FCC questions '60 Minutes' blackout
TV station investigated for mysterious outage
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That's the question the Federal Communications Commission wants an Alabama television station to answer regarding its recent failure to broadcast almost an entire "60 Minutes" segment investigating charges of dirty politics in the state.
FCC chairman Kevin J. Martin has sent a "letter of inquiry" to WHNT of Huntsville, Ala., directing the broadcaster to respond to "some 20-odd complaints" the commission has received about the blackout, Martin told reporters Tuesday.
Martin stressed that the letter was standard operating procedure for the FCC when following up on complaints.
On Feb. 24, "60 Minutes" aired a segment focusing on charges that the 2006 prosecution of Alabama's former Democratic Gov. Don Siegelman, now in prison, was motivated by Republican politics.
Specifically, the segment contained claims that the Siegelman conviction on bribery and obstruction of justice charges was tied into the recent scandal of politically motivated firings and appointments of U.S. attorneys, which caused former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to resign.
Prosecutors have denied those claims.
WHNT went dark when the segment began, returning to the air shortly before the segment ended.
The station later rebroadcast the segment in its entirety that evening and again the next day. WHNT claimed a technical glitch caused loss of signal.
Martin downplayed any suggestion of a formal FCC investigation at this point.
"I have instructed the staff to handle this like we do all complaints," he said.
Democratic commissioner Michael Copps asked Martin on Monday to look into the complaints.
Martin refused to speculate on what the FCC would do if the blackout turns out to have been deliberate.
"I think it is important for the broadcaster to come forward and explain what happened," Martin said. "The commission in all kinds of contexts asks broadcasters to respond to complaints the public may have about the way they are running their stations. Anything can be brought up in the context of your license renewals, for example, but I don't think it is fair to speculate."
The FCC could delay -- or deny -- WHNT's license when it comes up for renewal, should the allegations prove true.
