Chapter 1. LaunchPad for Media and Culture 11e

Radio Activity
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You must read each slide, and complete any questions on the slide, in sequence.

Author Names:

Christopher R. Martin and Bettina Fabos

Activity Objective:

Students will learn about the main studio rule and analyze its effects on local radio.

Let’s get started! Click the forward and backward arrows to navigate through the slides. You may also click the above outline button to skip to certain slides.

What is the main studio rule?

When FCC Chairman Ajit Pai took the helm of the FCC in January 2017, he made it clear that he would “take a weed whacker” to existing FCC regulations. One important rule that the FCC voted to eliminate in 2017 was the main studio rule.1

The main studio rule required each AM, FM, and television broadcast station to maintain a main studio located in or near its community of license. The FCC also eliminated any requirement that a main studio have full-time management staff present during normal business hours, and that it have program origination capability.

1“Elimination of Main Studio Rule: A Rule by the Federal Communications Commission on 12/08/2017,” Federal Register, December 7, 2017, https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2017/12/08/2017-24982/elimination-of-main-studio-rule.

What is the main studio rule?

What is this rule about, and how will it affect the radio industry and radio programming? Discuss the following questions in class. Write down notes in the box below each question as you prepare for your discussion.

Use the space below to answer the following question.

What does this rule mean in terms of radio’s commitment to being local?

Why would the radio industry lobby for this rule when at the same time they often express the significance of local content to radio’s success?

If radio isn’t local, does it have any advantages over streaming audio and podcasts?
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