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Blog
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Welcome to the Holtzman Vogel Law Blog. We aim to keep you
up to date on important legal developments and other items of interest. On this
blog, we'll track developments in the news and changes to the rules and regulations
affecting political committees, corporate PACs, trade associations, non-profit groups
and advocacy organizations. We'll also keep you updated on the lobbying and ethics
arena. The Law Blog is designed to supplement our regular newsletter.
On behalf of the Holtzman Vogel team, I hope you find this site helpful and interesting.
And we hope you'll become a regular visitor. (If you'd like to receive our newsletter,
please click here to sign up.)
Jill Holtzman Vogel
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Monday, May 03, 2010
DISCLOSE Act Includes Expansion of "Lowest Unit Charge" Rules
CQ Politics reports " Television station owners are mobilizing against a new Democratic campaign finance bill that would force them to slash prices for many political advertisements. The National Association of Broadcasters confirmed late last week that it will oppose provisions of the DISCLOSE Act, an attempt by House and Senate Democrats — and a handful of House Republicans — to roll back elements of the Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission....The bill would require television, cable and radio outlets to offer the Republican National Committee, the Democratic National Committee and other political party committees the same deeply discounted price — the 'lowest unit rate,' in industry jargon — that television stations are now required to offer only to political candidates. Although advertising rates fluctuate dramatically, veteran media buyers estimate that candidates’ campaigns often pay two-thirds of the retail price that regular television advertisers such as McDonald’s and Coca-Cola pay."
Click here to read the entire post.
Monday, March 29, 2010
"Legally Qualified Candidates" and the FCC
The Kansas City Star reports "The program director of KMBZ radio in Kansas City says the station has no choice but to air commercials with racially biased and anti-Semitic claims from a write-in candidate for the U.S. Senate from Missouri....The Missouri secretary of state’s office said Miller has filed required papers to qualify as a write-in candidate in the 2010 Senate race. Under Federal Communications Commission rules and federal law, a 'legally qualified candidate' must be given reasonable, uncensored access to broadcast airtime if he or she can pay the cost."
Click here to read the entire post.
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Broadcast Law Blog: Early Flap in Illinois Senate Race Reminds Broadcasters that They Cannot Censor Candidate Ad
The Broadcast Law Blog has this interesting piece about a dispute between two Republican primary candidates seeking Illinois' open U.S. Senate seat. One of the candidates produced a controversial ad, and "Many stations in Illinois have expressed concern about running an ad from a fringe candidate in the race that makes such a controversial allegation. Stations that are concerned need to remember that an ad by a legally qualified candidate cannot be censored once a station has agreed to sell time to the candidate." The blog piece goes on to explain that the broadcast station would be immune from liability for running the ad, but the candidate advertiser is still subject to defamation laws.
Click here to read the entire post.
Monday, October 12, 2009
ABC News: At Dole's Request, White House Tells DNC to Pull Health Care Reform Ad
ABC News reports "The Democratic National Committee has agreed to pull a TV ad featuring former Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole, R-Kan., following objections Dole conveyed to the White House that the ad twists his support for a bipartisan compromise for health care reform legislation into something else entirely. The ad, which was set to launch Monday, features Dole and other Republican former officials advocating in general terms for health care reform."
Click here to read the entire post.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
RNC Has DNC Ads Pulled From Cable Stations' Rotations
According to this report in The Desert Sun (Palms Springs, CA), the RNC convinced 5 stations to pull a DNC-sponsored ad attacking Republicans on Medicare. FactCheck.org labeled the ads "not true." (This story was first noted by Eric Brown, Political Activity Law.)
Click here to read the entire post.
Monday, May 04, 2009
Broadcast Law Blog: Remember FCC Public File Obligations When Running Issue Advertising
The Broadcast Law Blog has this post, noting that "Under provisions of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act, when a station runs an ad addressing a 'Federal issue', the station must keep in its public file essentially all the same information about the ad that it would maintain for a candidate ad. The station must identify the spot and the schedule that its sponsor has purchased, the identify of the sponsor (name, address and list of principal executive officers or directors), the class of time purchased, and the price paid for the ads. Federal issues are ones that deal with a Federal election or with any issue to be considered by Congress or any Federal government agency."
Click here to read the entire post.
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