Evening star., 1941-01-22


from exercising David Lawrence.
any censorship, political or other
wise, over radio station programs
and the Supreme Court has held
that the commission has no power
to regulate the business of broad
casting, but nevertheless the edict
has gone forth formally that radio
stations must suit the conceptions
of news and public speech held by
the Federal Communications Com
mission or lose their licenses.
For several years this correspond
ent has frequently warned that the
Federal Communications Commits
sion by informal expressions of its
members was on the road to Gov
ernment control of speech on the
radio. but never until these last
few days has a formal decision been
rendered which absolutely confirms
the use OF governmental power to
tntimidate broadcasting stations.
BY twisting the words of the orig
tnal radio law which gives the COM
mission power to issue licenses ac-
venienCe and neCeSSity"-a term
originally used by Congress merely
to prevent mechanical collision of
facilities-the final step has been
taken to put all broadcasting sta
tions at the mercy of a Federal
board sitting in Washington.
Congress Defied.
mo attempt" says the commits
sion in deciding its latest case, will
be made here to analyze in detail
the large number of broadcasts de-
voted to editorials. The material
In this record has been carefully
considered and compels the con-
clusion that this licensee has re-
vealed a serious misconception of
its duties and functions under the
law. Under the American system
Of broadcasting. it is clear that
responsibility for the conduct of a
broadcast station must rest initially
with the broadcaster 1t is equally
clear that with the limitations in
frequencies inherent in the nature
of radio, the public interest can
never be served by a dedication of
any broadcast facility to the sup
port of his own partisan ends. Radio
can serve as an instrument of de-
mocracy only when devoted to the
communication of information and
the exchange of ideas fairly and
effectively presented"
But who is to decide what is
fair and what is objective" and
what Is "partisan?" A board con-
sisting of political appointees with
partisan conceptions of news? Con-
gress refused for this very reason
to allow censorship, but the Federal
Communications Commission has
defled Congress and the courts by
boldly asserting:
while the day to day decisions
applying these requirements are the
licensees responsibility, the ulti-
course of conduct of the station
over period of time and to take
appropriate action therein is vested
in the commission"
Here, therefore, is censorship in
the form long dreaded in America.
The radio reaches millions of peo-
pie. but hereafter a radio broad
casting station may feel it dare not
broadcast its version of the truth
or make statement of interpreta-
ton of It's own about national ques-
tions without running the risk of
having its license taken away.
Promise Extorted.
Unfortunately the commission did
not permit a case to be decided in
q way that would permit court re-
view. The license was actually not
taken away, but renewal was ac-
companled by bold confession of
intimidation. The commission ex-
torted from the broadcasting station
a formal promise to be good accord
ing to the concepts of the commits
sion and after exacting such writ
ten pledge the station was allowed
to retain its license.
Now the formal record has been
made The F. c. c. has shown its
censorship teeth and any station
GIldG Willis 10 IlSk Il lOSS Oh Incense
can test it out in higher court If
1t wants to 60 to the expense and
trouble. Thus is free speech in
sidiously taken away from the peo-
pie by bureaucratic government.
The remedy does not lie in court
review, but In complete reorgani-
cation of the Federal Communica-
tions Commission by Congress so
that the term of each member shall
not be longer than one year. In
this way the Senate can decide
whether to confirm commissioners
who are violating the spirit as we'll
as the letter of the law governing
radio broadcasting.
Opens Worry for Press.
There are members of Congress
who have been worrying about
monopoly in broadcasting by pri-
vate interests, but the latest de-
cision by the commission shows
that there is far more to worry
about in the monopoly by a gov