TEN LEGAL QUESTIONS

contributed by Brady Williamson
attorney and partner, LaFollette Godfrey & Kahn

Our station is planning to broadcast a debate between the two major candidates in a gubernatorial race in which there are three other candidates. None of the other three candidates has achieved a support rating of as much as1% in the polls. One of the candidates we are excluding from the debate has asked us for an amount of air time equal to the amount of time being used by each of the debate participants, claiming reasonable access and equal opportunities rights. We are required to provide the requested time.

        True or False?  

We broadcast a number of political debates and news interview programs in which candidates appear. We have been advised by our attorneys that this programming is exempt from equal opportunities requirements. We must nonetheless provide a full description of all such candidate appearances in our public inspection file.

        True or False?  

We taped a candidate debate and then broadcast it two days later. During the two days prior to the broadcast, we aired a number of promotional announcements featuring short taped excerpts of the candidates scoring their best points in the debate. A candidate in the same race who was not included in the debate has demanded that we provide equal opportunities time to her based on the other candidate appearances in the promotional announcements. We may reject this request.

        True or False?  

We have prepared a program featuring 15-minute presentations by proponents of the opposing sides concerning a very controversial ballot proposition. After the taping, a representative of Side A demands that we not broadcast several of the statements made by the representative of Side B, claiming that the statements are libelous. We may ignore this demand because our program concerns a political matter.

        True or False?  

In the prior question, assume that Side As representative makes no claim that Side Bs statements are libelous, but demands that the station not broadcast them because the statements are false and deceptive. The stations program producers believe that Side A may well be correct in this claim. As an FCC licensee, the station must satisfy itself that the statements are true before it broadcasts them.

        True or False?  

Because our non-commercial station broadcasts underwriting announcements in spot form, a federal candidate has demanded that we broadcast a spot announcement on his behalf without charge and that we produce the announcement at our cost. We must comply with the demand.

        True or False?  

We believe that most of the 30-second, campaign consultant-produced political spots that dominate the commercial airwaves during most campaigns fail to put it politely to elevate the level of public discourse concerning the differences in candidate viewpoints about important issues. In light of the FCCs free candidate time rulings during and since the 1996 election, we can try to present some contrast to this trend by offering candidates time for brief position statements on specific issues, similar to those broadcast during the 1996 election by the Fox network.

        True or False?  

We intend to present a series of appearances by the major opposing Senatorial candidates pursuant to the FCCs rulings in 1996 that such appearances would constitute coverage of bona fide news events and be exempt from equal opportunities requirements. We will control the format of these unedited appearances and will assure that each opposing candidate we choose to present will obtain the same amount of air time at substantially the same time of day. If we decide to include in these appearances only those candidates receiving at least a 5% level of support in independent public opinion polls, other minor candidates for the same offices will not have any right to similar time on our station.

        True or False?  

We scheduled a 5-minute, early evening program by one of the candidates as one of the programs described in the previous question. The candidate appears on the program but in previewing the tape, we see that the candidate has also inserted film clips showing extremely graphic depictions of late-term abortions in support of his position that such abortions should be outlawed. We may choose to delay broadcast of the program to late evening hours when no children are in the audience.

        True or False?  

Our commercial station is running a schedule of paid issue spots for an entity named Committee for Truth, Justice and the American Way of Life, That is the only sponsorship identification on the spots. The spots are primarily devoted to an attack on the Senate voting record of a current Presidential candidate, although the spots do not specifically advocate voting against that candidate or for any other candidate. The candidate being attacked demands that we stop running the spots because they do not identify their true sponsor. The candidate alleges that the true sponsor consists of two wealthy individuals who are the only members of the Committee for Truth, Justice and the American Way of Life and who have provided all its funding. We have independently verified that these are indeed the facts. We must change the sponsorship identification on the spot or pull it.

        True or False?