University of Virginia Library

Early Warning Of Trouble

An early warning of
impending trouble came in
September 1970, however,
when FCC chairman Dean
Birch warned that "Congress
seems to call upon public
broadcasting to be fairer than
fair."

But as Macy points out, the
threat of interference was
carried out by the executive
branch, not Congress.
"Objections to programs were

infrequent from Capitol, Hill
until the administration
opened its attack. While
deploring the centralization of
control in the CPB,
Administration representatives
applied pressure behind the
scenes to exercise more control
over video journalism."

Pressures grew into open
demands late last year after
Nixon vetoed the CPB
authorization bill and
appointed six additional CPB
board members. The shield
against government tampering
had been penetrated.

"The possibility of a
government news network is
too high a price to pay for
federal support," warns Macy.
"Freedom must be maintained