Report No. MM 95-65                                                   MASS MEDIA ACTION                  July 21, 1995
     
     
                   FCC DENIES APPLICATION FOR REVIEW FILED BY
                 UKRAINIAN CONGRESS COMMITTEE OF AMERICA, INC.
     
     
         The FCC denied the Application for Review filed by the Ukrainian Congress
     Committee of America, Inc. (UCCA) seeking review of a staff ruling.  
     
         UCCA had alleged that a personal attack took place against it during the CBS
     program "Sixty Minutes."  UCCA argued that "persons of Ukrainian ancestry" were
     depicted as anti-Semitic and that it had not been provided a reasonable opportunity to
     respond under the Commission's personal attack rule.   UCCA contends there are
     "approximately 1.5 million persons of Ukrainian ancestry" who reside in the United
     States.   In denying UCCA's complaint, the Mass Media Bureau determined that a
     group as large as "1.5 million persons" was not sufficiently identifiable so as to fall
     under the personal attack rule.  The Bureau further stated that the comments
     concerned citizens of Ukraine, rather than persons of "Ukrainian ancestry," and noted
     that the rule (47 C.F.R. Section 73.1920) does not apply to attacks on foreign groups.
     
         UCCA contends in its Application for Review that the Bureau erred in finding
     "persons of Ukrainian ancestry" too large a group to be sufficiently identifiable. 
     UCCA argues that the Bureau's holding is inconsistent with prior rulings in which, it
     alleges, the Commission found larger groups to be identifiable.  UCCA further
     contends that the Bureau's determination that the comments at issue did not refer to
     persons residing in the United States was also inconsistent with previous cases in
     which the Commission treated remarks concerning "Poles" as applicable to "Polish
     Americans," and events in Ireland in the nineteenth century as referring to "Irish
     Americans." 
     
     
     
     
     
     - more -
                                       
                                       
                                       
                                       
                                    - 2 -
                                        
     
         The FCC stated that it was clear that the comments to which UCCA objected
     referred to persons in Ukraine.   Moreover, the FCC found that UCCA's contention
     that the staff's determination was inconsistent with prior rulings was incorrect.   The
     FCC stated that in the previous cases referred to by UCCA,  the Commission did not
     reach the issue of whether remarks referring to foreign nationals could be construed
     to concern American citizens whose ancestry is derived from such nations, nor
     whether the groups allegedly attacked were sufficiently identifiable because the
     complainants had not demonstrated that the remarks took place during a discussion of
     a controversial issue of public importance.   Accordingly, the FCC affirmed the
     Bureau's determination that the personal attack rule is not applicable.  
     
         Action by the Commission July 10, 1995 by MO&O (FCC 95-279).  Chairman
     Hundt, Commissioner's Quello, Barrett, Ness and Chong.
     
     - FCC -
                                        
     News Media contact: Kara Palamaras at (202) 418-0500.
     Mass Media Bureau contact: Ray White at (202) 418-1440.