Friday, November 3, 2000
In The News…Arkansas TV Station Breaks Tradition And Endorses Presidential Candidate; Endorses Governor Bush
“KATV Breaks Tradition, Shocks Rivals and Endorses Bush;” Arkansas Democrat Gazette, by Bill Simmons, 11/03/00
“In an extremely rare policy shift in Arkansas, KATV, Channel 7, Little Rock, has endorsed a candidate in a political race -- Gov. George W. Bush of Texas for the presidency.
“The station's president and general manager, Dale Nicholson, announced the endorsement in a brief telecast Wednesday night, saying the Republican ticket of Bush and former Defense Secretary Richard Cheney offer leadership that America needs.
“Polls in Arkansas have indicated that Bush and his Democratic opponent, Vice President Gore, are neck-and-neck in the race for Arkansas' six electoral votes. Gore's running mate is U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut.
“Although KATV has made editorial observations of a more generic kind through the years, it has never endorsed a candidate, said Nicholson, who has been with KATV 39 years.
“The decision to endorse Bush was his own, Nicholson said.
“He said endorsement editorials have been rare among broadcasters because ‘the fairness doctrine’ required that equal time be offered to a nonendorsed candidate. That led stations to decide it would be better to avoid endorsements altogether, he said.
“A recent federal appeals court ruling has changed the doctrine, such as nullifying the requirement that equal time be given to a nonendorsed candidate if a station endorsed an opponent, Nicholson said.
“Newspapers have ‘enjoyed the privilege of expressing editorial endorsement opinions for 225 years and now we feel that we can do that, too,’ Nicholson said.
Officials at several other Arkansas stations said they would not follow KATV.
“In Jonesboro, General Manager Clyde Anderson of KAIT, Channel 8, said he had heard that KATV might be making an endorsement but that he has decided that KAIT will not.
“Anderson said this is the first candidate endorsement by a television station in Arkansas - ‘to the best of my knowledge, it has never been done in Arkansas, ever. I have never seen it.’
“The opportunity to endorse exists, Anderson said, because the Federal Communications Commission has suspended the fairness doctrine for about 60 days, starting several weeks ago. The FCC is examining the doctrine with an eye toward deciding what role, if any, it may have in the future.
“KAIT will not make an endorsement, Anderson said, because it is in a one-station market. There are several television stations within the Little Rock market, he noted, which may make the KATV situation different.
“The suspension of the fairness doctrine gives television stations ‘the same opportunity that newspapers have always had. There's never been a restriction like this on newspapers,’ Anderson said.
“General Manager Susan Newkirk of KTHV, Channel 11, Little Rock, who has been in television 19 years, said of KATV's editorial, ‘It's a first for me.’
“Will KTHV do any endorsements?
“‘Absolutely not,’ she said. ‘We're to remain unbiased. It's not for us to give editorials.’
In her opinion, KATV went over a line it should not have crossed, Newkirk said.
Gannett Corp., which owns KTHV, has a policy against its stations doing editorials, she said.
“‘We don't give editorials for anything,’ she said. ‘If you're trying to report the news and be unbiased, I find it difficult to turn around after your newscast and endorse a candidate.
‘I don't recall it being done [in Arkansas] before.’
“Even if Gannett didn't have a no-editorials policy, ‘We wouldn't be doing them, but it is a Gannett policy that we do not do editorials,’ Newkirk said.
“Bob Denman of KARK-TV, Channel 4, Little Rock, who has been in the television market since 1975, said, ‘I don't remember it ever being done before.’
Will KARK endorse?
“‘No,’ said Denman, who is KARK's vice president and general sales manager.
He, too, noted the relaxing of FCC rules that pertain to the endorsement issue, and said that ‘in KATV's opinion’ the station was free to make endorsements.
“When asked why KARK won't be giving endorsements, Denman said, ‘That rule has been in place a long, long time, and you're not going to see us do any editorial, no.’
“KARK, Denman said, is ‘going to be as impartial as we can be. We're going to cover those races very well, but from a very objective position, always presenting both sides.’
News Director Bur Edson of KFSM, Channel 5, Fort Smith, said, ‘We've never done it.’
Will KFSM do it this year?
“‘No, we're not going to do it,’ Edson said.
“Why not? ‘If we are to endorse someone for president, how can you trust our reporting?’ he answered.
“KFSM is owned by The New York Times. ‘They endorse people all the time, but we just have never done that,’ Edson said. ‘Newspapers do it. I don't know what the difference is.’
“He said he didn't know whether management or the news department at KATV made the decision to issue a KATV endorsement, ‘but we certainly wouldn't do it.’
“‘Personally, I would never get on and endorse anyone,’ he said. ‘Now, if management was to get on and do something, and there's been absolutely no hint that they would, that's up to them.
“‘And it would be sort of fun to find out if their endorsement would be completely contrary to The New York Times.’” |
