Broadcasting (Oct - Dec 1949)

FCC'S ROLE Coy Defends Commission In College Address erimeter BROADCASTING ASSOCIATION J I STATION COVERAGE . JlSold in Combination WJOL WJOB JOLIET HAMMOND WKRS WRMN WAUKEGAN ELGIN BROADCASTING ASSOCIATION chicaqo perimeter |l85 N. WABASH AVE., CHICAGO (1), ILL the answer to your sp(^yt radio needs contact JOSEPH HERSHEY McGILLVRA INC. FCC's ROLE as a champion of "freedom on the air" was detailed — and defended — by Chairman Wayne Coy last Thursday night in an address at Amherst (Mass.) College. He called attention to the Commission's Blue Book on programming, its Chain Broadcasting Regulations, the newspaper ownership investigation and the present "newspaper policy" on applications, multiple-ownership rules, the WHKC Columbus decision on broadcasts of controversial issues, the "new" Mayflower decision giving licensees the right to editorialize, the Port Huron decision banning censorship of political broadcasts, and the currently suspended anti-giveaway rules. "I would of course be the first to agree that some of the Commission's actions restrict the licensee's freedom," he said, explaining: They restrict his freedom to be unfair ... to use his publicly owned frequency for his own whims and caprices ... to use a scarce frequency out of the public domain that belongs to all the people to dole out time to his pets or use it for himself and his own interests and to withhold it from those groups with whom he happens to differ. They abridge his freedom to dodge his responsibility to operate his station as an open forum for all the conflicting interests of the community instead of as a private chattel to do with as he will. They abridge his freedom to evade his responsibilities as a trustee. For my part, I conceive it my duty to make every effort to curtail the freedom of radio station licensees to be Tinfair or to use their licenses solely for their own private benefit rather than for the public interest. Mr. Coy reiterated, without amplification, FCC's frequent assertion that another network investigation is needed — "not only to determine how the regulations are working with respect to standard broadcasting, but also to examine some of the problems concerning the relationship of the networks to talent bureaus and recording companies and also to examine carefully the effect of the regulations in the FM and television fields." He conceded FCC's Port Huron decision creates a "real dilemma" for broadcasters in states having laws which hold stations responsible for libelous remarks in a political speech. But he reiterated FCC's view that the federal government has "preempted" this field and that therefore the state laws will not stand up. He found support for this theory in the recent Pennsylvania TV censorship decision, in which U.S. District Judge William H. Kirkpatrick upheld telecasters' suit against the State Board of Censorship [Broadcasting, Oct. 31]. Judge Kirkpatrick, he noted, held that the federal government has occupied the field of regulation in radio, including censorship. Referring to the equal-time provisions of the law on political broadcasts, the FCC chief noted that "in the heated presidential campaign of 1948 the complaints reaching the FCC numbered less than six. And, so far as I know, all of them were adjusted during the progress of the campaign." Chairman Coy said that "despite deviations and derelictions such as * 1 I have discussed, the total performance of American broadcasting has resulted in the presentation of a breadth and diver sifica-. tion of opposing viewpoints that has established it as a people's forum of high utility to the functioning of our democracy." He conceded that government's licensing power in radio "carries with it the possibility of abuse," but said "neither the radio industry nor the Commission as presently constituted show any disposition whatsoever to permit such abuse to arise." i Vigilance Is Indispensable I He felt, however, that "it is not' safe to assume that things will always so continue," and that "here, more than in any field, eternal vigilance is indispensable." Nor did he think it "safe" for the public to rely upon broadcasters alone to "resist any tendency to undue control of access to radio facilities." The answer, he said, is "an organized and informed public" which will keep watch against government encroachments and also assist government in opposing restrictions advanced by industry or pressure groups. WBRC-Fiyi OFF AIR Hanna Cites FM Disinterest WBRC-FM Birmingham, described as the most powerful radio station in the world because of its 546 kw output, was to go off the air at midnight Saturday, Dec. 3. The station had been focal point of a network of 24 AM stations in Alabama and Tennessee, operating since last Feb. 14 as Associated. Broadcasting Service [Broadcast-| ING, Aug. 29]. The network was developed by Mrs. Eloise Smith Hanna, president of Birmingham Broadcasting Co. Mrs. Hanna said, "The decision was brought about due to the fact that FM has not been accepted by the general public. Therefore, consistent with the policy of the Birmingham Broadcasting Co. of serving the people of Alabama it was decided that it was in the public's interest to concentrate all efforts on WBRC and WBRC-TV. Plans for the expansion of WBRC-TV facilities will be announced later." Three FM stations still operate in Birmingham — WSGN-FM, WAFM (FM) and WJLN (FM). The WBRC-FM network had operated in the red at the rate of $9,000 a month last winter but this had reduced to $3,000 by May. Last summer Mrs. Hanna was quoted as predicting it soon would be paying for itself. The station's signal is said to have been easily picked up over a 200-mile radius. Page 28 • December 5, 1949 BROADCASTING • Telecasting