these times any means of communication which can help bring light, stimulus and knowledge to the minds of men must be kept free and open to all points of view. It is for this reason that we at CBS ask your support in our efforts to lift the curtain of silence that has descended on the forthcoming hearings. We ask the committee itself to reconsider its ruling against radio and television so that you, sitting in your own home, always may exercise one of your most precious rights: the right to be informed. Subject: TV in the Senate Spokesman: Michael F. Keating Broadcast: March 11, 1966, 6:55 p.m., March 14, 1966, 7:25 a.m. A couple of years ago when I was a reporter and didn't express opinions, I was covering a debate in the New York State Senate and a flashbulb suddenly went off in the balcony. There was a moment of stunned silence, then former Senator Walter Mahoney, majority leader at the time, jumped to his feet and with a fierce bellow demanded to know who had taken a photograph in the Senate. Well, the guards quickly found the offender, and it wasn't some enterprising newspaper photographer who had sneaked a camera in. It was a terrified kid who was trying to get something to show the folks back home. In an unfortunately painful way, the young fellow learned of the existence of a very sacred Senate rule: Senators are not to be photographed while conducting the public's business. I tell you this story as background to a little noticed development that has occurred. The new majority leader in the Senate, Earl Brydges, has for the first time given permission for newsfilm cameras to record portions of a Senate debate. We are pleased with this opportunity to better tell you the story of your government. And we are pleased too that the broader cause-the public's right to knowhas advanced. It's a small but significant step and demonstrates a progressive attitude in the New York State Senate, an attitude that the State Assembly has been displaying for several years. We hope this first step will lead to a policy of full access to Senate procedures. We hope too that the New York City Council will take a cue from the State Legislature and permit newsfilm cameras to record Council sessions. KMOX RADIO EDITORIAL KMOX Radio editorials represent the views of the station's management and are primarily for the purpose of stimulating public discussion. Since our editorials generally deal with matters of public interest in the KMOX Radio area, we recognize that there will be those with differing points of view and we will be glad to consider requests for time to express views which differ from this editorial. It is the policy of KMOX Radio to maintain fairness and balance in the presentation of public issues of importance to the community. We welcome any comments you may have. ROBERT HYLAND, Date: 4:10 p.m. Time: January 18, 1967 THE RIGHT TO KNOW The broadcast you just heard from Jefferson City concerned radio and television coverage of our state legislature. It was of vital importance to us in broadcasting. And it was of even greater importance to you. . . the citizen. The issue discussed at the hearing is a simple one . . . freedom of information. Your right to know what is happening in your city, your state and your nation. Our right to help you know. Although the issue of freedom of information is simple. the fight to win and hold this freedom has been long and complex. In fact, that fight has been waged for centuries by our colleagues in print journalism . . . the reporters and editors of newspapers and magazines. We in broadcasting are latecomers in the field of news... electronic journalism is only decades old. We have inherited the legacy of freedom won by those in print journalism in the Western World . . . and still being fought in nations and on continents where freedom of speech is yet to be won. But broadcasters still have battles of their own to fight... because broadcasting brings new dimensions to the public... the dimension of the event as it takes place. . . and the dimension of personality. With the advent of broadcasting, for the first time, the citizen can judge for himself... without a reporter as middleman . . . the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of public servants and the import of public events. At KMOX Radio, we are committed and dedicated to bringing the widest possible spectrum of information programming to the public. This includes our news broadcasts, our "At Your Service" programs, our public affairs special broadcasts and our broadcast editorials. In fact, KMOX Radio devotes more of its time to informative broadcasting than any other major radio station. We believe that the need and desire for information by the public as a whole is one of the strongest trends in our society and of our times . . . a trend that is our great hope in securing our universal social goals of peace and prosperity. To provide information to the fullest extent of our ability as broadcasters therefore is the highest goal of KMOX Radio. For this reason, KMOX cooperated with leaders of the previous legislature to obtain access for our microphones to House sessions. As our news director Rex Davis pointed out in his testimony you have just heard, the response from the public to these broadcasts was gratifying beyond our expectations. The citizens of Missouri wanted to hear their legislature in action. They wanted to know more about their state government. This is their right . . . a right sacred under our form of government. For this reason, KMOX Radio will protest and dispute. . . every attempt to divide, limit or eliminate this right . . . or to set any conditions upon it. We will protest censorship in any form. . . no matter how mild, and whether or not the censorship is before or after the fact of broadcast. The submission of recordings for approval by government officials is tantamount to the submission of newspaper proofs before the presses can role. As responsible broadcasters, we pledge that KMOX Radio will use all the skills at its command to bring you, the listener, fair, balanced and complete reports of the public's business. ... We also pledge that we will fight every effort. no matter how well-intentioned... to restrict us from presenting what you . . . in our best judgment ... should know. The right to know . . . access to information . . . is basic to our free society. We intend to fight for that right. KMOX-TV EDITORIAL-OPEN THE DOORS A bill that would require all public agencies to hold open meetings was the first measure filed for the 1973 session of the Missouri Senate. We think its position indicates its rightful priority. The bill is sponsored by Sen. William J. Cason, the new Senate president pro tem. It's a good start for Cason, who backed it up by going a step further. He said that even before the bill is passed, he will ask the Senate to open its committee records and meetings to the public. That's commendable. It's also necessary in this age of credibility gaps and popular distrust of government that the open-meetings bill be passed by the 1973 legislature and signed into law by the governor. Government behind closed doors is said by some to be the only efficient way to get anything done. This line of reasoning goes that officials can get down to business more quickly if they don't have a gallery of citizens watching them. They can also be more candid if they know they're not going to be quoted in the morning papers. Well, that kind of efficiency we can do without. The people have a right to know what's going on in their government. They have a right to know what's being said and who's saying it; what's being done and who's doing it. There can be no reason-none at all-that's good enough to take that right from the people. This is a time for all our major institutions to be vigilant defenders of the public's right to know. A lot of public confidence has been lost. It will not be easy to win back. And without it, government will cease to function. Measures like the open-meetings bill can at least fight the loss of confidence; they may, over the long run, even reverse it. We need such bills. We have a right to them. Broadcast: Saturday, December 9, 1972. KNXT EDITORIAL Subject: Open Legislative Committee Meetings Broadcast: May 30 and 31, 1973 You may have seen the stories last week about the attempt by five television crews to bring you the story of an important hearing by a State Senate Committee. The hearing involved a bill authored by Senator James Whetmore to put some controls on mortgage loan brokers. The bill is under strong attack from the industry, and several television stations wanted to show you, on film, how a bill is worked over in committee. But one Senator, Jack Schrade of San Diego, objected to the presence of cameras. They weren't even using extra lights, but he said they were disturbing the hearing. Under Senate rules, one Senator who doesn't want the public watching can close your television eyes to the legislative process. Much to our amazement, the author of the bill, Senator Whetmore and Chairman George Deukmejian of Long Beach joined Senator Schrade in voting to ban television cameras. Only Senators Dymally and Beilenson voted to let the cameras remain. The Senators banned cameras, not pencils, but they could have done both. We don't think any legislative body should have the right to run your government behind closed doors. There are occasions when a closed meeting is necessary to discuss personnel or security matters. But now and then they close the doors for big things like budgets, where you have a right to know what's going on. Most Senators want to do the right thing, but occasionally you find one like Senator Schrade who wants to shut the doors. The rules should be changed, because it's your Capitol, your Legislature and your Government, and everything they do there is your business. WCAU-TV EDITORIAL Broadcast: July 10, 1973, 6:55–7:00 PM Subject: Let's Get Government Out Into the Open What's an "executive session"? What does it mean? Well, in government it means that lawmakers can meet behind closed doors and develop laws which affect you and me. The actual voting is eventually done out in the open, but you have no way of knowing what part your legislator, councilman or freeholder played in developing the legislation. This style of government, this closed door policy of executive sessions, leaves your elected representatives open to wheel and deal with any special interest group and perhaps be more responsive to their needs than he is to yours. By using closed door executive sessions, your lawmaker may be leaving you out. And that's wrong. (Presented by Peter W. Duncan, WCAU-TV Editorial Director) WCAU-TV EDITORIAL Broadcast: July 30, 1973, 6:55-7 p.m. Subject: It's Time To Follow Florida's Lead We think Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania should take a lesson from the 'sunshine state' of Florida. We're not talking about Florida's weather climate; we're talking about it's political climate. The Florida state legislature passed what is being referred to as a 'sunshine law'-a law which requires that all meetings of public agencies must be open to the public-not should be or might be, but all must be open to the public. We like that. It guarantees the right of the public and the media to attend any meeting of any public agency. It means that in Florida, sticky political issues for example cannot be hammered out in secret behind-closed-doors executive sessions. In Florida, if they're going to be hammered out, they're going to be hammered out in public. Such laws-for mandatory open meetings-do not exist in the tri-state area. Pennsylvania is wrestling with one now; but some of the elements being proposed will only open up the doors on a restricted basis. Amendment after amendment can strangle the good intentions of any bill. We suggest that lawmakers in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware write the same kind of simple, uncomplicated bill that exists in Florida: that all meetings of public agencies be open to the public. (Presented by Peter W. Duncan-WCAU-TV Editorial Director) KNXT EDITORIAL Subject: Television in the House and Senate Broadcast: September 10 and 11, 1973 Did it ever occur to you, while watching the Senate Watergate hearing, that when the Senators kept running out to vote on some bill it might be interesting to watch them operate on the Senate floor? Repeatedly during the hearings, they had to call time out to go to the Senate chambers and vote, and sometimes it was on highly important matters like the halt to Cambodia bombing, or use of highway funds for rapid transit. But no camera followed the Senators to the floor to show you what they were doing, because that's not allowed. Cameras covered the committee meetings, but you've never seen pictures of the Senate or House in session, because cameras of any kind are considered poison on the floor. The real reason why the House and Senate ban cameras from their chambers is that most of the time not many Congressmen are around. They are afraid that pictures might be misinterpreted by you. Actually, the Senators and Representatives have to be elsewhere much of the time. But they don't think you'd understand that, so cameras are banned. Even a tourist has to check his camera at the door before he can go see his Congressmen and Senators in action-and that's ridiculous. Senator Robert Byrd proposed the other day that Senate sessions on the floor be open for live television coverage. Byrd has a good idea. We think the great interest shown in the Watergate hearings demonstrated that the public does want to see what goes on. Instead of letting a few tourists in to watch for a few minutes at a time, we think the Senate and House should open up for cameras and let every American see what goes on. After all, it's our government-not a private club which only the members can see. CHANNEL 4 EDITORIAL-SUNSHINE LAW Our state's Attorney General, John Danforth, has officially outlawed secret meetings of public bodies. His opinion gives added teeth to Missouri's Open Meetings Ordinance, better known as the "Sunshine Law", and has our support. Before passage of Sunshine legislation many public bodies met in secret. The code phrase for these meetings became Executive Session, and many groups rarely met in public. This prompted our legislature to outlaw these private meetings-however the ordinance is still being tested. While it may be important to conduct work behind the scenes some of the time, a steady diet of Executive Sessions has at least two harmful outcomes. First, the public is kept in the dark about an issue until after a decision is made. This means our leaders are deprived of an important source of information. Second, there can be misunderstandings about the decision. With all the discussion and debate going on behind closed doors, the reason and logic behind a specific ruling never becomes part of the public domain. Danforth's ruling has set an important precedent which will hopefully go a long way in restoring trust in our public officials. Broadcast: Thursday, December 20, 1973. WCBS NEWSRADIO EDITORIAL Subject: They've Got a Secret 74-4. Broadcast: January 4, 1974, 6:45, 9:45, 11:45 a.m., 3:45, 5:45, 10:45 p.m., January 5, 1974, 1:45, 3:45 a.m. Of all the games city councilmen play, the one they should give up first is "I've Got a Secret." They must have a secret because the most important work councilmen do is done behind closed doors. Even their employers-that's you-aren't allowed to be there. The critical committee meetings where legislation is finalized and votes are taken are always closed to the public. What goes on in the closed meetings has been called the "nuts and bolts" of legislative work. Too often that's a polite term for politicking. Supporters of council secrecy contend that councilmen would be distracted if you watched while they worked. We believe that if your elected officials have something to say, you should be able to hear it. Councilmen who want to keep the doors closed say that the media has little trouble finding out what goes on, anyway. But the only door open there is one for selective leaks by members with axes to grind. WCBS has urged for years that all committee meetings be open to the public. After all, it's the public's business that's being conducted. Some state legislatures are beginning to respond. And so has the House of Representatives. But so far, the city council has decided to keep the committee doors shut. You should be outraged by this. You should also demand that it be changedand now is the time to do it. The newly elected council will draw up its new rules this month. You should send a message to City Hall. Tell them one rule you want changed is the one that lets the council lock you out. CBS RADIO NETWORK NEWS February 19, 1974. "ONE VIEW OF THE PRESS" URGES RADIO-TV COVERAGE OF CONGRESSIONAL FLOOR DEBATES Why shouldn't voters have more of a chance to see and hear their elected representatives in Washington in action? That question was posed and answered positively on the CBS Radio Network's CBS News-produced ONE VIEW OF THE PRESS, Sunday, Feb. 17, with CBS News Correspondent Dallas Townsend reporting. The complete text follows: "The Joint Committee on Congressional Operations this week will open hearings on ways for Congress to use the mass media to communicate better with the public and on the possibility of opening House and Senate floor debates to radio and television coverage. As a prelude to the hearings, the committee has issued a report declaring that the accumulation of communications resources by the executive branch poses a serious threat to the balance of powers between the Presidency and the Congress. Wider broadcast coverage of the Congress sounds like a good idea whose time is long past due. Why shouldn't the voters have more of a chance to see and hear their elected representatives in action-action other than trying to get re-elected? There are, of course, objections raised, one being that television coverage, in particular, might turn the Capitol building into a two-ring circus, with Senators and Representatives hamming it up for the folks back home and letting the nation's business go to rot. "In fairness, we'd have to say that the televising of some committee hearings has provided some evidence for that view. However, the most casual reading of The Congressional Record makes it plain that television lights are really not needed to bring out the ham. And a look at the record of Congress-this or almost any other Congress-indicates that the nation's business can often be sidetracked without any help from the cameras. "A graver objection to wider televising of Congress is that public confidence in government might be dealt a blow from which it would never recover; that cameo shots of Senators sleeping with their mouths open and speeches made after undue indulgence at lunchtime might disgust the old and corrupt the young; that few Congressmen would survive more than one term in office; that the legislative branch of government might lose all continuity and things would fall apart completely, leaving all governmental power in the hands of the executive by default. But we believe that such a scenario requires far too cynical a view of our public servants to be taken seriously. "In genuine seriousness, there is one danger that could cause second thoughts about permitting cameras and microphones in the chambers of Congress. It could result in more of the work of Congress being done in the old smoke-filled rooms and behind the closed doors of executive sessions, thereby reducing the absolute amount of press coverage. But that is something Congress itself can provide safeguards against, if it really wants to open its workings to wider public view. Besides, it can always change its mind if television and radio coverage should prove counterproductive. We think it ought to be tried. "One thing does bother us. Using radio and television to communicate better with the public is, perhaps, not the best way of phrasing what we'd like to see happen. The opening of Congressional workings to public view via radio and television says it better. That quibble seems necessary because the word 'use' carries the connotation of 'manipulate.' The media already are, in our opinion, used far too much. As we mentioned in a previous broadcast, Senators and Congressmen have for years had available to them radio and television studios at the |