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FIIIDA.V AT 5 FCC Puts rresidential Under Demands of Washington — A four man FCC majority last week ruled that airing President Johnson's press conferences, or GOP candidate Goldwater's, cannot be exempt from equal time demands of Sec. 315. Dissenting member Lee Loevinger called the ruling on presidential press conferences an "idiocy." Commissioner Ford called it a "statutory freeze contrary to congressional intent," and Commissioner Hyde would have FCC "stay out" of the area of news judgment, with a blanket ruling inapplicable to individual news events and circumstances. In answer to a query from CBS on televising the news conferences of either or both presidential candidates, the FCC said it was not denying the broadcaster right to air these newsworthy events. It was only excluding them from equal time exemption. To the networks and affiliates liable for 10 or more splinter-group demands, the two are synonymous. FCC based its ruling on the exact wording in four types of "bona fide" news coverage excepted by a 1959 amendment, to permit candidate appearances. The commissioner finds only "regularly" scheduled news programs were intended to be "exempt," and presidential-incumbent and presidential candidate conferences are not. Also, FCC says the statute as amended and as interpreted in congressional committee reports, requires that the broadcaster, not the candidate, determine the time and conditions of a •Tonight Show' Expanded To Saturday on NBC-TV New York —As of Jan. 9, 1965, Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson will be seen six nights a week on NBC. Decision to extend the show to iniclude Saturday nights was attributed to a "strong desire" on the part of afifiliates and the "wide audience appeal of the program." The additional telecast will consist of taped reruns of earlier shows. To date, no participating sponsors have been signed for the new segment. Announcement of the expansion follows on the heels of Carson's second birthday as host of the show. Press Conference Equal Time Law press interview "regularly scheduled" if it is to be immune from Sec. 315 requirements. The commission majority says the broadcaster does, indeed, decide what is bona fide news. That's his job. But — if the exemption categories could be by-passed by a broadcaster decision the whole "equal time" setup would be nullified. On this point, dissenting commissioner Frederick Ford heartily approved of "nullifying" the present Sec. 315 and setting up new guidelines. He would arrive at them not by narrow statutory decision, but after conferences between FCC, the broadcast industry, political party spokesmen, networks, et al, to find a sane approach to the problem. FCC did admit that broadcasters' "discretionary judgment" on news would permit excerpts from candidates' press conferences, when included in "regularly scheduled" news programing. The exasperated dissent of Commissioner Loevinger says the FCC, in its present decision, is going back to what Congress termed a "harsh," "stupid" and "rigid" interpretation of Sec. 315 in 1959, when the commission gave splinter candidate Lar Daly equal time rights because a tv newsreel showed Chicago's mayor. The Daly case touched off the amendments exempting bona fide news programs. Loevinger quotes Sen. John Pastore's remarks at the time: "If it is desired to place a blackout on the people of this country, if we want to stop all important news or political campaigns getting to the American people, let the Lar Daly decision stand." Loevinger's dissent sticks closely to exemption for presidential-incumbent press conferences. He is aghast that the FCC makes no distinction between the presidential press conference, attended by world-wide media representatives, and of national interest, and those of any other candidate — right down to a candidate for "county sheriff." Loevinger is aware that exempting only the Johnson press conferences would "create problems" for the FCC from the "other candidates and other offices." Nevertheless, he feels that FCC should risk the brickbats and make the right decision now. Safety factor is in the Fairness Doctrine, which requires broadcasters to put on the other side of conflicting views on important issues. He classifies FCC's present Sec. 315 ruling as one more referred to in the press as an "inventory of idiocies." TvB Executive Dubs FCC Ruling an Absurdity' Washington — The strongest initial reaction to the FCC's ruling placing presidential news conferences off-limits for all practical purposes came from Vincent Wasilewski, executive vice president of the National Assn. of Broadcasters. Dubbing it an "absurdity," Wasilewski said it demonstrated the need to repeal Sec. 315 in its entirety "rather than attempting piecemeal exemptions every four years." He added that "it would be easy to castigate the FCC majority for its decision, but Sec. 315 defies logic." CBS president Frank Stanton expressed disappointment but not surprise. "Our fear that the presidential news conferences were not exempt from the equal-time requirements has been one of the reasons we have pressed so vigorously for the suspension of Sec. 315 of the communications act," he said. NBC's news chief William R. McAndrew said the network would tape excerpts from presidential news conferences when open to broadcast media and use them on regularly scheduled newscasts. ABC had no comment on the FCC action. Micheiob To LaRoche New York — C. J. LaRoche won over Young & Rubicam and Compton Advertising in the threeway contest for the Micheiob beer account (a member of the Anheuser-Busch family). The ad budget is reportedly in the $1.5 million bracket, with indications that the brand will probably make itself felt more substantially in tv than in the past. CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE Octofcf 5, 1964