Hartford Courant from Hartford, Connecticut • 4

ujLoy, ThurtUoy, A4 THE HARTFORD COURANT: Justices hint at allowing special treatment in broadcasting "We do not dispute the value of diversity of voices, we support that. Our problem is that race-based classification is inappropriate," he told the justices. He said there was no reason to believe that a non-minority was incapable of showing sensitivity to the wishes and needs of minority viewers. "Racist attitudes that only minorities could be sensitive ignores individual traits and abilities, and perpetuates stereotypes. To conclude that all black people like soul music is just not rational," he said.

"The need for programming will be determined by the audience, but it may not be racially diverse. It could be based on class, geography and economics." The high court took both cases early this year. In an odd twist, the Bush administration split on the issue. The Department of Justice has urged the court to strike down affir lieves yes." An irate Scalia jumped in. "I thought this is what we were trying to get away from, that a person's views are based on their race," he said.

Said Armstrong, "If there are more minority owners, the public will have received a diversity of expression that it will not otherwise have received." The court has shown a willingness to use affirmative action when it remedies some past discrimination, but it has not been inclined to use it to correct potential discrimination. J. Roger Wollenberg, arguing for Channel 18, viewed the FCC policy more broadly than did Armstrong. "The focus of the policy has been on promoting diversity, and it is remedial in the sense that it is the result of society-wide discrimination," he said. "It's like integrating a jury," something the court favors, he argued.

mative action in broadcasting, while the FCC has said it wants the policies upheld. The two broadcast cases mark the first time the justices have considered federal affirmative action since a less conservative court in 1980, upholding a federal public works set-aside program, ruled Congress has special constitutional authority to approve preferences for certain groups. But there have been many recent signs that the justices, especially those appointed by President Reagan after the 1980 ruling, are not sympathetic to sweeping affirmative action policies. Last year, for example, the court struck down a local minority set-aside program in Richmond, casting doubt on hundreds of similar plans in cities and states. In a series of exchanges Wednesday with Gregory M.

Guillot, who represents the company that says it was unlairly denied the Florida license. Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist showed his antipathy to affirmative action. He asked if the court could ignore gender preferences, and find only that the race-based preference was discriminatory. Guillot said the two had to be considered together.

Justice Anthony Kennedy hinted he might view federal affirmative action differently from the local plans struck down last year. He asked if Congress is entitled, under its constitutional power to regulate interstate commerce, to insist on the FCC affirmative action program. "Congress can say it is a matter of sound policy. We want minority ownership," Kennedy said. Daniel M.

Armstrong, arguing for the FCC, said the agency is trying to "benefit the public interest with a diversity of expression over the airwaves. Is there a nexus between race and expression? The commission be By MIRANDA S. SPIVACK Courant Staff Writer WASHINGTON Several Sul preme Court justices, listening to arguments in two major challenges to federal affirmative action, worried Wednesday that broadcast licensing policies favoring women and minorities might illegally discriminate against white men. But they also hinted they might allow special treatment for minorities and women in broadcasting since Congress has decided to regulate television and radio because of the two's profound influence on society and the scarcity of carrier frequencies. Even such affirmative action foes as Justice Antonin Scalia showed a willingness to defer to Congress.

Congress has approved integrated ownership of the airwaves, he said, and it is not the Supreme Court's constitutional role to second-guess that. "We have to look for a plausible basis for legislation, but Congress does not have to give a reason for legislation," he said. The arguments came in this term's most significant affirmative action cases, which arose from disputes over television licenses in Hartford and Orlando, Fla. In the Hartford case, Alan Shur-' berg, a Rocky Hill computer consul-' tant, is challenging the 1985 sale of WHCT-TV, Channel 18, under a special rule that gives preference to women and minorities. The court is expected to rule in the cases by July.

Channel 18 is owned by Astroline Co. of Massachusetts, whose general Mordh 29, 1990 The Department of Justice has urged the court to strike down affirmative action in broadcasting, while the FCC has said it wants the policies upheld. partners include Richard Ramirez, a Hispanic. Astroline bought the station for $3.1 million from Faith Center, a religious broadcaster under scrutiny by the Federal Communications Commission for financial irregularities. A federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., last year struck down the FCC's special distress-sale rule, which allows a broadcaster faced with the loss of a license to sell to a minority-owned business without competitive bidding.

The court said Shurberg had been barred unconstitutionally from competing for the station because he is a white man. A different panel in the same appeals court, ruling in the Florida case, upheld another FCC affirmative action policy that allows race and gender to be among factors that can be used in awarding a license in a competitive proceeding. Harry F. Cole, Shurberg's lawyer, told the court he does not oppose diversity in broadcast programming, but argued the FCC policies do not further that goal. 1 did Improvement 1 ii Versatile and Rugged Oak Bookcases at Nassau's Low Prices REPLACING YOUR WINDOWS WITH ANYTHING BUT PELLA 36xl0x30h 36xl0x36h 36xl0x48h 36xl0x72h 36xl0x84h $89 $109 $129 $189 $219 Nassau's low Warehouse prices make it easv for you to add extra storaae space to any room, these weii-cratted units are Eerfect for shelving ooks.

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