Featured Media Information Bureau columnist Ken Benner closes out 2019 with some office cleaning, and on the way to the trash bin stumbled upon enough subject material for what he claims is another two decades of weekly columns.
What has this octogenarian Alternative Broadcast Inspection pro have to share today? Legal tips, which should not be construed as attorney’s advice but may be very helpful to you and your broadcast stations.
By Ken Benner
In the world of broadcasting, you never know when someone will attempt to profit for some innocent misstep, such as a naughty word evading the 10-second delay during a talk show — or heaven forbid, the upper “private part” of some lovely girl during a live television dance routine.
Perhaps it is that miswritten news item, with a tad of factual distortion, or a bit of innuendo, sprinkled with a bit of fabrication.
Any one of this unfortunate events will unleash a lawyer, placing them on their way to wealth and fame.
Once upon a time, I found myself defending myself and a colleague for innocently issuing a perfectly valid press release. We were successfully represented by a brilliant attorney from the U.S. National Labor Relations Board.
Before we headed to the court room, the attorney offered suggestions on how we were to perform on the witness stand. Should you find yourself in a similar situation, which I truly hope does not happen, I respectfully offer my attorney’s suggestion.
They won the case for the two of us.
I must stress, “I am not a lawyer and the following is not to be considered formal legal advice.”
But, you should tuck this column away safely, as you never know when this advice could come in handy.
While in court:
1. Never answer a question unless you are sure you understand it. If necessary, ask to have the question repeated until you understand it.
2. Always tells the truth.
3. If you don’t know the answer to a question, say you don’t know. Never say you don’t know when you mean “no”. Never say “no” when you don’t know.
4. Don’t exaggerate.
5. Nobody expects you to remember dates with pinpoint accuracy. Don’t let the other lawyer lure you into testifying that something happened on a certain date when you are not sure. It’s better to say that it happened in the Spring of 1990 than to say March 2, 1990, when it really happened on March 22, 1990.
6. If on cross-examination, you are asked if you have talked to anyone about your testimony, tell the truth. You have talked to me.
7. If you have a felony conviction let me know.
8. Once you have answered a question fully and completely, stop! If the other lawyer or I want more information it is up to us to ask more questions.
9. In addition to being a good witness, I want you to be believable. Don’t put on an act, act natural and straight forward. Relax and think about what you know.
10. Wear clean, casual clothes.
11. As a witness and while sitting in the hearing room, act like you are in church. The judge can see you even when you are not on the stand. Don’t read newspapers, chew gum or horse around.
12. While testifying on the stand, speak up. Treat the opposing lawyer the same way you treat me. Don’t be friendly and cooperative to me and then bite his head off. If you get angry it will appear that you are not telling the truth.
13. Speak only when you are directly asked a question. Never guess – there is a 50-50 chance you will be wrong. We want you to testify only to what you know. We don’t want conclusions, that is the judge’s job. If you make a mistake, admit it and correct it promptly.
Ken Benner is an independent Alternative FCC Compliance Certification Inspector and a research analyst for the Coalition for Transparency, Clarification and Simplification of Regulations pertaining to American Broadcasting. Benner has more than 55 years of experience providing service to the broadcast industry.
The views expressed by Media Information Bureau columnists are those of the writer only and not of the editorial board of the Radio + Television Business Report or its parent, Streamline Publishing.
