This Manual is published by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the federal agency directed by Congress to regulate broadcasting. It provides a brief overview of the regulation of broadcast radio and television licensees, describing how the FCC authorizes broadcast stations, the various rules relating to broadcast programming and operations that stations must comply with, and the essential obligation of licensees that their stations serve their local communities. In exchange for obtaining a valuable license to operate a broadcast station using the public airwaves, each radio and television licensee is required by law to operate its station in the “public interest,convenience and necessity.” Generally, this means it must air programming that is responsive to the needs and problems of its local community of license.