Page 55 - Historical Dictionary of Political Communication in the United States

44
Uncommitted
Year Republican Democratic EQUAL TIME RULE
1980 42.5 12.9 40.7
1984 57.7 9.4 32.7
1988 29.5 7.7 62.8
1992 14.9 18.3 66.7
1996 18.7 10.9 60.9
Note: Small number of endorsements for Henry Wallace and Strom Thurmond in 1948, George
Wallace in 1968, John Anderson in 1980, and Ross Perot in 1992 not included.

Democratic candidates in every year except 1964 and 1992. In the last three
presidential elections, a majority of the newspapers responding did not endorse
a candidate. Why not? First, it's obvious that the endorsements are not partic-
ularly influential. Democratic candidates won in 1940, 1944, 1948, 1960, and
1976 despite a wide margin of endorsements for the Republican candidates.
Some newspaper people also question the appropriateness of endorsements.
Also, endorsements generate sharp letters from readers who criticize newspapers
for the fact that it is nearly always the Republican candidate who gets endorsed.
SOURCE: Editor & Publisher, last issue before the election in each of the years men-
tioned.
Guido H. Stempel III

EQUAL TIME RULE. Enshrined in the 1927 Radio Act and continued in the
Communications Act of 1934, the Equal Time Rule has been amended several
times since. The original provision was a compromise between forces in Con-
gress that sought to mold the new medium of radio into a common carrier along
the British model and those who favored commercial development. Concerns
over political abuse of monopoly ownership of radio resulted in a requirement
.
that ' 'if any licensee shall permit any .. candidate .. to use a broadcasting
.
station, he [sic] shall afford equal opportunities to all other such candidates for
that office." This prevented broadcasters from discriminating against candidates
but allowed them limited discretion as to whether to air political debate at all.
Congress created the Federal Radio Commission to regulate the act. The Federal
Communications Commission (FCC) was created in 1934 to regulate broad-
casting, and it took over responsibility for the equal time provision. When tel-
evision came into being, the rule applied to it as well. Following an FCC ruling
in 1959 that required broadcasters to provide equal time for candidates in news-
casts, Congress quickly amended the law to exempt news, interviews, and doc-
umentaries from the Equal Time Rule. This paved the way for staged ' 'media
events" designed to obtain free airtime for candidates. The FCC extended the
exemption to talk shows in 1984.
Under a major rewrite in 1991, broadcasters were left legally compelled only
to provide equal access to political advertising. Any candidate must be allowed