The Washington times., 1936-06-23
F. WARNED
PRESS MUST
Be FREE

Warning that freedom Of the
press and freedom of speech must
be fully recognized in the framing
Of Government policies dealing
with television and facsimile SER
vices was served on the Federal
communications Commission yes
terday by Elisha N. Hanson, gen.
eral counsel of the American News
paper Publishers Association.
Appearing at a final public hear
ing on proposals for ALLEGATION of
the higher bands of the radio spec
trum to provide facilities for devel-
Opment Of new radio uses, Han
son told the Commission the Amer
ican press is fully confident it can
compete successfully with either
facsimile or television.
Ask Fair Basis
Hanson told the committee:
"The association which rep
resent is not opposed to the de-
velOpment Of facsimile or televis-
ion because either or both might
compete with newspapers. The
newspapers are perfectly capable
of meeting any competition
which arises ON a fair basis.
They are concerned, however,
with the basis Of competition.
Radio in all its phases is q
relatively new art, whereas the
press has centuries of tradition
and experience behind it. All
through its history the press
has not only had to meet COM
petition, but on frequent Occa-
sion it has had to meet unfair
competition. 1t has been sub
jected to restraints of one form
or another in practically all
countries, and today it is rela-
lively free from governmental
restraint in very few countries.
81 am happy to say that one
of these countries where we
have o free press is the United
States, and / express the hope
that in whatever you do as a
result of these deliberations,
whether it be in the ALLEGATION
of frequenCieS or in the regula-
ton and use of those fire.
quencieS, the American princi-
pie of freedom Of the press, and
of its child, freedom Of speech,
will be borne in mind.
"If it develops that facilities
are needed for facsimile and
televisiOn use in connection
with the service rendered by the
press, it Is my hope that you
will set aside such facilities and
allocate them to those persons
who are best able to render eff
cient service on the channels
selected"
INTEREST VITAL
Any request for use Of any of
these channels for press use
should come from individual
newspapers or press associations
and the commissions decision
should be "solely on the merit of
the proposal" Hanson said, add
ing:
The newspapers and the
press associations use every
means of communication for
the gathering and dissemina-
tiOn Of news. They are vitality
interested in having the right
to use all methods Of cOmmuni-
cation on q competitive basis.
1t is imperative that they
should have the most efficient
service at fair and reasonable
rates.
"YOu should approach the
problem just as the Interstate
Comm cree Commission ap-
prOaches a problem Of regu.
lating rates for rail carriers, or
q public service commission ap-
prOacheS the problem of regu-
lating rates for electricity or
gas"
BROADCAST PERIODS
Hanson appealed to the commits.
sion to specify definite periods for
the broadcast Of news reports. He
said:
"If it is desirable, as o matter
Of public policy, to have news
broadcast, it is equally desirable
to have that news broadcast at
specific periods set aside by your
commission as the periods which
are best to serve the public inter-
est in this particular service.
"The time has come, in my
opinion, when the commission
should consider this problem.
1t is immediate and pressing,
and has a relationship to the
subject before you as to alIOca-
tiOn of other frequencies for
further use in gathering and dis
seminating news.
due to the fact that the com.
mission has not taken up the
problem of determining appro-
pirate hours for the broadcast
of news, this service is not what
the newspapers believe it could
be-"