Federal Election Commission Main Page
October 12, 1984
CERTIFIED MAIL
RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED
ADVISORY OPINION 1984-41
J. Curtis Herge, Esquire
Sedam & Herge
Attorneys at Law
Suite 1100
8300 Greensboro Drive
McLean, Virginia 22102
Dear Mr. Herge:
This responds to your letter of August 15, 1984, as
supplemented by your letter of September 5, 1984, requesting an
advisory opinion on behalf of the National Conservative
Foundation ("the Foundation") and the National Conservative
Foundation Endowment Fund ("the Endowment Fund") concerning
application of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, as
amended ("the Act"), and Commission regulations to the production
and broadcast of a series of radio and television advertisements.
You state that both the National Conservative Foundation and
the National Conservative Foundation Endowment Fund are
corporations organized under the Virginia Nonstock Corporation
Act, and that both corporations have been determined by the
Internal Revenue Service to be organizations described in
SS 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. You state that the
Endowment Fund was established for the express purpose of acting
for the benefit of, performing the functions of, and carrying out
and supporting the purposes of, the Foundation. You state that
the activity to which your request relates is sponsored and
conducted by the Foundation and funded by the Endowment Fund.
You note that neither the Foundation nor the Endowment Fund
supports, endorses, or opposes candidates or political parties.
You state that the Foundation has undertaken a series of
activities known as the Media Bias Program ("the Program"). As
part of the Program, the Foundation proposes to sponsor a series
of radio and television advertisements that will "analyze the
objectivity of the media and call the attention of the public to
liberal bias and motivational influences in reporters which
result in nonobjective reporting of the news." You state that
the aim of the project is to attempt to obtain more balanced and
objective coverage of political ideas and principles by the
media. You also state that the proposed advertisements will not
depict or refer to any candidate for office or indicate a
preference for any candidate or political party.
You state that the Foundation has set a budget of $1,000,000
for the proposed radio and television advertisements. You also
state that one-half of that amount has been pledged as a
contribution to the Endowment Fund by an individual who is a
foreign national. This pledge of $500,000 has been conditioned
upon a determination by the Commission that such a donation would
not be considered a "contribution" as defined in 2 U.S.C. SS 441e.
You add that broadcast of the advertisements will begin in
September 1984 and continue at least through the spring of 1985.
You add that the broadcasts may continue through 1985, depending
on the adequacy of funds.
According to your request, the Foundation plans to broadcast
two radio advertisements and four television advertisements.1/
All of the spots deal with alleged "liberal bias" among the
media. Several of the advertisements refer to a "recent survey
of news editors, reporters and executives" and to a "1979 study
... of CBS reporters and editors," both of which showed strong
support for Democratic candidates in recent elections among those
surveyed and very weak support for Republican candidates. The
remaining commercials deal with alleged "liberal bias" in the
context of news coverage, and do not refer to the partisan
political party preferences of news media personnel. Your
request poses two questions based upon these facts: (1) whether
payments for the proposed advertisements would constitute
"expenditures" under 2 U.S.C. SS 441b; and (2) whether a donation
by a foreign national to defray the costs of the proposed
advertisements would constitute a prohibited contribution "in
connection with an election to any political office or in
connection with any primary election, convention, or caucus held
to select candidates for any political office" pursuant to
2 U.S.C. SS 441e.
1/ The actual scripts of the advertisements are attached to this
advisory opinion and are explicitly made a part of the opinion
herein rendered.
Under 2 U.S.C. SS 441b(a), corporations are prohibited from
making expenditures in connection with any Federal election. For
purposes of this section of the Act, the term "contribution or
expenditure" is defined to include "any direct or indirect
payment, distribution, loan, advance, deposit, or gift of money,
or any services, or anything of value ... to any candidate,
campaign committee, or political party or organization in
connection with any election to any of the offices" mentioned in
SS 441b. 2 U.S.C. SS 441b(b)(2).
With respect to the proposed advertisements in this request,
the connection with a Federal election is not apparent as regards
three of the television spots captioned "KAL-007," "Bill Moyers,"
and "Bias-Turner." These spots mention no candidate for
political office, no political party, no incumbent Federal
officeholder, no past or future Federal election; nor do they
otherwise include statements that reflect an election-connected
or election-influencing purpose. Accordingly, payments made by a
corporation to finance such advertisements would not be
contributions or expenditures for purposes of either 2 U.S.C.
SS 441b or the Act generally, including 2 U.S.C. SS 441e. See the
definitions of "contribution" and "expenditure" in 2 U.S.C.
SS 431(8) and (9).
The Commission also considered the application of the Act to
the three advertisements captioned "CBS" and "Lichter-Rothman,"
but was unable to reach a decision by the required affirmative
vote of four members of the Commission. 2 U.S.C. SS 437c(c).
Accordingly, the Commission is unable to issue an advisory
opinion with respect to those three advertisements.
The Commission expresses no opinion regarding the possible
effect of the proposed advertisement program on the stated tax
exempt classifications of the Foundation and the Endowment Fund,
as that subject is not within its jurisdiction.
This response constitutes an advisory opinion concerning
application of the Act, or regulations prescribed by the
Commission, to the specific transaction or activity set forth in
your request. See 2 U.S.C. SS 437f.
Tory Television"CBS " Radio:60 NCF
VOICE:SFX: COPY:
Announcer Does America's media elite have
a liberal bias?
Here are the facts...
Thud of
papers on
desk You decide.
A 1979 study by professors
Lichter and Rothman of George
Washington University of
reporters and editors at CBS
revealed that in every election
since 1964, 90% of those
surveyed voted Democratic.
Thud again
Only 10% voted Republican.
America needs a free and
unbiased press. If you want to
help do something about media
bias, call 1-800-123-4567 and
pledge your support. Call
1-800-123-4567. That's
1-800-123-4567.
Paid for by the National
Conservative Foundation.
Tory Television "Lichter-Rothman" NCFRadio:60
VOICE:SFX: COPY:
Anner:tense musicDo you believe everything you
read in the newspapers, or see
on the evening news?
If so, listen carefully,
because here is a statistic
that will amaze you.
cut music
A recent survey of news
editors, reporters and executives,
revealed that in the
last five Presidential elections,
support for the
Republican candidate never even
reached 20 percent.
80 percent against the
Republican.
Does the media have a liberal
bias?
These are the facts, you
decide.
If you want to help do something
about media bias, call
1-800-123-4567 and pledge your
support. That's 1-800-123-4567.
Tory Television "CBS" NCF:60 TV
VIDEO:AUDIO:
Pictures Does America's media elite have
of Rather, etc.a liberal bias?
Super of info Here are the facts, you
decide. A 1979 study by
professors Lichter and Rothman
of George Washington of CBS
reporters and editors found
that since 1964, 90% of those
interviewed voted Democratic in
every Presidential election
since 1964. Only 10 percent
voted Republican.
Video wipe [DVE] America needs a free and
to board with unbiased press. If you want to
disclaimerhelp do something about media
bias, call 1-800-123-4567 and
pledge your support.
That's 1-800-123-4567.
Tory Television"KAL 007" NCF:30 TV
VIDEO:AUDIO:
Media figures Does the media elite have a
liberal bias?
Here are the facts...you
decide.
KAL 007
On October 7th, 1983 UPI
Missiles released a story about the
recent Soviet attack on Korean
Airlines Flight 007 -- an
unarmed airliner.
UPI Machine
Super: copy The story citing a "25 year CIA
veteran" as saying that the
plane was "loaded with U.S. spy
equipment" when it was shot
down.
What UPI didn't say is that the
CIA source was a former
employee with a long history of
making public accusations about
the agency.
When asked by Accuracy in Media
to prove his claims, UPI's
expert source could not.
Board If you want to help fight media
number super bias, call 1-800-331-1000.
That's 1-800-331-1000.
Tory Television"Bill Moyers" NCF:60 TV
VIDEO:AUDIO:
Media figuresDoes the media elite have a
liberal bias?
Here are the facts...you
decide.
Bill Moyers On July 19th, 1983 CBS aired a
program called Pentagon underground
featuring correspondent
Bill Moyers.
The program openly questioned
the quality of America's
defenses.
Super: text In one example, Bill Moyers
over missle implied that the Navy's new
cruise missle is highly
unreliable saying "The test we
were invited to had to be
cancelled nine times before it
flew."
Super: factsThe facts? The tests were
voluntarily cancelled by the
Navy because of weather conditions
and scheduling conflicts
at the test sight.
Number andIf you want to help fight media
disclaimerbias call 1-800-331-1000.
That's 1-800-331-1000.
TORY TELEVISION "Bias-Turner":60 TV NCF
VIDEOAUDIO
Freeze Frame ANNCR: Here's what Ted Turner has to
of Ted Turner say about the media elite.
Live TurnerT.T.:In my opinion the greatest
enemies that America has
ever had, posing a greater
threat than Nazi Germany or
Tojo's Japan, are the three
television networks and the
people who run them who are
living amongst us and
constantly tearing down
everything that has made
this country great.
Board ANNCR: Why does Ted Turner say this
about the media elite?
Lichter RothmanMaybe because a recent study
study of media people showed them
to be much more liberal than
the average American.
Applied economics Maybe it is because another
study study showed that even during
the 1983 economic recovery,
the major networks chose to
report negative economic news
85% of the time.
If you want to help fight media
bias, call the number on your
screen and pledge a contribution.
NumberCall 1-800-228-1077.
1-800-228-1077.