug. 5, a consent decree was entered into by Reynolds Media Group, owners of XL7-TV located in Mountain Home and Harrison following an investigation which began in April of this year.
“On April 14, 2022, the Bureau received a complaint about Reynolds’ conduct relating to its broadcast of a daily news interview and public affairs show called Down on the Corner on Station K26GS-D. The complaint alleged that, instead of selecting candidates to appear as guests on the show based on their newsworthiness, Reynolds was engaged in selling an advertising package to candidates that included interviews on the show. Because the complaint raised questions about Reynolds’ compliance with the Sponsorship ID Rules, the Bureau, on May 12, 2022, commenced its Investigation,” the order states.
During the investigation, it was revealed that the show on which the candidate interviews took place was initially called Down on the Croner, later known as The Morning Show and the format remained the same.
“The Program is, and at all relevant times has been, a daily news interview and public affairs show with local and regional guests. Reynolds considers segments of Down on the Corner/The Morning Show which contain interviews with guests to be bona fide news interviews. Station K26GS-D broadcasts the same episode of Down on the Corner/The Morning Show twice daily — once in the morning (live) and again in the afternoon (taped,” the order read.
Earlier this year, prior to the start of the investigation, Reynolds began a campaign to increase revenues at the Station by soliciting candidates to purchase advertising time listed as an “All-in-One” advertising package for $1,500.
The package, “…explicitly included a personal live interview on Down on the Corner/The Morning Show. Multiple individuals who were legally qualified candidates for public office at the time purchased the Advertising Package and were subsequently interviewed (live) on the Program. Reynolds did not broadcast any sponsorship identification announcements disclosing that the appearances by the candidates on the Program were paid-for events,” the order read. “Unrelated to the Advertising Package, Reynolds also accepted money from several commercial entities in consideration for interviewing their spokespersons on Down on the Corner/The Morning Show. Reynolds accepted $300 for each such appearance. Reynolds did not broadcast any sponsorship identification announcements disclosing that the appearances by the commercial spokespersons on the Program were paid-for events.”
Reynolds combined paid content with news, information and public affairs programming without informing its viewers and in doing so, “mislead the public by creating a false impression for viewers that appearances of guests on Down on the Corner/The Morning Show constituted an expression of the Station’s editorial judgment about their newsworthiness, rather than undisclosed sales pitches for which Reynolds had accepted money.”
Additionally, Reynolds’ failure to provide sponsorship identification announcements for paid appearances by candidates on a show that Reynolds held out to the public as a “bona fide news”. “..Interview and public affairs program was particularly egregious because such failure had the potential to undermine the public’s confidence in the integrity of legitimate political discourse,” the order said.
As a result of Reynold Media Group repeatedly and willfully violating the Sponsorship ID Rules, a fine of $60,000 has been implemented.
In addition to the penalty, Reynolds must designate a Senior Corporate Manager with the required corporate and organizational authority to serve as the company’s Compliance Officer.
The person designated will be responsible for developing, implementing, and administering the Compliance Plan and ensuring that Reynolds complies with the terms and conditions of the Compliance Plan and the Consent Decree.
“In addition to the general knowledge of the Communications Laws necessary to discharge his or her duties under this Consent Decree, the Compliance Officer shall have specific knowledge of the Sponsorship ID Rules prior to assuming his/her duties,” the order said.
Required reporting of non-compliance, the creation of a compliance manual, compliance training and frequent submission of compliance reports are also conditions of the order which will remain in place for 60 months.
Lauren is a an award-winning journalist who decided after 10 years of newspaper experience to venture out. Hallmark Times was born.
