Television broadcast stations around the country are opening their political files for the first time, and Sunlight's tracking the most notable happenings across the country.
Continue readingClean energy group didn’t report NC ‘electioneering’ ad
A nonprofit clean energy group that ran electioneering ads urging voters to "thank Senator Hagan" 23 days before the North Caroline senator faced a primary election failed to report its spending to the Federal Election Commission.
Continue readingFCC Chair Tom Wheeler taking “seriously” complaint about political advertisers
In an unusual public statement on a complaint, FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler says his agency is taking "seriously" allegations that TV stations have let political advertisers ignore federal disclosure requirements.
Continue readingObama bundler Tom Wheeler helps his former industry from FCC perch
Beyond his experience on the front lines of the communications industry, Wheeler ingratiated himself with the Obama administration in another key way: bundling campaign cash for the president.
Continue readingHow the FCC is expanding transparency
The Federal Communications Commission just made the cost of a Senate seat a lot easier to calculate — and it's because the agency became more transparent.
Continue readingPolitical advertisers and TV stations ignore disclosure rules
A decade after the Supreme Court predicted the McCain-Feingold campaign finance law would help promote transparency by making public information on campaign ad buys, most political advertisers and TV stations aren't providing the information at all.
Continue readingSunlight urges FCC to keep open the political ad file
The Federal Communications Commission should not back down from requiring all broadcast stations to post political ad purchase disclosures online in time for next year's congressional midterm elections, the Sunlight Foundation and a coalition of public interest groups urged in a legal brief filed Monday. The National Association of Broadcasters, meanwhile, appeared to soften its longstanding opposition to online posting of the information.
Sunlight and its allies urged the commission to expand the reach of the current online file -- which compiles information on political ads purchased at about one-tenth of the nation's broadcast stations -- and to push for ...
Continue readingObama phones go by another name in Congress
Washington Post reporter Karen Tumulty's intriguing story today about the coining of a term and its political impact got us to wondering just how far the term "Obama phone" had embedded itself into the political culture. We've written before about how compounds of President Barack Obama's name have become politically charged.
We took a look via Capitol Words, Sunlight's tool that scans the Congressional Record and allows users to analyze speech patterns.
So far, no recorded mentions of "Obamaphone" or "Obama phone" on the floor of the House or Senate.
However, we did find a number ...
Continue readingThe real scam: Don’t let broadcasters shut down FCC political ad database over online ripoff
A story which had been making the rounds in broadcast trade publications, broke into the mainstream media Thursday, when NPR reported that scammers have been taking advantage of the Federal Communications Commission's online political ad file to rip off political consultants.
Hold the no-honor-among-thieves jokes. Let's just stipulate that stealing is not a good thing, even if the victims are political consultants. More worrisome than what the latest developments on the FCC database mean for advertisers' information is what they could mean for yours.
FCC ruling could exempt 160 markets from posting political ad data
Red shows TV markets left out if the FCC orders stations in the top 50 to post political ad buys. For a closer view, zoom in; for more information, click on an area.
The Federal Communications Commission is set to vote Friday on a rule that would require broadcast stations to post online their public files, including records of political advertisements. That could provide a crucial source of information about the shadowy groups that can now spend unlimited sums to advocate for or against political candidates without having to register with the Federal Election Commission.
But the proposed rule would ...
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