Federal Communications Commission (FCC) probe concludes with Tegna agreeing to pay a sum of $225,000

Federal Communications Commission (FCC) probe concludes with Tegna agreeing to pay a sum of $225,000

In the wake of an incident where a pornographic clip was accidentally aired during a newscast on KREM Spokane, Washington, Tegna has directed all its stations to implement a comprehensive compliance plan to prevent future violations of Federal Communications Commission (FCC) indecency rules. The plan, outlined in a consent decree between Tegna and the FCC, aims to secure the transmission chain and eliminate access points that could lead to unauthorized content being aired.

The compliance plan involves multiple security and operational measures. Tegna has instructed all its stations to disable screencasting features on monitors, deactivate the station's wireless network used for local video transmission, and remove all smart TVs and monitors' wireless components from station operations, replacing them with monitors that lack any wireless connectivity going forward.

These steps are designed to prevent unauthorized video transmission and remove vulnerabilities, such as the one that allowed the clip to be displayed during the incident at KREM. The compliance plan also includes a $222,500 voluntary contribution to the U.S. Treasury as part of the settlement between Tegna and the FCC.

The consent decree, however, does not provide information on who will be responsible for monitoring and enforcing the compliance plan, nor does it mention any specific actions to be taken if a similar incident occurs in the future. The decree also does not specify any repeated financial contributions beyond the initial $222,500 voluntary contribution.

The internal investigation into the cause of the incident at KREM is ongoing, and the consent decree does not mention any changes to this investigation. The video of the incident is widely available online.

[1] FCC and Tegna Enter Consent Decree to Settle Investigation (FCC.gov) [2] Tegna Stations to Implement Compliance Plan Following FCC Investigation (Tegna.com)

1. The compliance plan resulting from the FCC investigation of Tegna broadcasters follows strict measures to ensure content transmitted is in accordance with FCC indecency rules, such as disabling screencasting features, deactivating wireless networks, and removing wireless components from monitors to prevent unauthorized content broadcast.
2. The FCC and Tegna's compliance plan includes a $222,500 voluntary contribution to the U.S. Treasury, as part of the settlement between the two parties, serving as a significant financial impact on the media industry.
3. The compliance plan proposed by Tegna falls short of specifying the person or department responsible for monitoring and enforcing the plan, or providing a plan for addressing recurrences of unauthorized video content broadcast.
4. The consent decree between Tegna and the FCC does not include detailed workflows or repetitive financial contributions beyond the initial $222,500 contribution.
5. The video of the incident that led to the FCC investigation, wherein a pornographic clip was accidentally aired during a newscast, has been widely disseminated via various online media platforms.

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