Jason “Big Mama” Jones is a contractual employee with Beasley Communication which owns B103.9 in Ft. Myers.
Jason “Big Mama” Jones stated on his radio show on B103.9 that he was running for Lee County School Board.
Update: Beasley Broadcast Group, Inc. has removed ALL podcasts that were recorded and originally aired on B103.9 that “Big Mama” Jones mentioned that he running for Lee County School Board. Wonder why?
Question: is “Big Mama” Jones a candidate? Per the Code of Federal Regulations Title 47
73.1940 Legally qualified candidates for public office.
(a) A legally qualified candidate for public office is any person who:
(1) Has publicly announced his or her intention to run for nomination or office;
(2) Is qualified under the applicable local, State, or Federal law to hold the office for which he or she is a candidate
Answer Jason “Big Mama” Jones announced on Feb 2, 2022, so he is a candidate under the law
Jason “Big Mama” Jones stated on his radio show on B103.9 that he was running for Lee County School Board. And has he violated FCC rules ………
Under FCC Section 73.1941 [47 CFR §73.1941] Equal Opportunities.
(a) General requirements. Except as otherwise indicated in § 73.1944,
no station licensee is required to permit the use of its facilities by any legally qualified candidate for public office, but if any licensee shall permit any such candidate to use its facilities, it shall afford equal opportunities to all other candidates for that office to use such facilities. Such licensee shall have no power of censorship over the material broadcast by any such candidate. Appearance by a legally qualified candidate on any:
(1) Bona fide newscast;
(2) Bona fide news interview;
(3) Bona fide news documentary (if the appearance of the candidate is incidental to the presentation of the subject or subjects covered by the news documentary); or
(4) On-the-spot coverage of bona fide news events (including, but not limited to political conventions and activities incidental thereto) shall not be deemed to be use of broadcasting station. (Section 315(a) of the Communications Act.)
B103.9 will not provide equal opportunities to all other candidates
Update to article:
We receive the following by email:
We’ve been sent an article published by the Lehigh Acres Gazette titled, “Has Jason ‘Big Mama’ Jones violated FCC rules…” As you may not be aware, your article is both legally and factually incorrect. According to Florida election laws, Jason “Big Mama” Jones is not considered a legally qualified candidate until June 13, 2022. Moreover, Beasley Media Group fully intends to comply with all equal opportunity requirements at such time as we are legally required to do so. As such, we respectfully request that you immediately remove this article from your publication platforms.
Should you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to me.
Thank you,
Jami Beasley Watkins
Associate General Counsel
Beasley Broadcast Group, Inc.
The Lehigh Acres Gazette’s response is:
You are using a legally qualified candidate, we are not. Has he announced yes, has he received donations yes, has he spent money as a candidate, yes.
Question: is “Big Mama” Jones a candidate? Per the Code of Federal Regulations Title 47
73.1940 Legally qualified candidates for public office.
(a) A legally qualified candidate for public office is any person who:
(1) Has publicly announced his or her intention to run for nomination or office;
(2) Is qualified under the applicable local, State, or Federal law to hold the office for which he or she is a candidate
Answer Jason “Big Mama” Jones announced on Feb 2, 2022, so he is a candidate under the law
Definition of “candidate”: a person who applies for a job or is nominated for election.
More articles about Jason “Big Mama” Jones
https://thelehighacresgazette.com/news/2022/05/who-is-jason-big-mama-jones/