FCC PUBLIC NOTICE OF INSPECTION RIGHTS Here is a public notice issued by the FCC in 1998 to re-affirm the rights of citizens to inspect the programming files of broadcasters: Public Notice Federal Communications Commission Washington, D.C. September 28, 1998 DA 98-1895 AVAILABILITY OF LOCALLY MAINTAINED RECORDS FOR INSPECTION BY MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC In light of our recent modifications to the main studio and public inspection file rules…we take this opportunity to reissue the statement the FCC made in 1971 regarding the availability of locally maintained records for inspection by members of the public.…The availability of these materials is important given that, in recent years, the FCC has increasingly come to rely on the involvement and scrutiny by members of the public to monitor broadcast licensee performance. [emphasis added] … Thus a station may not require that a member of the public make an appointment in advance or return at another time to inspect the public file, or that members of the public examine the public file only at times most convenient to the licensee or its staff. We also remind all licenses, permittees and applications that while they may require personal identification (names and addresses) of members of the public visiting the station, public file records are to be provided to them on request and without requiring that they identify their organization.