Campaigns & Elections' Political Broadcast Manual - March 2008 - (Page 22)

mentary to be a program that develops the background chronology leading to an event in order to place it in historical context. Most documentaries consist of non-fictionalized depictions of past events. The appearance of a candidate on such a program must be incidental to the presentation of the subject covered by the documentary and the program must in no way be designed to aid or impede his or her candidacy. Therefore, a program consisting primarily of a studio discussion of a current event, or which deals predominately with a particular candidate or candidates of a particular party probably would not qualify as a bona fide news documentary and would trigger an equal opportunities obligation for all legally qualified opponents. On-the-Spot Coverage of Bona Fide News Events Determining what constitutes a “bona fide news event” is not always easy. For instance, the FCC has held that the appearance of a candidate during World Series pre-game ceremonies to present an award to former baseball player Jackie Robinson was a bona fide news event. On the other hand, a special pre-recorded message by the President inaugurating an annual United Way charity drive was deemed not exempt. Generally, though, the same considerations would apply here as apply to bona fide newscasts and news interviews. The key, if one indeed exists, is whether coverage of the event is prompted primarily by a broadcaster’s independent journalistic judgment that the event itself is newsworthy, regardless of participation of any political candidate. Candidate news conferences generally are considered newsworthy. The fact that a portion of a news conference may be devoted to a self-serving political speech by the candidate does not affect its status, so long as the broadcaster had no reason to doubt the newsworthiness of an announced press conference beforehand. The bona fide news event exemption specifically includes political conventions and incidental activities, such as acceptance speeches. Debates Candidate debates also qualify as on-the-spot coverage of a bona fide news event when the debate or its coverage was motivated by the broadcaster’s determination that it would be a newsworthy event, rather than for the contrived purpose of giving political advantage to the participants. Moreover, a key determinant is that the debate be adversarial in nature and permit spontaneous interaction among the participating candidates. The FCC formerly imposed restrictions regarding who could sponsor a debate, the selection of candidates, the arranging of their appearances and the overall production of the debate. These restrictions have been removed, and a broadcaster and even candidates themselves (or their committees) may sponsor a debate directly, provided, however, that no candidate is in a position to control the content, format or production. To qualify for the exemption, a debate (or any other exempt category of program, for that matter) need not include all legally qualified candidates for a given office. Courts have held that minor candidates have other means of communicating with the electorate. Delayed Broadcast or Editing A delayed broadcast or editing of any news event (including debates) remains exempt from equal opportunity obligations if the event remains newsworthy and if the delayed and/or edited report is intended in good faith by the broadcaster to better inform the public by maximizing audience potential and is not intended to favor or disfavor any candidate. The decision is made on a case-by-case basis. In an extreme instance, the FCC has permitted a delay of five weeks between a news event and its broadcast. VI. Requests for Equal Opportunities A right to equal opportunities does not arise automatically, but only upon proper request. There is no required form for a proper request. However, since equal opportunity rights are personal to an individual candidate, the request must be made by a candidate or by his or her authorized representative and not by a political party or special interest group. All equal opportunity requests must be for a “use” by the candidate. Opposing Candidates Rights to equal opportunities vest only in legally qualified opposing candidates. In order for candidates to be “opposing candidates” the same elective office must be involved. At a nominating convention or in a primary election, the opposing candidate would normally be from the same party, unless some type of coalition party is involved. Thus, a Republican seeking election in a Republican primary would not be an opposing candidate to a Democrat seeking election in a Democratic 22 « March 2008

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Campaigns & Elections' Political Broadcast Manual - March 2008

Campaigns & Elections' Political Broadcast Manual - March 2008 Contents Introduction – The Scope of the Political Broadcasting Rules “Legally Qualified” Candidates Reasonable Access “Uses” of Broadcast Facilities Exempt Programs Requests for Equal Opportunities Equal Opportunities Lowest Unit Charges The Disclosure Censorship of Uses Sponsorship Identification Political File Contents Access to the Political File The Fairness Doctrine Political Editorials Personal Attacks Issue Advertising News Distortion Conclusion

Campaigns & Elections' Political Broadcast Manual - March 2008

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