An attack by two midestern stations on the new National Association of Broadcasters’ code, one of whose effects is to bar “radio priest” Charles E. Coughlin from buying time from member stations for controversial broadcasts, drew a defense of the code today from the American Civil Liberties Union.
In a telegram to the N.A.B. yesterday, John F. Patt, vice-president of Station WJR, Detroit, from which the Coughlin broadcasts originate, charged that code forbidding discussion of controversial subjects on paid time violated the principle of freedom of speech. Station WGAR, Cleveland, joined in the attack. It was Station WJR which recently barred the Rev. Walton E. Cole, a Unitarian minister, from using its facilities to reply to Father Coughlin.
The Civil Liberties Union, replying to Patt’s attack on the N.A.B., stated: “It strikes us as highly improper for the Detroit station at which Father Coughlin’s programs originate to criticize the new N.A.B. code for denying free speech. Complaint has been made to the F.C.C. (against Station WJR) for denying opponents of Father Coughlin an opportunity to reply to him.
“Father Coughlin’s sponsors evidently do not believe in fair play. They want a ‘fair advantage’ through the purchase of time. The Civil Liberties Union condemns such an attitude and commends the enforcement of the code in the interest of equal rights for all.”
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
