AFTER RECESS

Chairman METCALF. The Joint Committee will be in order.

We have heard from the top executives of the Nation's commercial and public networks, both television and radio. They have given us a very useful picture of the concerns and interests that guide their broadcast coverage of Congress. But there is another dimension that must be taken into account: the concerns and interests of the working journalists who daily cover the activities of Congress.

We have asked that four chiefs of broadcast news bureaus in Washington provide the Joint Committee with a sense of their concerns and priorities.

We have with us three network bureau chiefs-Frank Jordan of NBC News, John Lynch of ABC News, and William Small of CBS News-and the bureau chief of a leading group broadcaster, Sid Davis of Westinghouse.

Several additional points are in order: Bill Small, as you probably know, has recently been appointed a vice president of CBS News and assigned to New York on a full-time basis. Thus, we should refer to Mr. Small as the former bureau chief of CBS News in Washington. Second, it is my understanding that Mr. Jordan, Mr. Small, and Mr. Lynch have prepared a joint statement from the perspective of the commercial networks and as the network media committee that regularly meets to coordinate Presidential broadcasts and such congressional presentations as the state of the Union response. Mr. Davis has agreed to participate in the panel so that the perspective of a group broadcaster could also be presented to the Joint Committee members.

We appreciate the cooperation of Mr. Jordan, Mr. Lynch, Mr. Small, and Mr. Davis in agreeing to this format in order to conserve time and to make it possible for Joint Committee members to question the panel at one time.

The purpose of this discussion is to provide a maximum amount of information and opinion in as brief a period as possible.

We hope the discussion will be informal and flexible. A free-flowing exchange of information is the objective; and with these words of introduction, I call upon the network bureau chiefs for their statement, to be followed by the comments of Mr. Davis.

Mr. Jordan, you may proceed.

FRANK J. JORDAN, WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF, NBC NEWS

Frank J. Jordan, Chief of the Washington Bureau of the National Broadcasting Company since early 1969, joined NBC news in 1956 after 5 years as a reporter for United Press International. A graduate of the University of Pittsburgh and the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism, Mr. Jordan has specialized in political coverage and other areas. He has traveled around the world as a "pool" producer during President Nixon's trips.

WILLIAM SMALL, VICE PRESIDENT OF CBS NEWS, FORMERLY WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF

William J. Small, recently named senior vice president and director of news for the Columbia Broadcasting System, has for the past 12 years been Washing

ton Bureau chief for CBS News. He joined CBS in 1962 after working as news director for radio station WLS in Chicago for 5 years. The author of two books on broadcast media, Mr. Small has been active in the national journalism society, Sigma Delta Chi, of which he currently is first vice president. A past president of the Radio and Television News Directors Association.

JOHN F. LYNCH, WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF, ABC NEWS

John F. Lynch, chief of the Washington Bureau of the American Broadcasting Company since early 1966, has worked in broadcast and print journalism for more than 30 years. He joined ABC news in 1961 after working as a reporter in North Dakota, Chicago and New York with UPI, NBC and CBS. Mr. Lynch is a past president of the Radio-Television Correspondents' Association in Washington.

SID DAVIS, WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF, GROUP W NEWS

Sid Davis, 46, chief of the Washington Bureau of Group W News (Westinghouse Broadcasting Company), is a former radio and television reporter in Youngstown, Ohio. He joined Group W as a White House correspondent in 1959 and continues to write and cover special assignments in addition to directing national programming of major news events.

Mr. JORDAN. Mr. Chairman, I am Frank Jordan, the Washington Bureau chief of NBC News. With me are John Lynch, Washington Bureau chief of ABC News, and Bill Small, who until he was named senior vice president, CBS News, earlier this month, was Washington Bureau chief of CBS News.

We compete with each other in our news-gathering activities, but there are times when for logistical or operational reasons we must pool our efforts. For that reason there exists a network committee in Washington for operational coordination, of which I happen to be the current chairman.

I shall therefore read this joint statement, but each of us stands ready to answer your questions for himself.

The presidents of our three companies have testified or will testify before this Joint Committee. It is not our intention to duplicate their testimony. We think we can best contribute to the work of this committee by dealing with the day-to-day problems of broadcast reporters. in covering the Congress and by answering any questions you might

have.

Before we do that, we wish to express our appreciation for your having commenced these hearings and for inviting us to assist you in your considerations.

You have heard and will be hearing more testimony about allowing television cameras to cover floor proceedings of the Senate and House of Representatives. We not only endorse opening the Chambers of the House and the Senate to our cameras, but we assure you such coverage is well within our capabilities from a technical standpoint, and that, furthermore, such coverage need not be unduly intrusive or bother

some.

We can discuss that with you if you desire, and in such detail as you may wish. It is, however, a complicated subject with many facets. Therefore, we suggest that matters of arrangements and responsibilities for coverage of floor proceedings be considered through informal consultations between this committee, or its designees, and a group of experienced broadcast journalists, including ourselves. We stand ready

to consult actively with you on these matters to arrive at practical and workable results.

Chairman METCALF. Mr. Jordan, as we have emphasized throughout these hearings, this is not a legislative committee.

This committee can make recommendations.

Perhaps Congressman Brooks or I will introduce legislation which will go to the House Administration Committee or the Rules and Administration Committee of the Senate.

Perhaps the technical matters could be worked out.

However, the matters we want to explore now are the more general questions that might justify introducing such legislation. The technical matters we feel could be worked out to the satisfaction of the Members of the House and the Senate.

I am saying that this committee, even if it accepted all of your recommendations on the technical matters, would not have any authority to report legislation to the Senate or the House floor. But we want to be satisfied that some of the concerns of our colleagues on broadcast coverage are answered before any of us, as individual Members of the House or Senate, consider introducing any such legislation.

Mr. JORDAN. Yes, sir; we understand that.

Chairman METCALF. I know you do. You understand the workings of Congress just as we do.

Mr. JORDAN. We are here today to discuss anything you wish to discuss in relation to this matter.

Another question concerns the conditions under which broadcast journalists work here on the Hill. Ordinarily, a subject such as daily working conditions should not command the attention of a group such as yours. But the conditions under which the broadcast press operates in covering Congress are so wretched and so detrimental to better coverage of the legislative process that we should talk about them today. In doing so, we should bear in mind that television news has entered a new stage in its development.

Miniature electronic cameras have freed us from constraints of bulk and weight. Such a camera-and all three networks are using cameras of that type in Washington now-can operate in two modes.

The pictures it takes can be recorded in a small tape recorder operating next to the camera, for future replay, or the pictures can be transmitted over lines to our studios and from there to your television set, live.

Frequently, there are stories about Congress that break so late in the day that the fastest way to include them in the evening news is to cover them with a live camera from here. In the past, that would have meant dispatching a giant television mobile unit, which was not only cumbersome but so time consuming as to miss deadlines. Now, to cover a latebreaking congressional newsstory, all a broadcaster needs is that one small camera.

So the ways in which we cover Congress for television are changing. But our working conditions here aren't. These distressing conditions involve both working space and working regulations.

Something must be done to give broadcast journalists more working space in the House and Senate galleries, adjacent to the Chambers. In

the Senate radio-TV gallery, we're occupying the same amount of space broadcasting had a quarter century ago, before television came here, when there was only radio.

Chairman METCALF. Now, Mr. Jordan, do you want to take away the space from the ladies of the Senate, for instance?

Mr. JORDAN. There are several ways, Mr. Chairman.

Chairman METCALF. That would be pretty tough, you know. They are a formidable organization.

Mr. JORDAN. Taking away the ladies' lounge, Mr. Chairman, would be a rather formidable task, I happen to agree with you. It is, however, one way the problem could be solved.

My statement presents a second alternative, but in the Senate radioTV gallery, gentlemen, we are so jampacked and cramped that it is presently impossible for us to conduct simultaneously separate interviews from the Senate radio-TV gallery, even using miniature cameras. There simply isn't room. Conditions are better on the House side. But the space available there is still less than we need.

Everyone knows space in the Capitol Building is at a premium. Yet, there is a practical solution to this problem. There exists next to the Senate Chamber four separate galleries assigned to the media.

The same is true of the House. Adjacent to each Chamber there is a radio-TV gallery, a press gallery for newspapers and wire services, a photographers' gallery for still cameramen, and a periodical gallery for magazine correspondents.

Inevitably, within and among these four separate press areas there is a great duplication of space and function. Each has its own staff. Each prepares its own daily calendar of scheduled events.

The U.S. Congress is the only Government body whose Members habitually hold two news conferences, one for members of the press gallery, one for members of the radio-TV gallery.

One answer to our space problem is to do away with this obsolete and wasteful concept of separate facilities for separate branches of the media, combine all four galleries, and construct on each side of the Capitol a modern press facility that would serve you and us better. Such a facility would include an auditorium for news conferences by legislators. Such a facility would put an end to the archaic and wasteful duplication of facilities for print and broadcast media.

Some have admired the manner in which the executive branch utilizes television. We would point out that nowhere in the executive branch will you find separate facilities for television and newspaper reporters. In the White House itself is a press facility that occupies less space than would be available if you combined the four galleries on either side of the Capitol. The White House press facility works because the space-all of it-is utilized in a more efficient manner, because it is modern, and because it was designed with television, as well as other media, in mind.

Finally, let us talk a moment about rules and regulations.

We want to be certain you know how these unnecessary and burdensome restrictions hamper coverage of your activities.

The rules under which we are forced to operate in covering the Senate are especially oppressive. A main tool of our trade is the camera,

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electronic camera or film camera. We can use a camera in the Senate radio-TV gallery, or at either of two locations outside the Capitol Building.

If we wish to use a camera from any other location inside or outside the Senate, we must first seek permission from an individual Senator, a Senate committee, the Sergeant at Arms, the Rules Committee, the Capitol Police, the Architect of the Capitol, or some combination thereof, depending on the particular spot we want to put our camera. On occasion, we spend so much time trying to get permission that we miss the story. Often-more often than not-the permission is denied. Chairman METCALF. Would you just go through and tell us how you have to get permission to televise a committee hearing?

You enumerated a lot of people who must be consulted. You have to get permission from the chairman of the committee. Is that correct? Mr. JORDAN. Yes, in the case of a hearing, yes.

Chairman METCALF. Of a committee hearing?

Do you have to get permission from the Architect of the Capitol? Mr. JORDAN. Not for a committee hearing. The Architect of the Capitol has jurisdiction over certain geographical areas of the Capitol. The point I was trying to make, Mr. Chairman, was depending on where you want to go in the Capitol, you have to seek at least one permission, and more often than not, more than one permission.

Chairman METCALF. But you do not have to get permission from all of those?

Mr. JORDAN. No, sir; not from all those you mentioned to go to any one particular spot.

Chairman METCALF. Now, I enjoy a position of some importance on the fourth floor of the Senate Office Building because I am between the two Senators from Massachusetts. When Senator Brooke is not having a television interview, Senator Kennedy is. Now for each of those individuals, how do you have to get permission?

You do not ever ask me, although I stumble over those cables every day. Or do you just have to ask Senator Brooke with regard to such a television appearance, or Senator Kennedy?

Mr. JORDAN. If we wish to put a camera outside your door, or of either of the Senators from Massachusetts, we have to seek his permission.

Chairman METCALF. From the Senator?

Mr. JORDAN. From the Senator.

Chairman METCALF. But now, what other permission do you have to seek, the Sergeant at Arms, or anybody else?

Mr. JORDAN. In the case of filming outside the door of the office to a particular Senator, only the Senator, I believe, although I would like the rules are so complicated, believe me, so complicated, and so different depending on what part of the building or buildings you are operating in, that I am frankly not able to keep track of all of the rules. Chairman METCALF. I think that is an important statement, an important contribution to this testimony. You cannot keep track of all of the rules you must follow in broadcasting in various parts of the Capitol.