You’ve likely seen all of the political ads running on 7 News Detroit and other television stations throughout the metro Detroit region. As we come closer to the November general election, those ads will continue.
Over the past few months, we’ve heard from many people with questions about why different ads are running, WXYZ must follow rules set by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
The FCC sets rules for political ads when it comes to rates, equal time and content.
Under federal law, “Broadcast stations are prohibited from censoring or rejecting political ads that are paid for and sponsored by legally qualified candidates.”
According to the FCC, a person is a “legally qualified candidate” if they meet the following criteria:
- “has publicly announced their intention to run for office;
- is qualified under applicable state and/or federal law to hold the office being sought; AND
- qualifies for a place on the ballot, or is running as a write-in and has made a substantial showing of his/her candidacy.
- An individual running as a write-in, in addition to satisfying the first two prongs, must make a “substantial showing,” that is, they must demonstrate that they have engaged to a substantial degree in activities commonly associated with political campaigning, such as making campaign speeches, distributing campaign literature, issuing press releases, maintaining a campaign committee, establishing campaign headquarters, using social media to advance their candidacy, and creating a campaign website. Not all of the listed activities are necessarily required in each case to demonstrate a substantial showing.”