Media Bureau Resource Materials

Below are links to resource materials that provide additional information on topics for which the Media Bureau is responsible.

General Information Resource Materials

• Cable TV and Its Regulation
• Closed Captioning
• Equal Employment Opportunity
• Finding Information about Radio and Television Stations on the FCC Web Site
• Installing Consumer-Owned Antennas and Satellite Dishes
• The History of Television
• The Public and Broadcasting

Broadcasting Information Resource Materials

• AM Revitalization
• Antenna Structure Registration
• Broadcast (Advertising) Complaints
• Broadcast (Journalism) Complaints
• Broadcast Radio Links provide extensive information on radio broadcasting
• Call-in or "Open Mike" Programs
• Cancellation, Rescheduling, or Refusal of Programs by Networks or Local Stations
• Children's Television
• Commission Policy Concerning the Noncommercial Nature of Educational Broadcasting Stations
  • Announcements Promoting the Sale of Goods and Services
  • Enhanced Underwriting and Donor Acknowledgements
  • Program Related Materials
• Digital Television
• Early Radio documents - Collected documents from the early years of radio.
• FAA Flight Service Station Reporting Service Requirements for Tower Light Outages.  Tower light outages and restoration of tower lighting must be recorded in the station's log, in addition to the date, time, and which FAA Flight Service Station(s) (FSS) was/were notified of the lighting outage.
• FCC and Freedom of Speech
• FM Translator and Booster Stations
• How to Apply for a Broadcast Station
• Inspections of Radio Installations (Compiled by the Enforcement Bureau)
• License Renewal Applications for TV Broadcast Stations
• Loud Commercials
• Low Power Broadcast Radio Stations -- Current policy
• Low Power FM Radio Stations
• Low Power Television (LPTV)
• Madalyn Murray O'Hair Petition (RM-2493) pertaining to Religious Broadcasting was denied in 1975, but a false rumor continues to circulate that the Commission is still considering this long-decided matter. 
• Obscene and Indecent Broadcasts   
• Retransmission Consent
• Subcarriers or SCA for radfio broadcast stations -- A subcarrier is an additional radio signal sent with the main station signal.  A special radio is required to receive and decode it.
  • Allowable Costs for Noncommercial Educational Licensees to Charge Radio Reading Services
• Television Broadcast Channels on Satellite
• Unattended Operation of Broadcast Stations  
• Why AM Radio Stations Must Reduce Power, Change Operations, or Cease Operations at Night
• Why FM Frequencies End in an Odd Number

Cable Information Resource Materials

• Cable Carriage of Broadcast Stations (Must-Carry)
• Cable Tier Buy-Through Prohibition
• Cable TV - Advisory for Analog Subscribers
• Cable TV - Cable System Encryption
• Customer Service Standards   
• Placement of Dishes and Antennas/Over-the-Air Reception Devices Rule (OTARD)
• Program Content Regulations
• Public, Educational, and Governmental Access Channels ("PEG Channels")
• Record Retention and Subscriber Privacy
• Regulation of Cable TV Rates
• Signal Leakage
• Signal Quality Standards
• Where to File Complaints Regarding Cable Service

For more information pertaining to the Media Bureau, please call:  (202) 418-7200.

FCC > Media Bureau