Why Your Local TV And Radio Stations Have To Air Those Annoying Political Ads

It's exhausting. All of these attack ads are everywhere and it's a real buzz kill. I've been working in the media for 20 years and that means I've seen a lot of elections come and go. One thing that has stayed the same is the negative political ads, especially on presidential election years.

One thing that happens also is we get complaints about the ads. Oftentimes, upset individuals blame the TV or radio station for airing the commercials, saying "I can't believe you would air this crap?!"

Here's the deal: we pretty much have to.

FCC Governs Political Programming and Advertising on TV & Radio

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has laws in place when it comes to political advertisements and programming.

There's regulations like equal time, advertising rates, and then what we are talking about: Political Ad Content. We'll get to that in a minute.

Read More: Why Your Insurance Premiums Are Skyrocketing In Minnesota

You can read all the regulations on their fact sheet. The basic gist of it all is that tv and radio stations need to give candidates "equal time." They can't unfairly provide one candidate more time.

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When it comes to paying for advertising, the stations cannot charge more than their lowest rate. Yep, stations can't price gouge candidates for their political advertisements.

Political Ad Content

Broadcast stations cannot censor or reject political ads that are paid for and sponsored by legally qualified candidates. The provision does not apply to political ads that are sponsored by non-candidate third parties.

The FCC Doesn't Fact Check Political Ads

Whether its wrong or not, the FCC doesn't generally review or pre-approve political ads before they make it on the air:

The FCC generally does not: • Review or pre-approve the content of political ads before they are broadcast • Ensure the accuracy of statements that are made by candidates and issue advertisers • Require broadcast stations and other regulatees to provide all sides of controversial issues • Oversee the nature and extent of the coverage that individual candidates receive under the news exemption.

Trust me, I'm as sick of the political ads and negativity as anyone else.