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If you need the complete document, download the WordPerfect version or Adobe Acrobat version, if available. ***************************************************************** Before the FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20554 In re Request of ) ) Access Hollywood ) ) For Declaratory Ruling ) STAFF RULING Adopted:June 30, 1997Released:July 1, 1997 By the Chief, Complaints & Political Programming Branch: 1. The Commission has before it a request for declaratory ruling, filed September 6, 1996, by Access Hollywood ("Access"), seeking a determination that appearances by legally qualified candidates for public office on its program Access Hollywood are exempt from the "equal opportunities" requirement of Section 315 of the Communications Act (47 U.S.C. Section 315), under the "bona fide newscast" exemption (47 U.S.C. Section 315(a)(1)). 2. Since September 9, 1996, Access Hollywood has been a regularly scheduled, syndicated program airing six days a week, Monday through Friday and once on the weekend. According to Access, Access Hollywood covers news, interviews, information and features in connection with entertainment events. The program also reports political events which feature appearances by legally qualified candidates for public office. These segments will be presented in a format similar to that of traditional newscast and newsmagazine programs. Access maintains that the subjects and stories covered on Access Hollywood are selected solely on the basis of their newsworthiness and public significance rather than with an intent to advance or harm the candidacy of any particular individual. DISCUSSION 3. In 1959, Congress amended the Communications Act to exempt, from the equal opportunities provision of Section 315, appearances by legally qualified candidates during the following four categories of bona fide news programming: (1) bona fide newscast, (2) bona fide news interview, (3) bona fide news documentary (if the appearance of the candidate is incidental to the presentation of the subject or subjects covered by the news documentary), or (4) on-the-spot coverage of bona fide news events (including but not limited to political conventions and activities incidental thereto). 47 U.S.C. Section 315(a). Congress removed the inhibiting effect of the equal opportunities obligation upon bona fide news programming to encourage increased news coverage of political campaign activity. Rather than define precisely what it meant by "news," Congress left the task of interpreting the scope of each exemption to the Commission. See 105 Cong. Rec. 16227 (1959) (Rep. Celler); 105 Cong. Rec. 14455 (1959) (Sen. Pastore). Although Congress did provide some indication of what it envisioned structurally for some of the exemptions (e.g., bona fide news interviews must be regularly scheduled), it did not specify any requisite characteristics for the bona fide newscast exemption. Congress did, however, articulate that the common characteristic of all of the news exemptions is "bona fide news value." Conf. Rep. No. 1069, 86th Cong., 1st Sess. at 4 (1959); 105 Cong. Rec. 14442 (Sen. Pastore). Indeed, Congress qualified each exemption with the term "bona fide," which the legislative history demonstrates was intended to emphasize that bona fide news programming be genuinely newsworthy and not designed by the broadcaster for the purpose of advancing or harming any particular candidacies. See 105 Cong. Rec. 17782 (1959). 4. The Commission has ruled on several occasions that specific programs could be treated as bona fide newscasts. In ruling that Entertainment Tonight and Entertainment This Week were bona fide newscasts, the Commission, through its Mass Media Bureau, stated that, in terms of format, the principal consideration should be "whether the program reports news of some area of current events. . . in a manner similar to more traditional newscasts." The Commission has thus declined to evaluate the relative quality or significance of the topics and stories selected for newscast coverage, appropriately relying instead on good faith news judgment. As with the specific programs previously considered exempt under the newscast exemption, Access Hollywood appears to follow a traditional newscast format. Further, we have no basis for believing that the stories covered in Access Hollywood are selected for any reason other than their genuine newsworthiness. Therefore, Access Hollywood in the format described by Access in its request, appears to satisfy the criteria established for a newscast exemption. 5. In view of the foregoing considerations and based on the information before the Commission, we believe that appearances by legally qualified candidates for public office on Access Hollywood should be accorded the bona fide newscast exemption from the equal opportunities provision of Section 315. Accordingly, Access Hollywood's request IS GRANTED. 6. Staff action is taken pursuant to delegated authority. FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION Norman Goldstein, Chief Complaints & Political Programming Branch Enforcement Division Mass Media Bureau