§508 Disclosure of Payments to Individuals Connected with Broadcasts

Summary

People who work on radio shows must tell the station or their boss before a broadcast if they accept or agree to accept money, services, or other valuable things from anyone (other than their station) for including any material in the broadcast. The same rule applies to people who make or prepare programs and to people who supply programs: they must tell the employer, station, or the party they deal with about any payments or agreements they know about before the program airs. These disclosure rules do not apply if the FCC has waived the announcement required under section 317(d). If the program already has the announcement required by section 317, that counts as the required disclosure. Free or very cheap items used for a broadcast do not count as “valuable consideration” unless they were given in return for naming a person, product, service, trademark, or brand in a way that goes beyond what is reasonably needed. Breaking these rules can lead to a fine up to $10,000, up to one year in jail, or both for each violation.