Evening star., 1941-10-24
Use off. N. Stations
By Conflicting Groups
Urged al Hearing
Editorial Commentator
Says Public Thus Could
Hear Both Sides
BY CARTER BROOKE JONES.

Irving Brant, Washington edito-
e!al commentator for the st. Louis
Star-Times, suggested to the Fed
eral Communications Commission
Yesterday afternoon that the new
F. M. Frequency modulation sta
tions be turned over to such con-
f1icting agencies as the National AS
sociation of Manufacturers, the
American Federation Of Labor and
the Congress of Industrial Organi-
cations.
In this way, he pointed out. radio
audiences could learn all sides OF
various public questions.
Mr.. Brant testified as an expert
Journalistic witness at the COM
missions inquiry into the policy of
granting newspapers licenses to
operate broadcasting stations. The
hearings were in recess today until
November l3.
Would Regulate Mentioning Paper.
Another suggestion which Mr..
Brant made in the course of teSti-
mony that lasted most of the day
was that newspapers owning radio
stations should be forbidden to
mention their newspapers in broad
casts unless all competiting papers
In the territory also were mentioned
Generally speaking he said.
"you should have division of own
ership between newspapers and
radio stations, especially in a town
where there is only one newspaper
and one radio station and the paper
owning the station could have
monopoly Of news
Judge Thomas D. Thacher. coun- |
sci for the RadioNewspaper Com |
mittee. an organization of publishers
interested in broadcasting, asked !
the witness If he would prohibit a
paper from acquiring a radio sta
ton in a case where it could not |
survive without this added source |
of revenue and the town otherwise I.
would be left without a paper. Mr.. /
Brant said he would, adding that .
a paper weak enough to depend on
a radio station could not be of
great use to the community.
Cites New York Situation.
The larger the city. said Mr. /
Brant. the less newspapers depend
on radio stations. Most of the New
York papers, he cited, "get along
very well without radio facilities" /
Judge Thacher asked if it were .
not true that a paper which did .
not have the support of its COM
munity would fail, and that papers /
constantly strove to please their
communities. They Ought 10 prac- |
tlce this more" Mr.. Brant replied,
adding:
I'm not here to represent news !
paper opinion. But I think I rep
resent the opinion Of 80 TO 80 per |
cent Of the working newspaperlnen
when I say their general feeling Is .
that the press does not measure .
up to its own standards. I'm not .
drawing anw distinction between /
the press and radio in that respect" (
In any conflict between the public /
interest and self-interest, the wit
ness said, the publisher will incline, |
perhaps subconsciously, toward self |,
interest. A publisher. Mr.. Brant !
insisted, Is mot a free agent" but
is under economic compu1sion TO
make profit and is dependent on
advertising to a large extent for /
his revenue.
There is less influence eXerted on |
the radio so far, Mr.. Brant added. I
because it has no editorial policy !
and is under regulations which re-
quire it to give both sides of con-
troversy. He feared. he said that .
II newspapers became predominant |
in the radio field, broadcasting
might reveal more of the lack of
independence which he ascribed to
newspapers.
Chairman James Lawrence Fly
announced at the close of yester-
days session that the hearings
would be recessed until November
l3 to allow counsel for the commits
sion to prepare documentary evi-
dence. He indicated that the COM
mission hoped to close its testimony
soon after that and permit the
Radio-Newspaper Committee to be-
gin presenting evidence.
The general purpose of the hear
tngs is to determine whether the
r. C. c. should adopt some definite
policy toward licensing newspaper
owned radio stations and whether,
II SO IL has authority