Evening star., 1946-11-17
Jewish Congress Brief
Insists Fec Consider
Newspaper S Content
BY the Associated Prose-

NEW YORK, Nov. 16.-The Amer
lean Jewish Congress contended to-
day that the Federal Communica-
tions Commission, in considering ap-
plications for radio licenses, should
take into account the contents of
newspapers applying for licenses.
The argument was presented in a
brief, which the Congress said it
filed today with the commission, to
support its opposition to the grant
ing of an FIN radio license to the
New York Daily News. The Con-
gress, at a six-day hearing, had ac-
cused the newspaper of racial dis
elimination.
In brief filed earlier this week,
the News had denied the accusation
and moved that the commission
reject as evidence a study of its
editorial and news columns sub
mitted by the Congress. To con-
slider such evidence would make the
granting of a license contingent on
approving or disappearing news
paper content and mo greater threat
to freedom of the press has been
made in recent years." the News
brief said.
Brief From Congress.
In reply, the Congress brief said ::
l. That the News cannot argue
that to deny it an FM license would
be to deprive it of free speech, since
there are II applicants for the
five FIN channels and II must nee
essarily be denied.
2. That the FEC is not limited to
consideration of the engineering
and financial qualifications of the
applicants but must consider their
character and past conduct also,
and newspapers cannot claim spe-
cial exemption.
8. That "the Daily News has made
the examination of its policies in
evitable in the present proceeding"
by submitting the following state
ment to the FEC: Our policy on
the News has been that we are a
medium for public welfare and
community interest, as we'll as a
dispenser of news. This policy will
carry over to the radio station"
Distortion Charged.
Summarizing the content study,
which it defended in detail, the
brief said:
THE editorials and opinion COL
umns of the Daily News in the last
eight years have consistently con-
veyed a distorted image of Ameri-
can Jews entrenched in positions of
power and dominated by an inter-
national racial solidarity which
tends to create conflict between
them and those who put American
interests first 80.
The Daily News has printed a
much greater proportion of news
items unfavorable to the Jews, and
particularly to the Negroes, and a
much smaller proportion of news
favorable to these minorities, than
the other New York City morning
of general circulation" 4"
News Makes Reply.
These findings, the brief con-
tended, and "the proportionately
heavier emphasis on crime and un-
favorable news in general given by
the Daily News" show that mot
only the past behavior but the pres
ent convictions of the Daily News
render it unfit for a position of
public trust"
The News, in its brief, had said
that "the News has been and is an
outstanding and outspoken advo-
cate of racial and religious toler-
ance and equality and a most vigor-
Gus opponent of discrimination
against racial and religious mi
norities."
The newspaper not only attacked
the admission of the content study
On the grounds of its constitu-
tionality, but also objected to the
material submitted as "a batch of
truncated quotations, out of con-
text and without the background of
current events"