Equal Time Rule - Examples

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In re Complaint of William D. White against Stations WPXI(TV), WQED(TV), WQEX(TV), and WDUQ(FM) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 9 FCC Rcd 6122; 1994 FCC LEXIS 6801 (1994)

White filed Section 315 (equal opportunity) complaints against several broadcast stations after the stations refused to grant his equal opportunity request. The FCC denied the complaint saying :

Section 73.1940 of the Commission's rules requires that to be legally qualified, candidates must either have qualified for a place on the ballot or must make a "substantial showing" that they have publicly committed themselves to election by the write-in method. 47 C.F.R. Section 73.1940. A "substantial showing" requires evidence of having engaged in activities commonly associated with political campaigning such as making campaign speeches, distributing campaign literature, issuing press releases, maintaining a campaign committee, and establishing campaign headquarters, 47 C.F.R. Section 73.1940(f)....

While White asserted that he was a write-in candidate for the 1991 and 1992 elections, he made no showing of such candidacies. With respect to the 1994 race, White essentially conceded that he had not yet qualified for a place on the ballot when he requested equal opportunities when he stated in his complaint that he "may begin to circulate [his] nomination papers on March 4, 1994." White made no statement or claim that he was a write-in candidate for 1994, nor has White made any subsequent showing that he has since become legally qualified. Consequently, White's allegations, including those deferred for consideration in this document, that the above-captioned stations violated Section 315... must fail.