FCC chair advocates free TV time for political candidates

In his final speech about television broadcasters' public interest duties, outgoing Federal Communications Commission Chairperson Reed Hundt told a packed Annenberg Auditorium Friday that a permanent program to grant free TV airtime to political candidates has the potential to change American democracy. Hundt described his feelings of "nausea" after reading that several Republican analysts had declared certain potential candidates "not viable" for the 2000 presidential race because they wouldn't be able to raise funds for key television ads. In his five-year tenure as FCC chairperson, Hundt made free TV time a central issue of his agenda. During the 1996 presidential election, he sponsored an experiment with short, free time segments on most of the major networks. The Annenberg School for Communication analyzed the data from this experiment, concluding that free TV time often provided a more informative and less combative presentation of the issues. Under Hundt, the FCC has also established an Internet network and World Wide Web page, extended competitive practices in the communications market and required networks to air at least three hours of educational programming per week -- another project for which Annenberg provided research data, according to Annenberg Dean Kathleen Hall Jamieson. As he prepares to leave the FCC, Hundt is trying to turn what many considered to be his greatest defeat -- a congressional decision to give a large chunk of the broadcast spectrum to TV networks at no costs -- into a victory for advocates of free TV time. The combination of fundraising misdeeds and the huge proportions of campaign funds spent on purchasing TV time -- an estimated 64 percent of all expenditures -- points to the increasing need for change in the system, Hundt said. "The way the candidates are getting sorted out has nothing to do with the way they proposed to reform or change education," he said. "It has nothing to do with how they proposed to close the widening gap between rich and poor. They're not sorting themselves out on any issue that's really of any interest to anyone in America. No, The New York Times said they're sorting themselves out according to how much money they can raise." But there's a "unique" opportunity to reform the political system by "disconnecting money and the media" using a little known provision of the agreement that gave broadcasters the additional spectrum licenses for free, Hundt said. As part of the agreement, Congress required the broadcasters to provide some type of public service, as determined by the FCC. Hundt proposed a plan under which the stations could fulfill their obligations by providing free airtime to candidates who agree to certain fundraising restrictions. Currently, broadcasters are obligated only to provide cheaper airtime to political candidates than to standard advertisers. But Hundt said that candidates should receive specified amounts of airtime for free; those who wished to purchase additional time would be required to pay full market value. After granting free time to candidates, Hundt said he doubts stations will agree to sell additional time for political messages -- except at exorbitant prices, a situation that Hundt feels will cool the race for TV time among candidates. He called on the FCC to investigate the issue, but admitted he was unable to convince a majority of the four FCC commissioners to approve the study. He stressed, however, that he hopes the initiative will succeed when the Senate approves three new commissioners --Eas well as Hundt's own replacement -- in October. Hundt has said he will step down in order to spend more time with his family. Hundt's speech was received well by both students and faculty. Communications Professor Larry Gross described Hundt as a "skilled and effective speaker." But Gross said he is disappointed with the current progress of the FCC, noting that President Reagan's appointees have remained past their terms because Clinton failed to nominate replacements. As a result, Gross said the FCC has been unwilling to implement Hundt's agenda, and now as Congress finally prepares to approve Clinton's nominees to the commission, Hundt is leaving. "If the issues are as important as he says -- which I believe -- and if his proposals are an important move towards a solution -- which I also believe -- why is he leaving in the middle of his term?" Gross asked.

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