Campaigns & Elections' Political Broadcast Manual - March 2008 - (Page 24)

primary, but only to another candidate in the Republican primary. If a candidate is running unopposed in his or her party’s primary, then there would be no opposing candidate entitled to equal opportunities. Upon nomination, of course, equal opportunities would then accrue in favor of an opposing party’s nominee for the same public office. Seven Day Rule The most frequent complexity that generally arises with respect to requests for equal opportunities is the “seven day rule”. A request for equal opportunities must be made within seven days of an opposing candidate’s prior use. Thus, if A “uses” a broadcast facility on August 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25, B’s request for equal opportunities on August 26 will only cover A’s uses of August 20 and 25; B lost his right to request equal opportunities to A’s first three uses by waiting more than seven days after they had occurred. Two fine points: First, the seven day rule applies only to the request for equal opportunities and not to the date selected for the reply broadcast. Thus, in the above example, B’s request can be for equal opportunity uses in late September, so long as the request itself is made within seven days of A’s uses. Second, a request cannot be based upon another candidate’s equal opportunity. Where more than one prior user is involved, the request must be made within seven days of the first prior use giving rise to equal opportunities. Assume, for example, that A makes a use on August 1, and B requests an equal opportunity on August 6 to be broadcast on August 15. Can C, having learned on August 16 of B’s August 15 broadcast, request an equal opportunity? No, because the first use which triggered the entire chain of equal opportunities was A’s use of August 1, and C’s request was due no later than seven days after that. (B’s use was an equal opportunity, upon which a further equal opportunity cannot be based.) Notice A station is under no obligation to advise a candidate that time has been made available to an opposing candidate - even when a use occurs toward the very end of a campaign. However, upon inquiry from a legally-qualified candidate or any member of the public, the station must provide the facts relative to candidates’ requests, including the time sold and the changes made. This may be done by showing the candidate (or his or her representative) the station’s political file, discussed in section XII. Prior Requests for Expected Uses Requests made before an opponent’s use must be honored only if directed to a specific future use known at the time of the request. Thus, if A announces on August 1 that he will speak on August 15, B can request equal opportunities at any time between August 1 and 22 (this is, between the date of announcement of the use and seven days after the use). Further, when A will use a station according to a fixed and continuing pattern (such as a spot in the 7:00 p.m. news every Monday), then a single request from B for equal opportunities will apply not only to A’s uses during the preceding seven days but for all of A’s subsequent scheduled uses as well under the same “buy”. VII. Equal Opportunities What it Means Equal opportunities means that a broadcaster must treat all legally qualified candidates for the same office alike. It may make no discrimination in charges, practices, regulations, facilities or services rendered among legally qualified candidates for a particular office. This applies to the availability of broadcast time, the use of production facilities, the extension of credit, and the application of technical requirements. Equal opportunity does not mean an identical segment of broadcast time. When an opposing candidate requests an equal opportunity, the broadcaster must consider the daypart concerned, the length of the time segment, and the desirability of the particular broadcast time (including adjacency to popular programs). The station is not required to afford an opposing candidate an opportunity to appear on the same program, or even at the same time of day or the same day of the week, as long as the time segments offered are reasonably comparable. The mechanics of working out equal opportunities is a matter normally left to the broadcaster and the candidates involved, within the framework of the general principles described above. A summary of some illustrative rulings may provide guidance in this area. 24 « 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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