As the congressional August recess approaches without full passage of health care reform, all sides of the health care debate are expected to gear up issue advertising during the recess.

Below are a few tips for stations, and we urge stations with specific questions to consult with their station counsel.

1. Rates. Because these are issue ads and not used by candidates, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) does not regulate the rates your station may charge for these spots.
   
   
2. Sponsor ID. For both radio and TV, any issue ad must state that it was "sponsored by" or "paid for" by the entity that actually did pay for the spot. In other words, if a station receives an ad with an ID for "Americans for Better Health Care," but receives a check from a known, major professional association, your station will have to tell that association to re-cut the spot or that you will run a correct ID over it. TV spots must have a visual ID with letters at least four percent vertical height and air for at least four seconds against a contrasting background.
   
   
3. Review. Remember, it is at the discretion of your station whether or not to accept issue advertising at all, and stations are not required to air ads on both sides of an issue. However, unlike candidate ads, stations are liable for any false and/or slanderous material. Stations should review issue ads before they air. Further, while it may be unlikely that any of these spots could be considered defamatory, your station may receive complaints from one side or the other that a spot is inaccurate. And while stations are not responsible for guaranteeing the accuracy of such spots, once a complaint has been raised, the station should exercise due diligence in investigating the complaint, including consulting with station counsel.
   
   
4. Record-keeping. Please fill out an NAB PB-16 issue ad form for each advertiser. They are free to NAB members (radio stations please call (202) 429-5400, television stations call (202) 429-5347). Non-members can purchase the PB-16 form by visiting www.nabstore.com. Ads about health care reform clearly are about "a national legislative issue of public importance," and thus are subject to the enhanced public file rules that were mandated by the McCain-Feingold law. These require a station to keep in its political file:

• A record of each request to buy time concerning the health care (or other) issue,
• Whether the station accepted or rejected the request in whole or in part,
• The rate charged to broadcast the spots,
• The date and times on which the spots were aired,
• The class of time purchased,
• The issue discussed in the spots (this can be a very general description such as "health care reform"), and
• The name of the entity purchasing the advertising, the name, address and phone number of a contact person and a list of the chief executive officers or board of directors or similar officials of the advertiser.

These records are similar to the ones kept for candidate ads. For general questions about the political broadcasting rules, member stations can call the NAB Legal department at (866) 682-0276.