resented as to require action by the Commission, the agency
allowed that it "can conceive of situations where the documen
tary evidence of deliberate distortion would be sufficiently
strong to require an inquiry--e.g., where a 'yes' answer to
one question was used to replace a 'no' answer to an entirely
different question." Id. Changing "Jew" to "kike" may be
as blatant a distortion as changing a "no" answer to a "yes,"
so greatly does it alter the sense of the speaker's statement;
if so, then the basic accuracy of the report is affected.
Further, when the word chosen by the translator is an
inflammatory term such as "kike," the licensee could be
expected to assure itself of the accuracy of the translation; if
it does not do so, the Commission may appropriately consider
that fact in reaching a conclusion about the broadcaster's
_______________________________
* Counsel for the Commission was unable to say at oral argu
ment whether the agency simply did not believe that such evidence
could ever be probative--which would be a mistake--or understood
the point we are making but chose to exclude such evidence for
prudential reasons--which would be an exercise of judgment within
its discretion if not unreasonable.
intent to distort the news. The Commission was therefore
unreasonable in dismissing this charge without an explana
tion.
We need not discuss here each of the other factual inaccu
racies raised by Serafyn. On remand the Commission should
consider whether any other error was sufficiently obvious and
egregious to contribute to an inference about CBS's intent,
and therefore to qualify as "extrinsic evidence."
CONTENTS:
Title Page
I. Background
II. News Distortion
A. Evidentiary standard
B. Licensee's policy on distortion
C. Nature of particular evidence
1. Extrinsic evidence
(a) Outtakes of the interview with Rabbi Bleich
(b) The viewer letters
(c) The refusal to consult Professor Luciuk
2. Evidence of factual inaccuracies
D. Misrepresentation
III. Conclusion
D. Misrepresentation
In Stockholders of CBS, Inc. Serafyn argued that CBS
made a misrepresentation to the Commission by misleading
WUSA about its treatment of the viewer letters and thereby
causing the affiliate to transmit that erroneous information to
the Commission. The Commission responded that "[m]isrep