Riordan Aide Assails KCOP After Bill Press Backs Woo

A spokesman for Los Angeles mayoral candidate Richard Riordan on Monday called it “terrible policy” by KCOP-TV Channel 13 to allow state Democratic Party Chairman Bill Press to continue as a news commentator.

On Friday, Press appeared at a news conference to announce the party’s endorsement of Riordan’s opponent in the June 8 election, City Councilman Michael Woo.

“It is a subtle use of the airwaves in a way that ought to be deeply disturbing to Democrats, Republicans and independents, but it would be a subject of fascination for the FCC,” said Joe Scott, communications director for the Riordan campaign. “The issue of blending commentary with official positions of a party, regardless of which one it is, totally transcends any campaign for mayor.”

But Press said that he would speak out about the mayor’s race if he saw fit, and his boss said that he retains the freedom to do so.

“We are committed to Bill Press, and we will continue to seek out at least once a week a conservative to give (that viewpoint),” KCOP News Director Jeff Wald said.

KCOP’s policy contrasts with what then KNXT-TV (now KCBS-TV) Channel 2 did in 1978, when the wife of the late Bill Stout, then a commentator at the station, took a job on the campaign staff of Evelle Younger, that year’s Republican gubernatorial nominee. KNXT barred Stout from commenting on the governor’s race.

If Press does deliver a commentary related to the mayor’s race, Wald said, the station would not offer equal time to Riordan, a registered Republican.

“There is no equal time in television news,” Wald said. “This is a commentary. I think this is being blown up out of proportion. This is one person’s opinion, regardless of his party affiliation or what he happens to do besides what he does on the air.”

Although TV stations are obligated to grant time to opposing viewpoints after editorial endorsements of candidates or ballot measures are broadcast by station management, the same requirement does not exist for commentaries during newscasts, according to Milton Gross, chief of the Federal Communications Commission’s political programming branch.