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FCC ASKED TO CLARIFY POLITICAL BROADCAST RULINGS IN PORT HURON CASE A large segment of the radio broadcasting industry asked the Federal Communications Commissidn to re-examine its policy on political broadcasts. First Ruling The Commission said early this year that a radio station may not censor the content of a political broadcast and that, as a result, no station may be sued for libel or slander as a result of such a broadcast. This immunity does not extend to the person who makes the speech. The FCC policy declaration was made in an announcement that the Commission proposed to renew the license of Station YiHLS. Port Huron. Michigan . Background That station two years ago cancelled all broadcasts in connection with a city election after one speech contained material which was held objectionable. FCC said this was censorship, but it renewed the station license because there had been no previous clear-cut statement of policy on the subject. Trade Reaction Many broadcasters promptly asked the Commission to go ahead and renew the 1YHLS license, but to reserve a general policy statement until the Commission could hold public hearings and'receive points of view from all quarters. They said the matter was too broad to be disposed of on a single set of circumstances affecting one station. Further Study Asked Arguing for further study today, Don Petty, General Counsel of the National Associ¬ ation of Broadcasters, took direct issue with FCC’s opinion, asserting there had been no censorship by YffiLS. Said Pettys ’’Broadcast licensees are entitled under the law to refuse to permit the broadcast of defamatory and other unlawful matter and are not freed from liability under state and federal law for such broadcasts. 11 Texas Testimony Representative Lindley Beckworth of Texas appeared on behalf of the attorney General of Texas, which has very strict libel statutes. Beckworth said that if the Commission ruling were permitted to stand, it would subject Texas stations to suits which would destroy their solvency. Congress did not intend to permit the unlimited and unbridled use of the airv/ays for dissemination of libelous, scandalous and obscene matters in political broadcasts. This certainly could and would follow as a natural result of the proposed decision in this case.” Similar arguments were offered by attorneys for a dozen individual stations scattered across the country* No one appeared to argue in favor of letting the policy statement stand. The Commission took under advisement the questions of separating the policy state¬ ment from the renewal action and of holding public hearings.