'Minimum' Standard
The bill applies to both
state and federal proceedings.
Ervin views it as only a
"minimum standard" upon
which states may add other
statutes.
In introducing the bill he
stated that "the detriment to
society is potentially
devastating" if confidential
sources are allowed to "dry
up".
Given the magnitude of the
issue and the antagonistic
attitude of Congress toward
the President the bill has a very
high likelihood of passing.
Whether the President will veto
it and whether Congress will
override him is still another
question.
* * *
The antagonism between
the Federal Communications
Commission (FCC) and the
television networks has
expanded the already sharp
conflict between the Nixon
administration and the media
to new horizons. CBS has
received the greatest
condemnation for its campaign
coverage of the Watergate
affair and the controversial
Soviet-American wheat deal.
ABC and NBC are only a little
better off in the
administration's eyes. Of all
the news commentators only
ABC's Howard K. Smith is
accepted by the
administration.
The FCC is apparently so
displeased with the networks
that last year it ordered the
networks to "give back" a half
hour of prime time to local
stations by starting prime time
telecasting a half hour later.
The "New York bias" would
supposedly be offset by other
programming for the mostly
conservative local stations.
But NBC's Peter Hackes
comments, "And what do the
local stations do with the extra
half hour? 'I Love Lucy'
reruns. They do nothing. They
were supposed to 'do their own
thing' and they didn't."
