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 NEWS  Federal  Communications  Commission  445  12  th  Street,  S.  W.  Washington,  D.  C.  20554  This  is  an  unofficial  announcement  of  Commission  action.  Release  of  the  full  text  of  a  Commission  order  constitutes  official  action.  See  MCI  v.  FCC.  515  F  2d  385  (D.  C.  Circ  1974).  News  Media  Information  202  /  418-  0500  Internet:  http://  www.  fcc.  gov  TTY:  1-  888-  835-  5322  FOR  IMMEDIATE  RELEASE  NEWS  MEDIA  CONTACT: 
 February  15,  2005  Eric  Bash  (202)  418-  2300  Email:  eric.  bash@  fcc.  gov 
 STATEMENT  OF  COMMISSIONER  JONATHAN  S.  ADELSTEIN  ON  NORMAN  LEAR  CENTER  REPORT 
 ON  LOCAL  TV  STATION  COVERAGE  OF  2004  CAMPAIGNS 
 We  owe  a  debt  of  gratitude  to  Marty  Kaplan  of  the  Norman  Lear  Center  and  the  USC  Annenberg  School  for  Communication  for  providing  us  with  another  critical  study  on  how  local 
 television  stations  cover  campaigns  in  the  weeks  preceding  Election  Day. 
 Judging  by  this  study,  many  broadcasters  are  failing  to  fulfill  their  responsibility  to  help  their  viewers  participate  in  an  educated  way  in  our  democracy.  This  adds  to  the  growing  pile  of 
 studies  showing  TV  offers  only  the  most  cursory  coverage  of  local  elections.  This  should  be  an  embarrassment  for  broadcasters  who  pride  themselves  on  localism. 


 The  Lear  Center  studies  are  exceedingly  important  because  roughly  half  of  the  American  public  relies  on  broadcast  and  network  newscasts  as  their  principal  source  of  campaign 
 information  and  news.  This  latest  report  takes  an  important  step  by  including  data  on  a  few  Spanish-  language  stations  in  several  of  these  markets. 


 It  appears  many  station  managers  subscribe  to  the  philosophy  “if  it  bleeds,  it  leads,”  and  “politics  is  ratings  poison.”  Viewers  are  left  with  a  distorted  picture  of  their  own  communities, 
 and  are  left  ill-  prepared  to  make  choices  that  will  shape  their  future. 
 Kaplan’s  studies  are  among  the  very  best,  and  they  are  having  a  real  impact  on  policy  deliberations  at  the  FCC.  If  broadcasters  take  issue  with  the  findings,  they  have  a  responsibility 
 to  counter  with  their  own  systematic  studies.  The  deafening  silence  leads  one  to  wonder  if  they  don’t  do  the  studies  because  they  are  afraid  of  what  they  might  find. 


 We  hear  a  lot  of  talk  about  promoting  democracy  abroad.  Clearly,  we  also  have  work  to  do  on  the  quality  of  our  democracy  here  in  the  U.  S.  In  2004,  broadcasters  took  in  $1.6  billion  in 
 political  ads,  but  gave  back  only  a  pittance  of  real  news  coverage  about  the  candidates  who  were  filling  their  coffers.  Senator  John  McCain  has  shown  tireless  leadership  in  fighting  for  campaign 
 reform.  But  unless  the  broadcasters  heed  his  call  to  do  better  coverage  on  their  own,  the  public  is  getting  shortchanged  by  those  who  are  using  their  airwaves  for  profit  but  apparently  giving  little 
 back. 
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 There  are  some  bright  spots,  and  some  broadcasters  are  clearly  doing  much  better  than  others.  The  study  identifies  a  number  of  political  programs  that  local  television  stations  aired 
 outside  of  newscasts.  For  example,  a  number  of  stations  aired  debates  among  candidates  or  about  ballot  initiatives,  and  hour  or  half-  hour  long  shows  about  the  races  or  different 
 propositions. 
 This  study  cries  out  for  the  need  for  stronger  public  interest  obligations  to  make  all  broadcasters  reach  a  higher  level  of  accountability. 


 Senator  McCain,  Chairman  Powell  and  I  last  year  called  for  better  coverage  at  the  2004  election.  Apparently,  many  broadcasters  did  not  heed  the  call.  While  voluntary  measures  are 
 preferable,  results  like  these  underscore  the  need  for  the  government  to  make  sure  the  public  gets  more  back  in  exchange  for  the  free  use  of  their  airwaves. 


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