TOP OF THE WEEK Hall assailed for tract called CRT chairman who began week The effectiveness of the Copyright Royalty sue. Indeed, House Copyright Subcommittee Chairman Robert Kastenmeier said the tribunal is in "dire need of reform." He said the subcommittee has a "classic case of a broken agency on its hands." And, he added, "I don't know, at this time, whether the agency is broken beyond repair." Kastenmeier explained that the purpose of the hearing was to inquire into whether "the agency generally is effective, whether the commissioners' relative lack of expertise in copyright law has hurt the tribunal, whether judicial review has been meaningful, and whether the absence of clear guidance from Congress on how the tribunal should make rate decisions creates a statutory defect that must be rectified. "A recent article in BROADCASTING raised several of these questions," the chairman continued. "The article also contained a discussion of a book, 'Foundations of Sand,' authored by Dr. Lawrence Hafstad with Marianne Mele Hall and John Morse. Admittedly, Chairman Hall authored (or edited) the article prior to her appointment by President Reagan as a commissioner. I have several questions about 'Foundations of Sand' that I will ask during this hearing," he said. For the most part, the hearing focused on Hall's association with the book. One chapter-"The Minority Problem"-has drawn the most fire. It holds that "Black male youths have great difficulty overcoming their millenia of breeding for short-sighted, high-energy solutions to problems. Their race has skipped centuries of training which has produced in other races the discipline, foresight and tolerance of drudgery, necessary for success in the agricultural and industrial ages in the temperate zones... However, some members, including Kastenmeier, addressed the subject of the overall competence of the agency and its commissioners. There was even some concern expressed as to why the other commissioners were not present at the hearing. It was re vealed later, however, that only Hall was The subject of the other commissioners' "Am I correct that the background of the Berry road manager? Is that correct?" Synar Broadcasting May 6 1985 racist had extensive experience in industry. Synar also asked that the commissioners submit written answers concerning their views on the compulsory license and the CRT's 3.75% distant-signal rate hike decision. Hall, however, declined to comment on the the 3.75% decision because Turner Broadcasting has asked for a review of it and she was reluctant to comment until the proceeding is completed. Hall, Kastenmeier noted, had made a favorable first impression on the subcommittee because of her "willingness to work" and her interest in reforming the agency. Since the revelation of the book, however, Kastenmeier said the subcommittee's concern about the tribunal and its effectiveness as well as Hall's own "competence" had become an is sue. During the hearing Hall presented some of the views that have earned her a reputation as a CRT reformer. "I believe there is more need for legislative reform at this time," she said. Hall suggested that the chairmanship, which rotates from one commissioner to another each year, be made a permanent position. She criticized the current system because it makes it difficult for the CRT to "render a consistent internal policy." Moreover, Hall asserted the agency needs more professional staff and an economist. The CRT, she recommended, also needs subpoena power. In addition, she suggested that the agency needs closer coordination with the licensing division of the Copyright Office. "I believe the licensing division should report to our tribunal," she said. "Do you think the tribunal should be part of a larger agency; would that help?" asked Representative Carlos Moorhead (R-Calif.). "I don't think that would help; it could hurt. We need to be independent," she answered. Hall also discussed the size of the agency. Of the five commission seats, only three are currently filled. (A fourth member was nominated last week [see box, page 45].) "I recommend three members. We don't need more decision-makers. We need more professionals," she said. Despite Hall's testimony on the CRT, the subcommittee was more interested in the book and continued to raise serious doubts about her ability to serve on the tribunal. Kastenmeier noted that when a public official in a federal position expresses "these views," it becomes an issue of whether or not she could continue in her job and maintain the "confidence of those who are affected by your decisions." Kastenmeier asked Hall what her role was in writing the book. She denied she was anything more than an editor. "I was merely the editor in an extreme ministerial position. Simply nouns, verbs, pronouns, dangling participles, sentence structure," she answered. The book, published in 1982, credits "Dr. Lawrence Hafstad with Marianne Mele, John Morse" as the authors. And according to a certificate of copyright registration filed by Hall with the Copyright Office on Aug. 23, 1982, she is listed as one of three authors and signed the document as the "authorized agent" of the book. Hall, who was confirmed by the Senate on April 2, also listed herself as a "co-author" of the booklet in a sworn statement submitted to that chamber. Kastenmeier asked Hall why she identified herself as an author if she were only the editor. Hall contended she considered herself a ghost author. "I didn't know what to call it, I didn't know how to express it and I was much younger. However, I never did any research or offered an opinion or drew conclusions or indicated those views were mine. They are not mine, they are Dr. Hafstad's." But the chairman and others doubted her assertions. "You were more than an editor, I take it. You were in fact a writer," Kastenmeier said. But Hall insisted she had only acted "in the sense of a translator who writes sentences in English from a foreign language." The chairman wanted to know if she TOP OF THE WEEK agreed with the conclusions and why she had Kastenmeier was also concerned about Schroeder (D-Colo.), "to say, 'Well, I did it because it was my job; I thought it was still a free country and we can pick and choose jobs,?" she added. Later Schroeder asked Hall how she got the job. The CRT official claimed she was called in for an interview and hired. It was a reply that generated laughter from the audience. Her name, she said, was in the White House computer because of a resume she sent in 1980. "Don't you think your editing of these works looked philosophically appealing to the White House?" Schroeder asked. "I think probably my teaching credentials and copyright credentials were more important," Hall contended. That prompted Kastenmeier to query Hall about her copyright credentials. She told the chairman she has taught copyright at Northern Virginia Law School since 1979. "So really your claim to copyright expertise at least in terms of practice is pretty tenuous," the congressman said. "I've studied it a great, great deal. I've done some copyright Aroused Congress calls for Hall resignation; investigation launched There were repeated calls on Capitol Hill last week for the resignation of Copyright Royalty Tribunal Chairman Marianne Mele Hall for her association with "Foundations of Sand," a book the lawmakers were calling "racist garbage" (see story, page 44). And as Hall spent the week trying to distance herself from the book, House members were mounting a campaign to remove her from the chairmanship. And at week's end, Senator Charles Mathias (R-Md.), head of a Senate Judiciary Committee unit charged to investigate the Hall matter, had concluded that she should resign, and advised President Reagan to that effect. "People who hold or have associated themselves with the racist views expounded by this book do not belong in public office. I personally request, and I officially advise, that you seek Ms. Hall's immediate resignation," Mathias said. The Senate Copyright Subcommittee kicked off an investigation of the matter, and while Hall was testifying before a House Copyright Subcommittee on Wednesday. House members were making oneminute speeches calling on the President to fire her. Representatives Don Edwards (D-Calif.), Howard Wolpe (D-Mich.). Norman Mineta (D-Calif.) and Thomas Downey (D-N.Y) all issued such a request They were responding to a Washington Post account concerning Hall and the book in which she said after being asked why she hadn't left her name off the work-"If I wash a floor real well, I'll take credit." Remarked Mineta: "Ms. Hall didn't wash a floor real well. She took part in a vile, baseless and racist piece of literature." Hall also told the Post: "For me to become defensive now will turn this into a spat, and this whole experience doesn't deserve that kind of dignity If somebody calls you a whore, and you protest, what can you say? Can I scream I'm not a whore?" Edwards, along with 56 other House members, sent a letter to President Reagan urging him to seek her resignation. "We were appalled to learn today that Marianne Mele Hall, the newly confirmed chairperson of the Copyright Royalty Tribunal, is also the coauthor of a book which reeks with the stench of racism," the letter said "Mr. President, we call upon you to provide the only effective remedy for this slanderous insult to the American people by removing Ms. Hall from her privileged position of public service without delay" A White House spokesman said there would be "no reaction," and that Hall was an editor of the book, "grammar and spelling only," and that she was "no scientist or anthropologist." She was asked to "edit it for grammar and punctuation-not for content," he said In addition to congressional pressure, civil rights groups and women's organizations were also issuing statements seeking Hall's removal Bill Richardson (D-N.M.), chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, also called for Hall's resignation. The Congressional Black Caucus introduced a "Sense of the House" resolution" demanding Hall's immediate resignation. "It is our belief that her involvement as co-author of 'Foundations of Sand,' containing abhorrent racist philosophies, is an indictment of her judgment and in and of itself is grounds for dismissal," stated CBC Chairman Mickey Leland (D-Tex.) during a press conference in which he was joined by Mineta, Wolpe, Edwards and others. "This agency needs to know that we'll be looking with great askance at their budget," warned Representative Vic Fazio (D-Calif.), chairman of the House Legislative Appropriations Subcommittee, which has jurisdiction over the CRT budget. "It's important that this is not a long, drawn-out affair. It's important that this individual resign," Fazio added. Mineta questioned whether the CRT was a necessary agency "I don't even know in this day or age if we need a tribunal. Maybe we better take a basic look at the situation," he said. Meanwhile, in the Senate, Strom Thurmond (R-S.C.), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which confirmed Hall, asked Charles McC. Mathias Jr. (R-Md.), chairman of the Senate Copyright Subcommittee, to look into the matter. The investigation will determine whether Hall authored or edited the book. "He's concerned that there appears to be a discrepancy between what she testified and wrote," a Thurmond aide said. They also want to know if Hall "personally associates herself with those remarks." In Hall's sworn statement to the Senate, she said she was a coauthor. (A committee staffer noted that no one, at the time, had looked at the book, adding that there was "no reason to," Indeed, many Senate nominees list books they have written and the staff doesn't check them all out unless there is a reason. "No one had heard of it," he said. And the committee had been busy with the appointments of several judges, said another staffer.) A spokesman for Mathias's subcommittee said the investigation was underway. He noted that although there may also be some discrepancies on her resume, the book remains the essential problem. "It's pretty clear that she consistently calls herself author until this week," he noted. But the question remains, he added, after she knew what was in it, "Why did she agree to put her name on it?" Moreover, he noted that Hall's role in publishing the book is even "more troubling." "I don't know what her role really was, but no one forced her to put her name on it," he said. Although Mathias has not called any hearings the spokesman noted it is a possibility. Meanwhile, last Tuesday (April 30), the White House nominated Rose Marie Monk for a seven-year term on the CRT, one of two vacancies on the tribunal. She is executive assistant with Nofziger Communications, the political consulting firm run by Lyn Nofziger, former assistant to the President for political affairs. She also served as executive assistant to Nofziger when he was at the White House in 1981 and 1982 and when he was with the Reagan for President Committee in 1960. She was with Nofziger at the Lyn Nofziger Co. in Los Angeles from 1979 to 1980. Monk also was a special assistant to Milan D. Bish, ambassador to Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean from 1982 to 1983. Hill reaction to the Monk nomination was one of surprise. Mathias, an aide said, asked Thurmond to hold off on the Monk nomination until the Senate receives another candidate to fill the other vacancy on the tribunal. Mathias prefers considering both nominations rather than taking a "piecemeal" approach, he said. He noted that Monk, whose background appears to have little to do with copyright, would be in for a "much more thorough investigation than Hall." Broadcasting May 6 1985 TOP OF THE WEEK work but no litigation," she replied. "If these were your views do you think that would raise questions as to the appropriateness of your service?" asked Representative Bruce Morrison (D-Conn.). Hall said that what is relevant is her ability as a lawyer and manager, and not those views. Morrison was not satisfied with her reply. Finally, Hall agreed: "A person who has those views should not be serving in a job where expertise in copyright is necessary." Morrison also asked why Hall, who listed in her biographical sketch at the CRT that she is "co-author and/or consultant to four books," cited only "Foundations of Sand" to the Senate. "You want us to believe that you were just a ministerial player with respect to each of these items, but one of these ministerial functions was so important to you that you listed yourself as co-author in this document," Morrison said. “I think it's perfectly legitimate for members of the subcommittee to look behind your self-serving statement to discover whether it's likely that these are your views," Morrison said. "I don't think you can have it both ways." Hall argued: "I think we're getting tangled in the semantic definition between ghostwriting and writing." Replied Morrison: "Ma'am, I am not tangled at all. I am trying to find something out." Hall also told the Senate Judiciary Committee she is a director and secretary for HMM Inc., "which is a privately held corporation for the purpose of producing and marketing our book." She testified that the corporation has since been dissolved. Hall revealed that she was paid $1,000 for her work on the book. Morrison was equally interested in determining Hall's role in the selection of the tribunal's chief counsel. He asked her to provide data on the candidates, including the number of minorities and women who applied for the post. "I am very pleased to hear that those are not your views," stated Representative Frederick (Rick) Boucher (D-Va.). “But I really wonder just how you feel about the views that were expressed. They are very inappropriate from my point of view. Are they as repugnant to you?" he asked. "I understand your concern," Hall responded. "I agree with you. They are expressions which are very repugnant. They are not my views and as a lay person they are repugnant to me as well. I told Hafstad it would be ill-advised to publish them. However, in my limited capacity that was all I could do. I was into the project, I completed the job. I believe in finishing what you start." Hall maintained that any further fallout should be directed toward Dr. Hafstad. "I would like to go back to work and finish the job," Hall stated. Hall also submitted for the hearing record a letter by Hafstad that was delivered to BROADCASTING last Monday morning (April 29): "Not being a professional writer myself, Marianne Mele was employed by me to edit my material for the book 'Foundations of Sand. In addition to correcting my spelling and rearranging the material, she made many helpful contributions. In no sense, however, should she be held responsible for any assertions of opinion, fact or logic in the content of the book. As author, that responsibility rests squarely on me," Hafstad wrote. On Thursday, Hall sought to put still more distance between herself and the controversial material in “Foundations of Sand.” In a written statement delivered to the Copyright Subcommittee she repeated her claims to having performed only a clerical role in reviewing "grammer [sic], sentence structure and punctuation" and said: "For the record, I want to reiterate that I did not write the material. I disavow it fully. I find it inflammatory, explosive, repugnant and distasteful." Broadcasting May € 1985 CRT chairman resigns under fire Marianne Hall tells President her effectiveness was undermined by controversy over association with book termed racist; both Senate and House vow efforts for reform The Copyright Royalty Tribunal may never be the same. The resignation last week of Chairman Marianne Mele Hall, as a result of her association with the controversial booklet, "Foundations of Sand," has triggered congressional interest in the tiny agency that could result in its complete overhaul or even elimination. Hall, who was confirmed by the Senate April 2, came under fire after it was disclosed in BROADCASTING'S April 29 issue that she was listed as co-author of a tract that holds black males "insist on preserving their jungle freedoms, their women, their avoidance of personal responsibility and their abhorrence of the work ethic." Although Hall stated in a Senate questionnaire that she was the book's "co-author," she told a House Copyright Subcommittee two weeks ago that she was only an editor (BROADCASTING, May 6). Later that week she issued a statement claiming her role was only "clerical" and saying the ideas in the booklet were "repugnant and distasteful." But Hall could not escape the controversy. More than 70 House members called for her resignation. And Senator Charles McC. Mathias (R-Md.). chairman of the Copyright Subcommittee, charged with investigating the Hall matter, concluded she should resign. In a letter to President Reagan, he listed three reasons why she should step down. "First, Ms. Hall's name appears on the book 'Foundations of Sand' as its co-author, notwithstanding her recent statements that she was merely the editor. In any event, there is no dispute that her name was listed in this manner with her consent. The nature of her association with this project may be judged from the fact that she dedicated her contribution to it to her parents and daughter." Mathias wrote. He also pointed out that Hall played an active role in the book's publication. She agreed, he said, to serve on the board of a corporation "established to receive the proceeds from the sale of the book." In her resignation to President Reagan, Hall wrote that racism is "repugnant and unacceptable to me," and that such views and attitudes "have never been a part of my life." And therefore, she wrote, "I will not allow my past technical work as an editor to taint my life's commitment to equal opportunity for all." Hall noted that the issue had become "so overwhelming" that "it may have totally undermined my effectiveness as a force for the change that is so desperately needed within the Copyright Royalty Tribunal." And there is work, she continued, that "critically needs to be done there." She also urged the President to move quickly to "find individuals who can and will carry out that very important mission." Hall, according to White House Assistant Press Secretary Dale Petroskey, had been in touch with administration officials over the past week to "determine what was best for everybody involved herself, the White House and the tribunal." She decided, he said, that the best thing to do was to resign and "the White House concurred with her wishes." Petroskey denied reports that the White House forced her out. "It was her decision," he stated. The White House, Petroskey added, would be "moving soon" on the other vacancies. Only two weeks ago (April 30) the administration nominated Rose Marie Monk to a seven-year term on the CRT (BROAD Hall CASTING, May 6). Monk was most recently executive assistant with Nofziger Communications, the political consulting firm run by Lyn Nofziger, former assistant to the President for political affairs. A Senate source said the administration has not tried to push Monk's nomination through. Another name to surface as a possible CRT candidate is that of Ralph Oman, counsel to Mathias's Copyright Subcommittee. Oman submitted his name to the White House almost a year ago for a seat on the CRT and has been called in for several interviews. Nonetheless, his name is still pending at the White House. In the meantime, he has not involved himself in CRT matters. Still, it may be a while before the CRT has its full complement. Indeed, Mathias wants to hold off on Monk's nomination and review all the candidates at once. Mathias, an aide said, wants to know "what the whole picture is. " In any event, the subcommittee's inquiry will continue. "The American people deserve an explanation as to how this episode was permitted to occur and a statement of what will be done to prevent a recurrence." Mathias said. The investigation, he continued, will not focus on Hall but will examine the nomination and confirmation process that "served the nation so poorly in this 'case." Hall's departure raises some serious ques tions concerning the tribunal's future. With only two of the CRT's five seats filled-by Commissioners Edward W. Ray and Mario F. Aguero the tribunal may be unable to operate. Ray will serve as acting chairman until December when Aguero assumes the post. "It's obviously not an ideal situation," said a Senate Copyright Subcommittee source, and the subcommittee will be looking at the matter. However, according to the tribunal's general counsel, Robert Cassler, the tribunal will still be able to carry out its business. "It is the opinion of the tribunal that a quorum for tribunal action is based on a majority of sitting commissioners, not a majority of authorized commissioners. It takes two commissioners to constitute a quorum and they would have to agree for tribunal action," Cassler explained. He noted that the commissioners will make every effort to reach an agreement and avoid any deadlocks. "We're going full steam ahead," Ray said. Currently, there are three issues pending before the tribunal. One is the 1983 cable royalty fund distribution proceeding in which the CRT will divide $79 million among the Motion Picture Association of America, joint sports claimants, the National Association of Broadcasters, National Public Radio, Public Broadcasting Service, Canadian claimants, American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, Broadcast Music Inc., SESAC, and religous programers. Also under review is the CRT's distribution of the 1983 jukebox royalty fund. The distribution of 95% of the fund has been settled, but the remaining 5% is still being contested. And the tribunal has been petitioned by Turner Broadcasting to review its 1982 3.75% rate increase for distant signals. No action has been taken on that matter. To House Copyright Subcommittee Chairman Robert Kastenmeier (D-Wis.) Hall's resignation raises two larger issue: "the quality of the nominating process and the future of the CRT." Kastenmeier, during a CRT TOP OF THE WEEK oversight hearing just two days after Hall's association with the book was revealed, stated that the tribunal is in "dire need of reform." But his concerns are not new; in the last Congress he offered legislation calling for minimum reform of the tribunal. It would have reduced the size of the tribunal from five to three and would require the CRT to hire a general counsel and economist. But now the chairman is considering making major revisions. In any event, Kastenmeier told BROADCASTING that discussions are now in the preliminary stages and are "exploratory in terms of CRT reform or even possibly elimination, in which case there would have to be a substitute for it....I am not sure that's necessary, but that will be seriously considered." He expects the subcommittee will be able to devote more attention to the subject in another two weeks. Kastenmeier noted that appointments to the tribunal have not been taken seriously by both the Carter and Reagan administrations. "That is not to say that every person is unqualified. Indeed, that's not the case. But many of them appear to be primarily political appointments. And I think that is in part what has frustrated the work of the tribunal and probably resulted in it being underfunded and not recognized for the mission that it has. And we may have to deal with that realization. Kastenmeier believes Congress should try to encourage Presidents to carefully select highly qualified people as commissioners. One way to do that, he said, is to include some kind of qualifying language in the legislation. "I know Ms. Hall is an attorney and she claims some copyright knowledge prior to her appointment, but that's an unusual case and even Ms. Hall seems to have problems." There is nothing in the Copyright Act that requires the commissioners to have any copyright experience. Only the bill's legislative history suggests they have some "professional competence in the field of copyright policy." |