Broadcasting Telecasting (Jan-Mar 1956)

attempts to amend or eliminate them." If the bill were enacted, he said, then broadcasters would have to meet only "a vague standard of overall 'fairness' in handling the exempt types of programs" — a fairness imposed by the FCC in the public interest. "But the question inevitably arises: What sort of treatment short of equal treatment is nevertheless 'fair'?" How big would a third party have to be before becoming entitled to free time? He said if the bill was enacted the FCC would receive an "avalanche" of such questions, with many difficult or impossible to decide. The FCC now can require a station to comply immediately with equal time provisions, but questions of "fairness" in a station's overall programming come up only at license renewal time, Chairman McConnaughey said, which would give a candidate little comfort after an election had been decided. The FCC chairman also entered in the hearing record comments adopted by the FCC majority Nov. 2, 1955, making essentially the same points as Mr. McConnaughey's statement. Subcommittee members questioned the FCC chairman on the present system of handling broadcasts by candidates, Rep. Harris remarking that public service or forum programs featuring candidates "virtually have to be taken off the air" in the periods before elections. Rep. Robert Hale (R-Me.) noted that while many congressmen have their own news broadcasts during their congressional terms, home district stations take these off the air three months before primary elections. Mr. McConnaughey said he believed this is in the public interest. Answering a question from Rep. Harris, the FCC chairman said he believed most forum type programs benefit both the candidate and the public and that he wished there was a way to keep "some of those fine programs" on the air. But he said he did not favor giving broadcasters leeway to select candidates, despite their acknowledged high ethical standards. He said it places them (the broadcasters) in a difficult or almost impossible position. Mr. McConnaughey declined to take a position on whether he would favor the bill if it applied only to candidates for President. To Rep. Hale's question of whether "equal time" provisions should be applied to a broadcast talk by the incumbent President on a subject concerning the national interest, Mr. McConnaughey said this would "depend on what he's saying." He admitted there are "some weaknesses" in this respect. He said treatment should not be different between the "ins" and "outs," since many groups should have the right to be heard. "We should be careful not to tamper with something sound," he said in a reference to the present law. Both Mr. McConnaughey and later Mr. Doerfer said they believed equal time demands by Communist Party candidates could be denied by stations, under Sec. 3 of the Communist Control Act of 1954. FCC General Counsel Warren Baker, answering a request by Rep. John V. Beamer (RInd.) for a definition of when an aspirant officially becomes a candidate, said this is determined by the laws of each state on primary and general elections. He told Rep. Beamer that the law does not affect spokesmen for candidates, but only the candidates themselves. Rep. Beamer said he felt the FCC would be called on "some time" to resolve the question of spokesmen. Answering a question from Rep. Walter Rogers (D-Tex.), Mr. McConnaughey said that if a candidate appears on a commercially sponsored program, at no cost to himself, his opponent is entitled to equal time, also at no cost to himself, from the station or network. Mr. McConnaughey read this statement from a 1954 public notice by the FCC. (FCC General Counsel Warren Baker later told B«T that stations and networks, aware of this requirement, usually forewarn the sponsor and secure a promise from the sponsor that time also will be furnished to opponents who demand equal time. Involved is the question of whether the sponsor would be making an indirect contribution to a candidate's campaign if equal time were not furnished opponents.) Comr. Doerfer, in his statement, said he felt the "door should be kept open to broadcasters to program without being scared" by Sec. 315 (a). He said he was "not so sure" that Sec. 315 (a) would be sustained by the courts. He said the public understands the attempts by a candidate to "aggrandize himself on radio or tv," but that the benefits of his talks to the public are better than "no contact at all." The growing number of stations makes possible the presentation of diverse political views, he said, urging, "Let's bring to the people the so-called Lincoln-Douglas debates. I would trust broadcasters rather than deny the people the right to hear the candidates." Mr. Doerfer said a broadcaster would be restrained from presenting one-sided political views because he would lose his audience in such a case. He said he was "not so sure" that a broadcaster should not "shut off" the "fourth or fifth" major candidates and indicated his belief that the country is better off under the "two MICHIGAN'S FASTEST GROWING MARKET Flint is Michigan's 2nd biggest market with peak employment (150,600) top earnings (average $112 weekly), greater buying, building and banking! Those who know Flint best are local advertisers and they just naturally flock to WKMF for results on radio. And no wonder . . . WKMF is Flint's FIRST exclusive "Disc Jockey" Station . . . FLINT'S ONLY 24 hour station . . . FLINT'S FOREMOST news station with newscasts every hour on the hour . . . FLINT'S OUTSTANDING station for leading sports events. Get on WKMF and get the proof! 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