MASS MEDIA ACTION FCC CLEARS THE WAY FOR NETWORK PROPOSALS TO PROVIDE TIME TO PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES

Report No. MM 96-25

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

1996 FCC LEXIS 4525

August 21, 1996

The Federal Communications Commission has taken action to allow for a better informed electorate in the upcoming presidential campaign by clearing the way for broadcasters to offer the major presidential candidates air time to speak directly to voters.

In response to requests made by Fox Broadcasting Company (" Fox" ), Public Broadcasting Service ("PBS") and Capital Cities/ABC, Inc. ("ABC"), the FCC today ruled that their proposals to offer the major presidential candidates free air time are exempt from the equal opportunities requirements of Section 315 of the Communications Act. The proposals are as follows:

Fox: (1) A one-hour election eve program in which time would be split evenly among the candidates selected for inclusion in debates by the Commission on Presidential Debates; and (2) Ten 60-second segments in which the candidates would address issue-oriented questions.

PBS: 2 1/2 minutes of air time scheduled at the same time each weeknight and rotated between/among the major presidential candidates without restriction as to content.

ABC: A one-hour prime-time special during the final week of the campaign. ABC states that this would be a "live unrestricted event," with the candidates appearing without interruptions or questions from any third party.

The Commission determined that... the proposed Fox, PBS and ABC programming should be deemed "on-the-spot coverage of bona fide news event" programming under Section 315(a)(4) of the Communications Act... The Commission held that each proposal satisfies the two-part test for exemption as a bona fide news event: (1) that the format of the program reasonably fit within the news event exemption category, and (2) that the decision to carry a particular event was the result of good faith news judgment and not based on partisan purposes....

The full text of the opinion in available in the FCC Library in Lexis and from the FCC.