TV Firms Urged to Give Candidates Time

Urging broadcasters to boost their commitment to local political races, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Reed Hundt on Tuesday applauded a move by a Dallas-based chain of TV stations to provide free air time to candidates for governor, U.S. Senate and House of Representatives.

The company, A.H. Belo Corp., filed an application with the FCC on Monday to dole out five-minute blocks of air time to candidates to use as they please.

It is the first time a commercial broadcaster has offered free time to local candidates, according to the FCC. The program, expected to be approved within weeks, would affect Belo’s seven network-affiliated stations in Dallas, Houston, Sacramento, Seattle, New Orleans, Tulsa, Okla., and Norfolk, Va.

Speaking at a television industry conference in New York on Tuesday morning, Hundt cited recent news stories and surveys indicating that local TV newscasts devote little attention to local races and that large numbers of voters prefer to hear candidates’ views “unmediated” by news reporters or announcers.

Hundt praised Belo’s initiative and said his agency will study how it works in the November election and then open a dialogue with other broadcasters to see how they might broaden their own public-service efforts.

Asked whether the FCC might turn Belo’s proposal into a mandate, Hundt said, “It’s a mistake to have a preconceived idea that there needs to be a rule or a law.”

Network executives attending the conference were cool to the idea. NBC, ABC, CBS and CNN only reluctantly followed the lead of News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch, who in February committed his Fox network to providing a free hour during election week to the presidential candidates.

Peter Lund, president and chief executive of CBS, said free-time offers are no panacea for the high cost of running for political office. The system needs “an entire overhaul,” he said.

Lund said that allocating free time to all candidates would be a “logistical nightmare” in some markets. In New York City, for example, local newscasts also reach New Jersey and Connecticut, meaning that a station could be juggling responsibilities to dozens of candidates.

Robert W. Wright, president and chief executive of NBC, said the big three networks and their affiliates already provide “a tremendous amount” of political coverage through their news programs.

Giving candidates air time to fill as they see fit appeals to “stations without news operations, like Fox,” Wright said, taking a swipe at Murdoch.

“Ambushing” viewers by “dumping three-minute spots into an entertainment block” is more likely to turn people off to the political process than to engage and inform them, Wright said.

A potentially thorny problem for Belo will be deciding which candidates are entitled to free air time.

Richard E. Wiley, a Washington lawyer who represents Belo before the FCC, said the company will use “objective criteria” to determine which candidates receive the time slots. He could not provide details on the criteria.

Besides its TV stations, Belo owns the Dallas Morning News and several regional and community newspapers. Last June, it acquired a 21.5% stake in the Riverside Press-Journal.