In re Applications of NATIONAL BROADCASTING
CO. For Renewal of Licenses of Station KNBR and
Station KNBR-FM,
Files Nos. BR-42 and BRH-624
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
16 F.C.C.2d 698 (1969); 15 Rad. Reg.
2d (P & F) 807
RELEASE-NUMBER: FCC 69-194
February 28, 1969 Adopted
BY THE
COMMISSION: COMMISSIONER COX ABSTAINING FROM VOTING; COMMISSIONER
JOHNSON DISSENTING AND ISSUING A STATEMENT.
[*698] 1.
The Commission has before it for consideration the above-entitled
applications.
2. Applicant has adequately surveyed its
community to determine community needs.
In addition to meetings and correspondence with community leaders, its
personnel have actively participated in civic, cultural, educational, religious,
and business organizations. A review
and analysis of listeners' mail and telephone conversations are made. Five years ago the station initiated a
series of "Community Leaders Luncheon" in which topics of local
interests are discussed. These
luncheons will continue.
3. As a result of these interviews, contacts,
and meetings numerous examples of programs to meet the needs, as determined by
licensee, have been listed. Among these
are "Faith Forum", a program on which representatives of various
religious groups discuss problems of current living. A further example is a program called "Summer Jobs"
which was a result of a closed-circuit meeting with Vice President Humphrey. The station initiated a program and involved
business leaders in helping to keep underprivileged children in summer school
and encouraged them to continue further schooling. Applicant proposes to continue serving the significant interests
and needs of the public with a balanced program schedule including both local
and network programs of news, entertainment, public affairs, and other types of
programming.
4. The format proposed for KNBR is as follows:
|
|
Popular
middle of the road music (percent) |
|
|
|
|
Entertainment |
|
|
News |
13.33 |
|
Public affairs |
2.42 |
|
Other non-entertainment |
3.03 |
[*699] The format proposed for KNBR-FM is as
follows:
|
|
Popular
middle of the road and Classical music (percent) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Entertainment |
|
|
News |
8.0 |
|
Public affairs |
2.6 |
|
Other nonentertainment |
2.6 |
KNBR
will be operated 165 hours per week and KNBR-TV, 126 hours per week. Programming will be duplicated for 8 hours
and 50 minutes each day, which will conform with the requirements of section
73.242 of the Commission's rules.
5. The proposed commercial limitation for the
operation of both stations is 18 minutes per hour, which may be exceeded during
emergencies, political campaigns, and makeups for preempted programs. In the event of any of these exceptions,
licensee will not exceed 22 minutes of commercial matter per hour.
6. The above applications have been carefully
reviewed and we find that the applicant is legally, technically, financially
and otherwise qualified, and that a grant of the applications would serve the
public interest, convenience, and necessity.
We have not in this order undertaken to dispose of complaints against
other NBC stations which, as previously indicated, will be disposed of in other
proceedings.
7. Accordingly, It is ordered, That the above applications
of the National Broadcasting Co. for the renewal of licenses of KNBR and
KNBR-FM,
FEDERAL
COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION, BEN F. WAPLE, Secretary.
DISSENTING OPINION OF COMMISSIONER NICHOLAS JOHNSON
The NBC-owned
stations in
I
dissent.
My most
fundamental concern is that NBC -- chastised several times by this Commission
and notified that the matters would be considered at renewal -- can have
licenses for multimillion dollar operations renewed without any real Commission
scrutiny. A small, family-owned AM
radio station that operates with the wrong power for a few days, or comes on
the air before sunup, may be levied a substantial fine by this Commission. Time brokerage, false logging, or an abuse
of advertisers -- such as double billing -- may actually result in license
revocation. See, e.g., Continental
Broadcasting, Inc., 15 F.C.C. 2d 120 (1968). And yet this Commission is
unwilling even to review the case against NBC, and simply acquiesces in the
renewal of these two profitable licenses.
It makes no review of NBC responses to previously [*700]
expressed Commission concern.
Although the majority has prepared a formal order there is nothing to explain
why the majority, despite previous admonishments to NBC, now finds renewal to
be in the public interest. It is a well
established principle that renewal time is an occasion for review of the past
behavior of the licensee seeking renewal.
But recent Commission action regarding NBC is ignored.
A review
of the Commission's actions will serve to demonstrate the majority's
dereliction in this matter -- and the Commission's double standard when it
comes to dealing with its powerful licensees in contrast to the treatment of
family-owned AM radio stations guilty of minor infractions.
(1) On
May 1, 1968 the Commission wrote NBC concerning "allegations that your
broadcasts of the 'Hollywood Golden Globe Awards' have contained substantial
misrepresentations." F.C.C. 68-491 (1968). The Commission, after investigation, concluded:
[We]
believe that your "Golden Globe Award" broadcasts prior to 1968
substantially misled the public as to the basis on which winners were chosen
and the procedures followed in choosing them, and that you were seriously
delinquent in this respect * * *.
* * *
We
believe that you have fallen far below the degree of responsibility which is
expected of a licensee with respect to the matters set forth herein, and we
request that you submit a statement as to future procedures to be followed with
respect to this program and other programs raising comparable problems. This matter will be considered further in
connection with the next application for renewal of license of your
(2) On
October 9, 1968, the Commission wrote NBC concerning procedures on two of its
quiz-game shows -- "PDQ" and "Hollywood Squares." The
Commission concluded:
[The]
public has from time to time been misled as to the procedures preceding the
questioning of guest celebrities on "Hollywood Squares," and that
your own procedures for prevention of improper practices on these programs has
been lax.
* * *
The
matters set forth above will be considered further in connection with the
pending application for renewal of license of station KNBC.
F.C.C.
68-1025 (1968).
The plain
language of these letters would seem to indicate further Commission study would
be warranted when the KNBC renewal was considered. NBC apparently thought the matters serious since its president
wrote Chairman Hyde a seven-page letter concerning "our exercise of
supervision over game and award shows." But there is not one word
regarding these matters in the majority opinion renewing the stations'
licenses.
(3) The
Commission has received numerous complaints regarding NBC's coverage of the
1968 Democratic National Convention.
Those matters have not yet been finally disposed of by the Commission.
(4) One
of the charges against NBC in connection with its coverage of the Democratic
Convention was the allegation that NBC employees had placed a hidden microphone
in a room that was subsequently used for closed platform committee hearings.
[*701]
Is there no possibility that a resolution of these charges might reflect
adversely on NBC as a licensee seeking renewal?
(5) On
September 11, 1968, the Commission wrote NBC concerning possible conflicts of
interest involving one of its commentators, Chet Huntley -- and his comments
about regulation involving meat inspection.
The Commission noted:
[We]
find that NBC did not exercise reasonable diligence in light of information
publicly available and information brought to its attention * * *.
* * *
The
above record over the period stretching from 1964 to the present shows a
failure to exercise reasonable diligence or to fulfill public interest
requirements in this important area.
* * *
Thus,
you appear to have fallen short of your responsibilities with respect to the
matters set forth with regard to the fairness doctrine.
F.C.C.
68-931 (1968).
There is
no mention of this matter in any Commission consideration of these renewals
despite the fact that NBC submitted an eight-page response on October 21,
1968. Needless to say, no Commission
evaluation of that response has been made nor followup undertaken.
(6) On
September 17, 1968, the Commission wrote NBC concerning a "Lucky
Bucks" contest presented over NBC station WKYC in
In the
Eastern Broadcasting Corp. letter the Commission noted that advertising
deception may result from the use of statements which are not technically false
or which may even be literally true, since the only relevant consideration is
the impact of the statements on the general public, including the ignorant, the
unthinking, and the credulous. Applying
this proposition to the instant case, the Commission is of the view that the
advertisements pertaining to the WKYC "Million Dollar" contest tended
to mislead the public in that they contained extravagant claims concerning the
amount of money to be given away.
* * *
In view
of all the circumstances of this matter, the Commission is of the opinion that
the advertising pertaining to the WKYC "Million Dollar" contest fell
short of the required degree of licensee responsibility. This matter will be considered further in
connection with the next applications for renewal of license of stations
WKYC-AM-FM.
F.C.C.
68-957 (1968). (The majority referred
to the Eastern Broadcasting Corp. case, F.C.C. 68-768 (1968). In that case Eastern Broadcasting's license
renewal was limited to a 1-year period for station WCVS,
(7) In
March 1968 the Commission considered reports in a Los Angeles newspaper that a KNBC-TV
crew had brought "dove" and "hawk" picket signs for use in
filming a student debate at Claremont
[*702] College (in the Los
Angeles area). n1 NBC responded that the signs had
been prepared "to depict 'sloganeering' as opposed to the type of mature
debate shown on the program, or merely as colorful additions to the set."
The Commission disposed of this matter without further action in a Minute entry
for March 20, 1968, with Commissioner Cox issuing a concurring statement joined
in by Commissioners Wadsworth and Johnson.
n1 The slogans were "Victory
in Viet Nam," "No Retreat," "Stop Communism,"
"End the Bombing," "Down with the Draft," and "Bring
Them Home." The Los Angeles Times reported that the students complained
that the signs would misrepresent student feeling on the issue and began to
picket the NBC cameramen with their own signs that read "Hearst is alive
and working at NBC." It also reported that the start of the debate was
delayed while students heckled the NBC crew and that both speakers in the
debate criticized the TV men for bringing the signs.
(8)
Finally, the corporate structure of RCA has changed substantially since the
last NBC renewals. RCA has acquired St.
Regis Paper Co., a $700-million transaction, "its largest acquisition to
date." "TV Digest," October 14, 1968, p. 8. St. Regis Paper,
with its wood products, packaging, paper, forestry, and timberland (7.5-million
acres), food processing, and manufacture of ice skating and curling rinks is to
be added to RCA-NBC's other acquisitions in electronics, publications (e.g.,
Random House) and consumer services (e.g., Hertz). The concern about conglomerate acquisitions expressed by experts
versed in study of the functioning of the American economy is well known. Normally the FCC dodges the question unless
license transfers are before it. Now
even this Commission has expressed the need to examine the conglomerate
influence in broadcasting. (See,
Inquiry into the Ownership of Broadcast Stations by Persons or Entities with
Other Business Interests, docket No. 18449, F.C.C. 69-117 (1969).) But does not
a license renewal imply that nothing has occurred to warrant further evaluation
and study? How can this Commission renew NBC licenses without even giving
cursory examination to the most recent, and largest acquisition in RCA's
history? And yet, this it declines to
do. n2
n2 Since the preparation of this
opinion there have been news reports that St. Regis Paper Co. has terminated
the merger agreement. The question of
St. Regis' relationship to the RCA-NBC knowledge industry conglomerate thus may
be moot -- but this does not detract from the fact that the majority was
apparently willing to go on granting RCA-NBC applications without even
examining the impact of RCA's largest acquisition.
Based on
preliminary analysis of newspaper reports there would be several issues that
could have been explored by this Commission: (1) What will be the financial
impact of this merger on RCA-NBC, especially in terms of profit and cash flow
positions? Will there be increased
pressure on NBC to meet deficit cash flow problems in the first years after the
St. Regis acquisition? (2) What is the
future relationship of St. Regis to the other knowledge components of the
RCA-NBC conglomerate, e.g., Random House?
(3) What is the relationship (present and future) of St. Regis as a
supplier, to RCA-NBC competitors (newspapers, magazines, book publishers) and,
RCA-NBC affiliates (newspapers, magazines, book publishers owning broadcast
stations affiliated with NBC) and, to owners of broadcast station affiliates in
competition with NBC affiliates?
At the
time of writing the exact status of this merger -- and certainly the answers to
these questions -- remains in doubt.
All
these incidents, whether drawn from radio or television, raise the issue of the
suitability of RCA-NBC, a powerful corporate conglomerate and communications
entity with numerous radio and television outlets, to be a broadcast
licensee. The FCC must find that the
public interest will be served by renewal of these NBC licenses. And it is only at the time of renewal of
individual licenses that the past behavior of RCA-NBC can be evaluated. The majority concedes that it has "not
in this order undertaken to dispose of complaints against [*703]
other NBC stations," and declares its intention to dispose of them
in "other proceedings." It is very difficult to conjure up just what
kind of "other proceedings" the majority may have in mind if they are
not to be license renewal proceedings on NBC-owned stations. The complaints are not directed against
"stations," but against the licensee: RCA/NBC. And it is precisely in the renewal
proceeding now before us that NBC's qualifications as a licensee are in issue
and that we must find this renewal will serve the public interest. If the issues are not to be dealt with now,
when will they ever be considered?
It was
expected that the evaluation of the alleged violations enumerated above -- some
of which involved KNBC-TV -- could be made in the context of the first NBC
renewal, that of KNBC-TV. That action
has been deferred. The licenses now
before us are for radio stations in
The
recitation of these matters has been lengthy.
Perhaps it is mere coincidence that over a 5-month period NBC was
involved in seven separate instances in which the licensee apparently fell
short of meeting its responsibilities in supervision of program production,
employee behavior, or advertising practices.
But perhaps it indicates more, a general laxness on NBC's part.
This
Commission weekly imposes monetary fines on licensees, and even issues
short-term renewals, for behavior not less serious than these seven incidents
regarding NBC. For the majority not
even formally to review the NBC record in an order or letter suggests an
unconscionable double standard. The
three California Pacifica stations have been deferred for as long as the NBC
California stations. The reason for deferring
the
I
dissent.