GAO Report On Value Of Ads Targeting Congress Finds Not Enough Information To Draw A Conclusion

Report

The Government Accountability Office has issued a report on "Disclosure Requirements for Broadcasted Content" that is intended to influence members of Congress and found that insufficient information exists to determine the aggregate value of such spots and made no recommendations for further disclosure requirements.

The report, issued at the request of Reps. DARRELL ISSA (R-CA) and MIKE QUIGLEY, sought to determine the fair market value of Congress-targeted issue spots in 2007-2012 from a random sample of ten television and 10 radio stations in the top 10 markets, and noted that issues covered by spots during that time included the Performance Rights Act, spectrum allocation, FM tuners in mobile phones, and cable television retransmission consent.

The GAO said that the spots could fall under the rule that the sponsor be disclosed and information about the sponsor be retained in the stations' public files for at least two years, but that broadcasters are not under a legal obligation to air opposing views after the 1987 discontinuation of enforcement of the Fairness Doctrine.

The determination that information is not available for the relevant period noted that public file records of such spots is only required for two years and does not require valuation estimates if the time was not actually purchased.

Read the report here.

« see more Net News