In 1983 the Federal Communications Commission began allowing television and radio stations to stage their own political debates between candidates of their own choosing, but few broadcasters have been taking full advantage of the rule. Section 315 of The Communications Act requires that if a station grants use of the broadcasting station to a legally qualified candidate, then all other qualified candidates for that office shall have equal access. It appears that qualified, minor party candidates no longer have equal access to airwaves, and interviews conducted with television news managements at five western New York commercial television stations confirm this fact. All news personnel agreed that they chose the most hotly contested race of that particular season for a debate, and that if a minor party candidate did not pose much of a threat to an incumbent, that race was not considered for coverage in a debate format. Selection of a particular race for a debate was based on what kind of television would result, while at the same time serving broad public interest. Minor party candidates were covered by all of the stations interviewed only within the forum of the daily newscasts. The choice of having only major party candidates in a televised debate is not solely based on public interest--production value, convenience of format, and minimizing revenue losses are other considerations. (Twelve footnotes are appended.) (MM)