ROANOKE TIMES 

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, March 22, 1991                   TAG: 9103220993
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B5   EDITION: EVENING 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: ATLANTA                                LENGTH: Medium

STATE TV STATIONS UNDER INVESTIGATION FOR AD OVERCHARGES

Attorneys who filed the nation's first lawsuit alleging political candidates were overcharged by television stations have begun investigating ad rates in Virginia and five other states.

Three Georgia stations have refunded hundreds of thousands of dollars to candidates who were overcharged for political advertisements last year.

This week, 15 Democratic and Republican candidates received refund checks totaling about $306,000 from Atlanta TV stations WXIA and WSB and WMAZ-TV in Macon, bringing the candidates' total to more than $463,000.

"We don't consider this to be all the refunds our clients are due," said Robert S. Kahn, one of three lawyers working on the Georgia case. "We are negotiating with at least 10 other Georgia stations, and we see settlements in the near future with three of them."

But attorney Michael Jablonski said formal complaints against two Georgia stations may be filed with the Federal Communications Commission based on their failure to provide information on their advertising rates.

Attorney Gordon Giffin said the trio also is investigating ad rates in Virginia, Florida, Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky and Rhode Island.

Georgia's TV stations began the rebates after Gov. Zell Miller and four of his rivals in the 1990 gubernatorial election filed suit against WXIA in January, charging they were overcharged for political ads during the campaign.

Federal law requires TV stations to sell ads to candidates for public office at the lowest rate offered to any commercial client.

The suit was prompted by a surprise FCC audit last August that uncovered widespread overcharging at 20 stations in five markets outside Georgia. The audit also prompted two Atlanta stations - WAGA and WSB - to initiate refunds. 


 by CNB