FCC: Political ad data posted online

Now that the GOP primary is all but over and the campaign season moves to the general election, get ready to be inundated once again with attack ads on TV. But thanks to a recent move by the Federal Communications Commission, there will at least be more transparency about who’s paying for what and how much it cost. TV stations will now be required to post online their political ad records, including the rates groups pay for political advertising. Stations already keep those records in public files, but this is the first time that the information will become available on the Internet, and thus, be more readily open to the public.

Many applauded the move. “What this FCC rule-making would do would bring to light a little of the information behind those ads,” Sunlight Foundation’s Lisa Rosenberg told NPR’s Brian Naylor. “We think it’s a very important first step to disclosing and uncovering the dark money that’s paying for our elections.” Nevertheless, some were critical of the two-year exemption that the FCC gave to stations that are independent of any major network or outside the top 50 markets. And some broadcasters opposed the requirement, saying that making such information so publicly available will give advertisers an unfair advantage in deciding what they’re willing to pay. But FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski in a speech ahead of the vote blasted those against the proposal as being “against technology, against transparency and against journalism.”

• F.C.C. Approves Plan for Online Database of Political TV Ads (NY Times)

• FCC Requires Top Market TV Stations to Post Political Ad Data Online (NPR)

• FCC: TV stations must post rates for campaign ads (Associated Press)

• FCC-Required Political Ad Data Disclosures Won’t Be Searchable (ProPublica)

• FCC says TV stations must disclose data on political ad spending (Los Angeles Times)

• FCC’s political ad rule disappoints supporters and foes alike (The Hill)

• FCC to require more disclosure about political ads (Washington Post)

• FCC Approves Political Ad Rule (Wall Street Journal)