Political Ad Transparency Rule Clears Another Hurdle
Over the objection of broadcasters, the Office of Management and Budget OKs measure to put political ad information on the Internet.
A new rule requiring TV stations to put political ad data on a government website is one step closer to taking effect, as the Office of Management and Budget approved the measure following a mandatory review.
The Federal Communications Commission rule, passed earlier this year, will require broadcasters to post online information including who buys politics ads and for how much. The information, which should help shed light on the expected tsunami of ad spending by campaigns and outside groups in the election, is currently available only on paper at stations.
The approval of the rule by OMB, which was assessing whether it complies with the Paperwork Reduction Act, was first reported by the Sunlight Foundation. The approval came last week over the objections of broadcasters, who have been fighting the transparency measure at every time.
But it's still unclear when the new website with political ad data will be up and running.
When the FCC passed the rule in April, it said stations would have to begin posting political ad files online 30 days after the FCC announces OMB approval in the Federal Register. We now have OMB approval, but the FCC has yet to announce it in the Federal Register. An FCC spokeswoman declined to comment on when that might happen. So stay tuned.
Outside groups are spending hundreds of millions to influence the coming elections. Help unlock outside spending by "freeing" political ad buys from television stations in swing markets.
Latest Stories in this Project
- Crowdsourcing Campaign Spending: What We Learned From Free the Files
- FCC’s Plan for Fixing Its Political Ads Transparency Site? It Won’t Say
- What We Learned from Free the Files -- and How to Make It Better
- Outside Groups Dominated Las Vegas Airwaves in 2012 Campaign
- Meet the 10 People Leading ProPublica’s Free the Files Effort
Get Updates
Our Hottest Stories
- The 182 Percent Loan: How Installment Lenders Put Borrowers in a World of Hurt
- IRS Office That Targeted Tea Party Also Disclosed Confidential Docs From Conservative Groups
- Medicare Drug Program Fails to Monitor Prescribers, Putting Seniors and Disabled at Risk
- Six Facts Lost in the IRS Scandal
- On Victory Drive, Soldiers Defeated by Debt
- Sound, Fury and the IRS Mess
- The Most Important #Muckreads on Rape in the Military
- Congressmen to Hagel: Where Are the Missing War Records?
- A Prolonged Stay: The Reasons Behind the Slow Pace of Executions
- The Story Behind Our Hospital Interactive
- IRS Office That Targeted Tea Party Also Disclosed Confidential Docs From Conservative Groups
- Six Facts Lost in the IRS Scandal
- The 182 Percent Loan: How Installment Lenders Put Borrowers in a World of Hurt
- How the IRS’s Nonprofit Division Got So Dysfunctional
- On Victory Drive, Soldiers Defeated by Debt
- Sound, Fury and the IRS Mess
- Medicare Drug Program Fails to Monitor Prescribers, Putting Seniors and Disabled at Risk
- Congressmen to Hagel: Where Are the Missing War Records?
- The Most Important #Muckreads on Rape in the Military
- The Story Behind Our Hospital Interactive
2 comments
martin jones
June 27, 2012, 4:13 p.m.
This does apply to local offices?
Martin Jones
Martin Jones for Oxnard City Treasurer.
Fred Bichl
June 27, 2012, 4:52 p.m.
I will consider it a miracle if disclosure actually passes.
Even if it does, the scoundrels will find loopholes.
The scoundrels are the media, especially television, because…
All the multi-Billions of campaign money goes to.. Guess who…
THE MEDIA.!
The media wants the cash and they won’t give it up easily !!!!
Commenting on this story is closed.