Hundt Pushes for FCC Inquiry on Liquor Ads; Idea of TV Alcohol Advertising Code Raised By Richard Kaplar Liquor ads have barely established a toehold in local television markets but pressure is mounting in Washington to do something about what President Clinton called the "unavoidable bad consequences" of TV liquor advertising. Policymakers have floated a number of options: study the issue; reactivate the voluntary industry ban; make broadcasters develop a liquor advertising code; or ban the ads entirely. "Keeping liquor ads off TV is the right thing to do," FCC Chairman Reed E. Hundt told the National Association of Broadcasters at its April convention in Las Vegas. Referring to Seagram Co. and Hiram Walker as "profit chasing renegades," Hundt praised broadcasters "who have stood up to the siren call of cash to just say no to these ads." Hundt said the Commission should initiate a Notice of Inquiry to gather facts about the ads -- how many ads are running and at what times of day, what the ads look like, whether they're targeted to kids, how many children may be watching, and the effects of the ads on kids. Hundt, who announced May 27 that he plans to leave the Commission, scheduled a vote for June 19 on a Notice of Inquiry. Commissioners James H. Quello and Rachelle Chong have strongly opposed such an inquiry, leaving only Commissioner Susan Ness to vote with Hundt. The likely 2-2 deadlock would kill the idea. Hundt also asked the NAB to endorse an expanded version of a Senate bill that would give broadcasters an antitrust exemption to develop an industry code for sex and violence in programming. The bill, called the "Television Improvement Act of 1997" (S. 539), is limited to program content and does not cover advertising. If the bill were expanded to include ads, Hundt said, broadcasters could develop an industry code "that protects kids from ads that are dangerous" without fear of antitrust lawsuits. "This isn't censorship -- it's industry taking responsibility for itself," Hundt said. But bill co-sponsor Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.), who was the lone Commerce Committee vote against the Hollings "super V-chip" bill, has stated he will not broaden the programming bill to include advertising. On the House side, Rep. Joseph P. Kennedy II (D-Mass.) has introduced the "Voluntary Alcohol Advertising Standards for Children Act" (H.R. 1292). Modeled after current V-chip legislation, the bill would give broadcasters an antitrust exemption specifically to develop a code for alcohol ads. Like the program ratings system now under FCC review, an industry-proposed alcohol ad code would be subject to FCC approval. If broadcasters did nothing, the FCC could impose its own code after one year. Kennedy has also reintroduced his "Just Say No Act" (H.R. 1067) that would ban all distilled spirits ads from electronic media. No hearings are planned on either Kennedy measure. President Clinton joined the fray April 1 by calling on the FCC "to take all appropriate actions" to explore the effects of liquor advertising and "specifically the impact on underage drinking." Clinton stopped short of calling for an outright ban but said the FCC should consider "any and all actions." "Liquor ads on television would provide a message of encouragement to drink that young people simply don't need. Nothing good can come of it," Clinton said. When questioned, the president was hard pressed to justify TV ads for beer and wine but not distilled spirits. "Let's just focus on where we are now.... At a minimum, there should be no backsliding," he said. Clinton also called on the liquor industry to reinstate the voluntary ad ban it dropped last November after Seagram Co. started running test ads. President Clinton's role is limited largely to "jawboning," but broadcasters have proved remarkably willing to attend the president's "summits" and work out deals -- notably on TV violence and children's programming. In response to the president's statement, the Distilled Spirits Council of the U.S. said distillers would discuss the issue with broadcasters if brewers and vintners also participated. Fred A. Meister, DISCUS president and CEO, cautioned that examining liquor advertising alone "is insupportable on both public policy and legal grounds." Rep. John D. Dingell (D-Mich.), ranking Democrat on the House Commerce Committee, questioned FCC authority over advertising. In a letter to the FCC's Hundt, Dingell said he doubted whether "Congress expected or empowered the Commission to become the expert agency on the effects of advertised products on segments of society...or to ban or limit advertising of those products." That position is shared by commissioners James H. Quello and Rachelle Chong who favor congressional action. (Commissioner Susan Ness would be expected to support an FCC initiative.) But Senate communications subcommittee chairman Conrad Burns (R-Mont.) said hearings by his panel would be unnecessary because the major broadcast networks refuse to carry the ads. "Such hearings would be an issue in search of a problem that does not exist," he said. ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox all have reiterated their long-standing opposition to liquor advertising, leaving the ads to run on scattered local stations and cable channels. In a separate action, the Washington Legal Foundation submitted a Freedom of Information Act request to the FCC on April 7, seeking copies of all Commission records on the issue. WLF said it plans to disseminate the documents it receives to the public, Congress, and the media.