FCC Orders Halt to Free GOP Ads
SACRAMENTO — A San Joaquin Valley broadcaster cannot aid Republican candidates with free air time unless the same offer is extended to other candidates, the Federal Communications Commission ruled Friday.
Pappas Telecasting Cos., which had donated $325,000 in air time on its radio and TV stations to 13 GOP county committees last week, had insisted for days that the gifts were legal and did not trigger federal equal time rules.
It was not clear whether the company would appeal the staff ruling to the full commission.
Phone calls to the Visalia-based company, which operates 28 stations in 11 states, were not immediately returned.
Communications lawyers said they were not surprised by the ruling.
“I would have been amazed if the commission had done anything else,†said attorney Tracy Westen, chief executive of the Center for Governmental Studies, a nonpartisan research organization in Los Angeles.
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