Entercom Communications has filed a petition for rulemaking with the FCC asking that contest disclosure requirements evolve with“how the majority of Americans access and consume information in the 21st Century”—that is, from over the air toonline. The request comes within a week after the commission swatted Clear Channel with a $22,000 fine for its supposed mishandling of a 2008 multi-station contest in Los Angeles.

CommLogBlog reports the reasoning by Entercom: “Americans expect to instantly access information at their fingertips by merely logging on to a website,” suggesting that over-the-air full disclosures be supplanted with on-air announcements explaining that full rules are available on station sites. Further, the company advocated that online posting would actually be clearer than on-air disclosure, because “the listening environment for radio varies widely among listeners.”

Adding a final punch, Entercom points out that the FCC’s requirement about over-the-air contest rules announcements is inconsistent with its own increasing reliance on electronic filing. Things are at an early stage: Entercom has filed a petition for rulemaking, and the next step is up to the FCC. It could accept the petition and ask for formal comments, or it could include this change as part of a larger rulemaking. Or - nothing might happen.