Radio: Political Pall

Candidates who had planned to carry their fight to the people next year over the nation's 3,165 radio & TV stations may be in for a shock. The Federal Communications Commission last week handed down a ruling that could set political campaigning back to the pre-radio era.

The ruling was directed at New Orleans' station WDSU, whose broadcast license was up for a routine renewal. Last year, in a mayoralty campaign, WDSU refused to let Candidate Alvin Cobb make a radio speech because the station's lawyers decided that some of his proposed statements were obviously libelous. The refusal, said the FCC, was a clear violation of the law which requires a station to give radio time to all candidates or none, and forbids any altering of any candidate's speech.

What about libel? The FCC expressed its bureaucratic regrets, but insisted that if a candidate libels his opponent or anyone else, the station must take its chances in court with the libeler. Explained an FCC spokesman: "We can't protect the stations in such instances. Congress has established the law, and the commission is forced to enforce it . . ."

A few states and one territory* have already enacted protective legislation safeguarding the stations from such libel actions. But unless Congress acts to take all broadcasters off the libel hook, many stations may adopt the only alternative left them and refuse to carry any political speeches at all.