The fairness doctrine of the United States
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdiction ...
(FCC), introduced in 1949, was a policy that required the holders of
broadcast license
A broadcast license is a type of spectrum license granting the licensee permission to use a portion of the radio frequency spectrum in a given geographical area for broadcasting purposes. The licenses generally include restrictions, which vary ...
s both to present controversial issues of public importance and to do so in a manner that fairly reflected differing viewpoints. In 1987, the FCC abolished the fairness doctrine, prompting some to urge its reintroduction through either Commission policy or congressional legislation. However, later the FCC removed the rule that implemented the policy from the ''
Federal Register
The ''Federal Register'' (FR or sometimes Fed. Reg.) is the official journal of the federal government of the United States that contains government agency rules, proposed rules, and public notices. It is published every weekday, except on feder ...
'' in August 2011.
The fairness doctrine had two basic elements: It required broadcasters to devote some of their airtime to discussing controversial matters of
public interest
The public interest is "the welfare or well-being of the general public" and society.
Overview
Economist Lok Sang Ho in his ''Public Policy and the Public Interest'' argues that the public interest must be assessed impartially and, therefore ...
, and to air contrasting views regarding those matters. Stations were given wide latitude as to how to provide contrasting views: It could be done through news segments, public affairs shows, or editorials. The doctrine did not require equal time for opposing views but required that contrasting viewpoints be presented. The demise of this FCC rule has been cited as a contributing factor in the rising level of
party polarization in the United States.
While the original purpose of the doctrine was to ensure that viewers were exposed to a diversity of viewpoints, it was used by both the Kennedy and later the Johnson administration to combat political opponents operating on talk radio. In 1969 the
United States Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
, in ''
Red Lion Broadcasting Co. v. FCC'', upheld the FCC's general right to enforce the fairness doctrine where channels were limited. However, the court did not rule that the FCC was ''obliged'' to do so.
[''Red Lion Broadcasting Co. v. FCC'']
decided June 8, 1969, also at (Excerpt from majority opinion, III A; Senate report cited in footnote 26). Justice William O. Douglas
William Orville Douglas (October 16, 1898January 19, 1980) was an American jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, who was known for his strong progressive and civil libertarian views, and is often ci ...
did not participate in the decision, but there were no concurring or dissenting opinions. The courts reasoned that the scarcity of the broadcast spectrum, which limited the opportunity for access to the airwaves, created a need for the doctrine.
The fairness doctrine is not the same as the
equal-time rule
The equal-time rule specifies that American radio and television broadcast stations must provide equivalent access to competing political candidates. This means, for example, that if a station broadcasts a message by a candidate in prime time, i ...
, which is still in place. The fairness doctrine deals with discussion of controversial issues, while the equal-time rule deals only with political candidates.
Origins
In 1938, a former Yankee Network employee named Lawrence J. Flynn challenged the license of John Shepard III's WAAB in Boston, and also lodged a complaint about WNAC. Flynn asserted that these stations were being used to air one-sided political viewpoints and broadcast attacks (including editorials) against local (and federal) politicians that Shepard opposed. The FCC requested that Shepard provide details about these programs, and to appease the commission, the Yankee Network agreed to drop the editorials. But Flynn created a company called Mayflower Broadcasting and tried to get the FCC to award him WAAB's license; however, the FCC refused. Instead, in 1941, the commission made a ruling that came to be known as the Mayflower Decision which declared that radio stations, due to their public interest obligations, must remain neutral in matters of news and politics, and they were not allowed to give editorial support to any particular political position or candidate.
In 1949, the FCC's Editorializing Report repealed the
Mayflower doctrine
The Mayflower doctrine was a mandate implemented by the U.S. Government Federal Communications Commission (FCC) that required American radio broadcasters to "provide full and equal opportunity for the presentation to the public all sides of public ...
, which had forbidden editorializing on the radio since 1941, and laid the foundation for the fairness doctrine by reaffirming the FCC's holding that licensees must not use their stations "for the private interest, whims or caprices
f licensees
F, or f, is the sixth Letter (alphabet), letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the English alphabet, modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is English alphabet#Let ...
but in a manner which will serve the community generally."
The FCC Report established two forms of regulation on broadcasters: to provide adequate coverage of public issues, and to ensure that coverage fairly represented opposing views. The second rule required broadcasters to provide reply time to issue-oriented citizens. Broadcasters could therefore trigger fairness doctrine complaints without editorializing. The commission required neither of the fairness doctrine's obligations before 1949. Until then broadcasters had to satisfy only general "public interest" standards of the Communications Act.
The doctrine remained a matter of general policy and was applied on a case-by-case basis until 1967, when certain provisions of the doctrine were incorporated into FCC regulations.
In 1969, the
United States courts of appeals
The United States courts of appeals are the intermediate appellate courts of the United States federal judiciary. The courts of appeals are divided into 11 numbered circuits that cover geographic areas of the United States and hear appeals fr ...
, in an opinion written by
Warren Burger
Warren Earl Burger (September 17, 1907 – June 25, 1995) was an American attorney and jurist who served as the 15th chief justice of the United States from 1969 to 1986. Born in Saint Paul, Minnesota, Burger graduated from the St. Paul Colleg ...
, directed the FCC to revoke Lamar Broadcasting's license for television station
WLBT
WLBT (channel 3) is a television station in Jackson, Mississippi, United States, affiliated with NBC. It is owned by Gray Television, which also operates American Spirit Media–owned Fox affiliate WDBD (channel 40) and Vicksburg-licensed MyNet ...
due to the station's segregationist politics and ongoing censorship of NBC network news coverage of the U.S. civil rights movement.
Application of the doctrine by the FCC
In 1974, the Federal Communications Commission stated that the
Congress
A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...
had delegated it the power to mandate a system of "access, either free or paid, for person or groups wishing to express a viewpoint on a controversial public issue" but that it had not yet exercised that power because licensed broadcasters had "voluntarily" complied with the "spirit" of the doctrine. It warned that:
In one landmark case, the FCC argued that
teletext
A British Ceefax football index page from October 2009, showing the three-digit page numbers for a variety of football news stories
Teletext, or broadcast teletext, is a standard for displaying text and rudimentary graphics on suitably equipp ...
was a new technology that created soaring demand for a limited resource, and thus could be exempt from the fairness doctrine. The Telecommunications Research and Action Center (TRAC) and
Media Access Project
The Media Access Project (or MAP) was a non-profit group that promoted the public's interest before Congress and the US court system. MAP grew out of a 1960s lawsuit against the United Church of Christ and was eventually formed in 1972 in order ...
(MAP) argued that teletext transmissions should be regulated like any other airwave technology, hence the fairness doctrine was applicable (and must be enforced by the FCC). In 1986, Judges
Robert Bork
Robert Heron Bork (March 1, 1927 – December 19, 2012) was an American jurist who served as the solicitor general of the United States from 1973 to 1977. A professor at Yale Law School by occupation, he later served as a judge on the U.S. Court ...
and
Antonin Scalia
Antonin Gregory Scalia (; March 11, 1936 – February 13, 2016) was an American jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1986 until his death in 2016. He was described as the intellectu ...
of the
concluded that the fairness doctrine did apply to teletext but that the FCC was not required to apply it. In a 1987 case, ''
Meredith Corp. v. FCC'', two other judges on the same court declared that Congress did not mandate the doctrine and the FCC did not have to continue to enforce it.
Decisions of the United States Supreme Court
In ''
Red Lion Broadcasting Co. v. FCC'', , the U.S. Supreme Court upheld (by a vote of 8–0) the constitutionality of the fairness doctrine in a case of an on-air personal attack, in response to challenges that the doctrine violated the
First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The case began when journalist
Fred J. Cook
Fred James Cook (March 8, 1911 – April 4, 2003) was an American investigative journalism, investigative journalist, author and historian who has been published extensively in ''The Nation'', the ''Asbury Park Press and'' ''The New York Time ...
, after the publication of his ''Goldwater: Extremist of the Right'', was the topic of discussion by
Billy James Hargis
Billy James Hargis (August 3, 1925 – November 27, 2004) was an American Christian evangelist. At the height of his popularity in the 1950s and 1960s, his ''Christian Crusade'' ministry was broadcast on more than 500 radio stations and 250 te ...
on his daily ''Christian Crusade'' radio broadcast on
WGCB in
Red Lion, Pennsylvania
Red Lion (Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Rot Leeb'') is a borough in York County, Pennsylvania, settled in 1852 and incorporated on January 16, 1880. The population was 6,506 at the 2020 census.
History
Red Lion, settled in 1852, was named after one of t ...
. Cook sued arguing that the fairness doctrine entitled him to free air time to respond to the personal attacks.
Although similar laws are unconstitutional when applied to the press, the court cited a
Senate
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
report (S. Rep. No. 562, 86th Cong., 1st Sess., 8-9
959
Year 959 ( CMLIX) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Byzantine Empire
* April - May – The Byzantines refuse to pay the yearly tribute. A Hungari ...
stating that radio stations could be regulated in this way because of the limited public airwaves at the time. Writing for the court, Justice
Byron White
Byron "Whizzer" Raymond White (June 8, 1917 April 15, 2002) was an American professional football player and jurist who served as an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1962 until his retirement in 1993.
Born and raised in Color ...
declared:
Moreover, the court did not see how the fairness doctrine went against the First Amendment's goal of creating an informed public. The fairness doctrine required that those who were talked about be given chance to respond to the statements made by broadcasters. The court believed that this helped create a more informed public. Justice White explained that, without this doctrine, station owners would only have people on the air who agreed with their opinions. Throughout his opinion, Justice White argued that radio frequencies (and by extension television stations) should be used to educate the public about controversial issues in a way that is fair and non-biased so that they can create their own opinions.
The court "ruled unanimously in 1969 that the Fairness Doctrine was not only constitutional but essential to democracy. The public airwaves should not just express the opinions of those who can pay for air time; they must allow the electorate to be informed about all sides of controversial issues." The court also warned that if the doctrine ever restrained speech, then its constitutionality should be reconsidered. Justice
William O. Douglas
William Orville Douglas (October 16, 1898January 19, 1980) was an American jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, who was known for his strong progressive and civil libertarian views, and is often ci ...
did not participate, but later wrote that he would have dissented because the Constitutional guarantee of
Freedom of the press
Freedom of the press or freedom of the media is the fundamental principle that communication and expression through various media, including printed and electronic News media, media, especially publication, published materials, should be conside ...
was absolute.
However, in the case of ''
Miami Herald Publishing Co. v. Tornillo
''Miami Herald Publishing Co. v. Tornillo'', 418 U.S. 241 (1974), was a seminal First Amendment ruling at the United States Supreme Court. The Supreme Court overturned a Florida state law that required newspapers to offer equal space to political ...
'', ,
Chief Justice Warren Burger
Warren Earl Burger (September 17, 1907 – June 25, 1995) was an American attorney and jurist who served as the 15th chief justice of the United States from 1969 to 1986. Born in Saint Paul, Minnesota, Burger graduated from the St. Paul Colleg ...
wrote (for a unanimous court):
This decision differs from ''Red Lion v. FCC'' in that it applies to a newspaper, which, unlike a broadcaster, is unlicensed and can theoretically face an unlimited number of competitors.
In 1984, the Supreme Court ruled that Congress could not forbid editorials by non-profit stations that received grants from the
Corporation for Public Broadcasting
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) is an American publicly funded non-profit corporation, created in 1967 to promote and help support public broadcasting. The corporation's mission is to ensure universal access to non-commercial, ...
(''FCC v.
League of Women Voters
The League of Women Voters (LWV or the League) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan political organization in the United States. Founded in 1920, its ongoing major activities include registering voters, providing voter information, and advocating for vot ...
of California'', ). The court's 5-4 majority decision by
William J. Brennan Jr.
William Joseph "Bill" Brennan Jr. (April 25, 1906 – July 24, 1997) was an American lawyer and jurist who served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1956 to 1990. He was the seventh-longest serving justice ...
stated that while many now considered that expanding sources of communication had made the fairness doctrine's limits unnecessary:
After noting that the FCC was considering repealing the fairness doctrine rules on editorials and personal attacks out of fear that those rules might be "chilling speech", the court added:
Use as a political weapon
The fairness doctrine has been used by various administrations to harass political opponents on the radio.
Bill Ruder
Ruder Finn is a public relations firm with headquarters in the United States and China. It is a large privately owned communications agency, serving corporations, governments, and non-profits. It also has offices in San Francisco, London, Washing ...
, Assistant Secretary of Commerce in the Kennedy administration, acknowledged that "Our massive strategy
n the early 1960s
N, or n, is the fourteenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''en'' (pronounced ), plural ''ens''.
History
...
was to use the Fairness Doctrine to challenge and harass right-wing broadcasters and hope that the challenges would be so costly to them that they would be inhibited and decide it was too expensive to continue." Former Kennedy FCC staffer Martin Firestone wrote a memo to the
Democratic National Committee
The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is the governing body of the United States Democratic Party. The committee coordinates strategy to support Democratic Party candidates throughout the country for local, state, and national office, as well a ...
on strategies to combat small rural radio stations unfriendly to Democrats:
The right-wingers operate on a strictly cash basis and it is for this reason that they are carried by so many small stations. Were our efforts to be continued on a year-round basis, we would find that many of these stations would consider the broadcasts of these programs bothersome and burdensome (especially if they are ultimately required to give us free time) and would start dropping the programs from their broadcast schedule.
Democratic Party operatives were deeply involved in the Red Lion case since the start of the litigation. Wayne Phillips, a
Democratic National Committee
The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is the governing body of the United States Democratic Party. The committee coordinates strategy to support Democratic Party candidates throughout the country for local, state, and national office, as well a ...
staffer described the aftermath of the ruling, explaining that "Even more important than the free radio time was the effectiveness of this operation in inhibiting the political activity of these right-wing broadcasts".
The use of the fairness doctrine by the National Council for Civic Responsibility (NCCR) was to force right-wing radio stations to air rebuttals against the opinions expressed on their radio stations.
Revocation
Basic doctrine
In 1985, under FCC Chairman
Mark S. Fowler
Mark S. Fowler (born October 6, 1941) served as chair of the Federal Communications Commission from May 18, 1981 to April 17, 1987. Appointed by Ronald Reagan, he led repeal of the Fairness Doctrine and spearheaded the deregulatory trend in teleco ...
, a communications attorney who had served on
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...
's presidential campaign staff in 1976 and 1980, the FCC released its report on ''General Fairness Doctrine Obligations'' stating that the doctrine hurt the public interest and violated
free speech
Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The rights, right to freedom of expression has been ...
rights guaranteed by the
First Amendment
First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1).
First or 1st may also refer to:
*World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement
Arts and media Music
* 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...
. The commission could not, however, come to a determination as to whether the doctrine had been enacted by Congress through its 1959 Amendment to Section 315 of the
Communications Act.
In response to the 1986 ''Telecommunications Research & Action Center v. F.C.C.'' decision, the
99th Congress
The 99th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C., from January 3, 1 ...
directed the FCC to examine alternatives to the fairness doctrine and to submit a report to Congress on the subject. In 1987, in ''Meredith Corporation v. F.C.C.'' the case was returned to the FCC with a directive to consider whether the doctrine had been "self-generated pursuant to its general congressional authorization or specifically mandated by Congress."
The FCC opened an inquiry inviting public comment on alternative means for administrating and enforcing the fairness doctrine. Then, in its 1987 report, the alternatives—including abandoning a case-by-case enforcement approach, replacing the doctrine with open access time for all members of the public, doing away with the
personal attack rule
The personal attack rule was a corollary to the Federal Communications Commission's fairness doctrine that mandated response time for an individual or group attacked during "origination cablecasting" that focused on a controversial issue of public ...
, and eliminating certain other aspects of the doctrine—were rejected by the FCC for various reasons.
On August 4, 1987, under FCC Chairman
Dennis R. Patrick
Dennis Roy Patrick (born June 1, 1951) served as the chairman of the FCC from April 18, 1987, through August 7, 1989, appointed by Ronald Reagan, notably helping to finalize the repeal of the Fairness Doctrine. He currently serves as president and ...
, the FCC abolished the doctrine by a 4–0 vote, in the ''Syracuse Peace Council'' decision, which was upheld by a panel of the Appeals Court for the D.C. Circuit in February 1989, though the court stated in their decision that they made "that determination without reaching the constitutional issue."
The FCC suggested in ''Syracuse Peace Council'' that because of the many media voices in the marketplace, the doctrine be deemed unconstitutional, stating that:
At the 4–0 vote, Chairman Patrick said:
Sitting commissioners at the time of the vote were:
*
Dennis R. Patrick
Dennis Roy Patrick (born June 1, 1951) served as the chairman of the FCC from April 18, 1987, through August 7, 1989, appointed by Ronald Reagan, notably helping to finalize the repeal of the Fairness Doctrine. He currently serves as president and ...
, chairman, Republican
(Named an FCC commissioner by Ronald Reagan in 1983)
*
Mimi Weyforth Dawson
Mimi Weyforth Dawson (born August 31, 1944) is an American political aide who served as a Commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federa ...
, Republican
(Named an FCC commissioner by Ronald Reagan in 1986)
*
Patricia Diaz Dennis
Patricia Diaz Dennis (born October 2, 1946) is an American lawyer who served as Assistant Secretary of State for Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs from 1992 to 1993.
Biography
Patricia Diaz Dennis was born in Santa Rita, New Mexico on Octobe ...
, Democrat
(Named an FCC commissioner by Ronald Reagan in 1986)
*
James Henry Quello
James Henry Quello (April 21, 1914 – January 24, 2010) was a broadcaster and government official who notably served as acting List of chairmen of the Federal Communications Commission, Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in ...
, Democrat
(Named an FCC commissioner by Richard M. Nixon in 1974)
The FCC vote was opposed by members of Congress who said the FCC had tried to "flout the will of Congress" and the decision was "wrongheaded, misguided and illogical".
The decision drew political fire, and cooperation with Congress was one issue. In June 1987, Congress attempted to preempt the FCC decision and codify the fairness doctrine, but the legislation was vetoed by President
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...
. Another attempt to revive the doctrine in 1991 was stopped when President
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker BushSince around 2000, he has been usually called George H. W. Bush, Bush Senior, Bush 41 or Bush the Elder to distinguish him from his eldest son, George W. Bush, who served as the 43rd president from 2001 to 2009; pr ...
threatened another veto.
Fowler said in February 2009 that his work toward revoking the fairness doctrine under the Reagan administration had been a matter of principle (his belief that the doctrine impinged upon the First Amendment), not partisanship. Fowler described the White House staff raising concerns, at a time before the prominence of conservative talk radio and during the preeminence of the
Big Three television networks
In the United States, there are three major traditional commercial broadcast television networks — CBS (Columbia Broadcasting System), NBC (National Broadcasting Company), and ABC (American Broadcasting Company) — that due to their longev ...
and PBS in political discourse, that repealing the policy would be politically unwise. He described the staff's position as saying to Reagan:
Conservative talk radio
The 1987 repeal of the fairness doctrine enabled the rise of talk radio that has been described as "unfiltered" divisive and/or vicious: "In 1988, a savvy former ABC Radio executive named Ed McLaughlin signed
Rush Limbaugh
Rush Hudson Limbaugh III ( ; January 12, 1951 – February 17, 2021) was an American conservative political commentator who was the host of '' The Rush Limbaugh Show'', which first aired in 1984 and was nationally syndicated on AM and FM r ...
— then working at a little-known Sacramento station — to a nationwide syndication contract. McLaughlin offered Limbaugh to stations at an unbeatable price: free. All they had to do to carry his program was to set aside four minutes per hour for ads that McLaughlin's company sold to national sponsors. The stations got to sell the remaining commercial time to local advertisers." According to ''The Washington Post'', "From his earliest days on the air, Limbaugh trafficked in conspiracy theories, divisiveness, even viciousness" (e.g., "feminazis"). Prior to 1987 people using much less controversial verbiage had been taken off the air as obvious violations of the fairness doctrine.
Corollary rules
Two corollary rules of the doctrine, the
personal attack rule
The personal attack rule was a corollary to the Federal Communications Commission's fairness doctrine that mandated response time for an individual or group attacked during "origination cablecasting" that focused on a controversial issue of public ...
and the "political editorial" rule, remained in practice until 2000. The "personal attack" rule applied whenever a person (or small group) was subject to a personal attack during a broadcast. Stations had to notify such persons (or groups) within a week of the attack, send them transcripts of what was said and offer the opportunity to respond on-the-air. The "political editorial" rule applied when a station broadcast editorials endorsing or opposing candidates for public office, and stipulated that the unendorsed candidates be notified and allowed a reasonable opportunity to respond.
The
U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (in case citations, D.C. Cir.) is one of the thirteen United States Courts of Appeals. It has the smallest geographical jurisdiction of any of the U.S. federal appellate cou ...
ordered the FCC to justify these corollary rules in light of the decision to repeal the fairness doctrine. The FCC did not provide prompt justification so both corollary rules were repealed in October 2000.
Reinstatement considered
Support
In February 2005, U.S. Representative
Louise Slaughter
Dorothy Louise Slaughter (née McIntosh, August 14, 1929 – March 16, 2018) was an American politician elected to 16 terms as a United States Representative from New York, serving from 1987 until her death in 2018. She served as the Dean of the ...
(
D-
NY) and 23 co-sponsors introduced the Fairness and Accountability in Broadcasting Act (H.R. 501) in the 1st session of the
109th Congress
The 109th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives, from January 3, 2005 to January 3, 2007, dur ...
of 2005-2007 (when
Republicans held a majority of both Houses). The bill would have shortened a station's license term from eight years to four, with the requirement that a license-holder cover important issues fairly, hold local public hearings about its coverage twice a year, and document to the FCC how it was meeting its obligations. The bill was referred to committee, but progressed no further.
In the same Congress, Representative
Maurice Hinchey
Maurice Dunlea Hinchey (October 27, 1938 – November 22, 2017) was an American politician who served as a U.S. Representative from New York and was a member of the Democratic Party. He retired at the end of his term in January 2013 after 20 ...
(D-
NY) introduced legislation "to restore the Fairness Doctrine". H.R. 3302, also known as the "Media Ownership Reform Act of 2005" or MORA, had 16 co-sponsors in Congress.
In June 2007, Senator
Richard Durbin (D-
Ill.) said, "It's time to reinstitute the Fairness Doctrine", an opinion shared by his Democratic colleague, Senator
John Kerry
John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician and diplomat who currently serves as the first United States special presidential envoy for climate. A member of the Forbes family and the Democratic Party (Unite ...
(D-
Mass.). However, according to Marin Cogan of ''
The New Republic
''The New Republic'' is an American magazine of commentary on politics, contemporary culture, and the arts. Founded in 1914 by several leaders of the progressive movement, it attempted to find a balance between "a liberalism centered in hum ...
'' in late 2008:
On June 24, 2008, U.S. Representative
Nancy Pelosi
Nancy Patricia Pelosi (; ; born March 26, 1940) is an American politician who has served as Speaker of the United States House of Representatives since 2019 and previously from 2007 to 2011. She has represented in the United States House of ...
(D-
Calif.), the
Speaker of the House
The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England.
Usage
The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hungerf ...
at the time, told reporters that her fellow
Democratic representatives did not want to forbid reintroduction of the fairness doctrine, adding "the interest in my caucus is the reverse." When asked by John Gizzi of ''
Human Events
''Human Events'' is an American conservative political news and analysis website. Founded in 1944 as a print newspaper, ''Human Events'' became a digital-only publication in 2013.
''Human Events'' takes its name from the first sentence of the Un ...
'', "Do you personally support revival of the 'Fairness Doctrine?, the Speaker replied "Yes".
On December 15, 2008, U.S. Representative
Anna Eshoo
Anna A. Eshoo ( ; née Georges; born December 13, 1942) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative from . She is a member of the Democratic Party. The district, numbered as the 14th district from 1993 to 2013, is based in Silico ...
(D-
Calif.) told ''
The Daily Post'' in
Palo Alto, California
Palo Alto (; Spanish language, Spanish for "tall stick") is a charter city in the northwestern corner of Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a Sequoia sempervirens, coastal redwood tree kno ...
that she thought it should also apply to cable and satellite broadcasters, stating:
On February 11, 2009, Senator
Tom Harkin
Thomas Richard Harkin (born November 19, 1939) is an American lawyer, author, and politician who served as a United States senator from Iowa from 1985 to 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously was the U.S. representative for Iowa' ...
(D-
Iowa
Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...
) told radio host Bill Press, "we gotta get the Fairness Doctrine back in law again." Later in response to Press's assertion that "they are just shutting down progressive talk from one city after another", Senator Harkin responded, "Exactly, and that's why we need the fairthat's why we need the Fairness Doctrine back."
Former President
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...
has also shown support for the fairness doctrine. During a February 13, 2009, appearance on the Mario Solis Marich radio show, Clinton said:
Clinton cited the "blatant drumbeat" against the stimulus program from conservative talk radio, suggesting that it does not reflect economic reality.
On September 19, 2019, Representative
Tulsi Gabbard
Tulsi Gabbard (; born April 12, 1981) is an American politician, United States Army Reserve officer and political commentator who served as the U.S. representative for Hawaii's 2nd congressional district from 2013 to 2021. Gabbard was the firs ...
(D-HI) introduced H.R. 4401 Restore the Fairness Doctrine Act of 2019 in the House of Representatives, 116th Congress. Rep. Gabbard was the only sponsor. H.R. 4401 was immediately referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce on the same day. It was then referred to the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology on September 20, 2019.
H.R. 4401 would mandate equal media discussion of key political and social topics, requiring television and radio broadcasters to give airtime to opposing sides of issues of civic interest. The summary reads: "Restore the Fairness Doctrine Act of 2019. This bill requires a broadcast radio or television licensee to provide reasonable opportunity for discussion of conflicting views on matters of public importance. The Restore the Fairness Doctrine Act would once again mandate television and radio broadcasters present both sides when discussing political or social issues, reinstituting the rule in place from 1949 to 1987 ... . Supporters argue that the doctrine allowed for a more robust public debate and affected positive political change as a result, rather than allowing only the loudest voices or deepest pockets to win."
Opposition
The fairness doctrine has been strongly opposed by prominent
conservatives
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...
and
libertarians
Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's enc ...
who view it as an attack on
First Amendment
First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1).
First or 1st may also refer to:
*World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement
Arts and media Music
* 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...
rights and property rights. Editorials in ''
The Wall Street Journal
''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
'' and ''
The Washington Times
''The Washington Times'' is an American conservative daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., that covers general interest topics with a particular emphasis on national politics. Its broadsheet daily edition is distributed throughout ...
'' in 2005 and 2008 said that Democratic attempts to bring back the fairness doctrine have been made largely in response to conservative
talk radio
Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often featur ...
.
In 1987, Edward O. Fritts, president of the National Association of Broadcasters, in applauding President Reagan's veto of a bill intended to turn the doctrine into law, said that the doctrine is an infringement on free speech and intrudes on broadcasters' journalistic judgment.
In 2007, Senator
Norm Coleman
Norman Bertram Coleman Jr. (born August 17, 1949) is an American politician, attorney, and lobbyist. From 2003 to 2009, he served as a United States Senator for Minnesota. From 1994 to 2002, he was mayor of Saint Paul, Minnesota. First elected ...
(R-
MN) proposed an amendment to a defense
appropriations bill
An appropriation, also known as supply bill or spending bill, is a proposed law that authorizes the expenditure of government funds. It is a bill that sets money aside for specific spending. In some democracies, approval of the legislature is ne ...
that forbade the FCC from "using any funds to adopt a fairness rule." It was blocked, in part on grounds that "the amendment belonged in the
Commerce Committee's jurisdiction."
In the same year, the Broadcaster Freedom Act of 2007 was proposed in the Senate by Senators Coleman with 35 co-sponsors (S.1748) and
John Thune
John Randolph Thune ( ; born January 7, 1961) is an American politician and businessman serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States senator from South Dakota, a seat he has held since 2005, and as the Party leaders ...
(R-SD) with 8 co-sponsors (S.1742) and in the House by Republican Representative
Mike Pence
Michael Richard Pence (born June 7, 1959) is an American politician who served as the 48th vice president of the United States from 2017 to 2021 under President Donald Trump. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 50th ...
(R-
IN) with 208 co-sponsors (H.R. 2905). It provided:
Neither of these measures came to the floor of either house.
On August 12, 2008, FCC Commissioner
Robert M. McDowell
Robert Malcolm McDowell (born June 13, 1963) is a lawyer and lobbyist who served as a commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission from June 1, 2006, to May 17, 2013. He is currently a partner in the law firm Cooley LLP.
Early career
M ...
stated that the reinstitution of the fairness doctrine could be intertwined with the debate over
network neutrality
Network neutrality, often referred to as net neutrality, is the principle that Internet service providers (ISPs) must treat all Internet communications equally, offering users and online content providers consistent rates irrespective of co ...
(a proposal to classify network operators as
common carrier
A common carrier in common law countries (corresponding to a public carrier in some civil law systems,Encyclopædia Britannica CD 2000 "Civil-law public carrier" from "carriage of goods" usually called simply a ''carrier'') is a person or compan ...
s required to admit all Internet services, applications and devices on equal terms), presenting a potential danger that
net neutrality
Network neutrality, often referred to as net neutrality, is the principle that Internet service providers (ISPs) must treat all Internet communications equally, offering users and online content providers consistent rates irrespective of co ...
and fairness doctrine advocates could try to expand content controls to the Internet. It could also include "government dictating content policy". The conservative
Media Research Center
The Media Research Center (MRC), formerly known as Culture and Media Institute (CMI), is an American conservative content analysis and media watchdog group based in Reston, Virginia, and founded in 1987 by L. Brent Bozell III.
The CMI promoted ...
's Culture & Media Institute argued that the three main points supporting the fairness doctrine — media scarcity, liberal viewpoints being censored at a corporate level, and public interest — are all myths.
In June 2008,
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
's press secretary wrote that Obama (then a Democratic U.S. senator from Illinois and candidate for president) did not support it, stating:
On February 16, 2009, Mark Fowler said:
In February 2009, a White House spokesperson said that President Obama continued to oppose the revival of the doctrine.
In the
111th Congress (January 2009 to January 2011), the
Broadcaster Freedom Act of 2009
Broadcaster may refer to:
* A presenter of any syndicated media program
* A broadcasting organization, one responsible for audio and video content and/or their transmission
* A sports commentator on television or radio
* Broadcaster, currently kn ...
(S.34, S.62, H.R.226) was introduced to block reinstatement of the doctrine. On February 26, 2009, by a vote of 87–11, the Senate added that act as an amendment to the
District of Columbia House Voting Rights Act of 2009
Voting rights of citizens in the District of Columbia differ from the rights of citizens in each of the 50 U.S. states. The Constitution grants each state voting representation in both houses of the United States Congress. As the federal cap ...
(S.160), a bill which later passed the Senate 61–37 but not the House of Representatives. The
Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...
reported that the vote on the fairness doctrine
rider was "in part a response to conservative radio talk show hosts who feared that Democrats would try to revive the policy to ensure liberal opinions got equal time." The AP report went on to say that President Obama had no intention of reimposing the doctrine, but Republicans (led by Sen.
Jim DeMint
James Warren DeMint (born September 2, 1951) is an American political advocate, businessman, author, and retired politician who served as a United States Senator from South Carolina and as president of the Heritage Foundation. DeMint is a member ...
, R-
SC) wanted more in the way of a guarantee that the doctrine would not be reimposed.
Suggested alternatives
Media reform organizations such as
Free Press feel that a return to the fairness doctrine is not as important as setting stronger station ownership caps and stronger "public interest" standards enforcement (with funding from fines given to
public broadcasting
Public broadcasting involves radio, television and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service. Public broadcasters receive funding from diverse sources including license fees, individual contributions, public financing ...
).
Public opinion
In an August 13, 2008, telephone poll released by
Rasmussen Reports
Rasmussen Reports is an American polling company founded in 2003. The company engages in political commentary and the collection, publication, and distribution of public opinion polling information. Rasmussen Reports conducts nightly tracking, ...
, 47% of 1,000 likely voters supported a government requirement that broadcasters offer equal amounts of liberal and conservative commentary, while 39% opposed such a requirement. In the same poll, 57% opposed and 31% favored requiring Internet
website
A website (also written as a web site) is a collection of web pages and related content that is identified by a common domain name and published on at least one web server. Examples of notable websites are Google Search, Google, Facebook, Amaz ...
s and
blog
A blog (a truncation of "weblog") is a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries (posts). Posts are typically displayed in reverse chronological order ...
gers that offer political commentary to present opposing points of view. By a margin of 71–20% the respondents agreed that it is "possible for just about any political view to be heard in today's media" (including the Internet, newspapers,
cable TV
Cable television is a system of delivering television programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This contrasts with broadc ...
and
satellite radio
Satellite radio is defined by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU)'s ITU Radio Regulations (RR) as a ''broadcasting-satellite service''. The satellite's signals are broadcast nationwide, across a much wider geographical area than ter ...
), but only half the sample said they had followed recent news stories about the fairness doctrine closely. The
margin of error
The margin of error is a statistic expressing the amount of random sampling error in the results of a survey. The larger the margin of error, the less confidence one should have that a poll result would reflect the result of a census of the ent ...
was 3%, with a 95% confidence interval.
Formal revocation
In June 2011, the chairman and a subcommittee chairman of the
House Energy and Commerce Committee
The Committee on Energy and Commerce is one of the oldest standing committees of the United States House of Representatives. Established in 1795, it has operated continuously—with various name changes and jurisdictional changes—for more than ...
, both Republicans, said that the FCC, in response to their requests, had set a target date of August 2011 for removing the fairness doctrine and other "outdated" regulations from the FCC's rulebook.
[Nagesh, Gautham (June 28, 2011)]
"FCC sets August target for striking Fairness Doctrine"
"Hillicon Valley" blog, '' The Hill'', quoting Republican Representatives Fred Upton
Frederick Stephen Upton (born April 23, 1953) is an American politician serving as a U.S. representative from Michigan since 1987, representing the state's 6th congressional district since 1993. He is a member of the Republican Party. His dist ...
(R-Michigan), chairman of the Energy & Commerce Committee, and Greg Walden
Gregory Paul Walden (born January 10, 1957) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 1999 to 2021. He is a Republican. Walden is the son of three-term Oregon State Representative Paul E. Walden. In October 2019 ...
(R-Oregon), chairman of its Telecommunications Subcommittee.
On August 22, 2011, the FCC voted to remove the rule that implemented the fairness doctrine, along with more than 80 other rules and regulations, from the ''
Federal Register
The ''Federal Register'' (FR or sometimes Fed. Reg.) is the official journal of the federal government of the United States that contains government agency rules, proposed rules, and public notices. It is published every weekday, except on feder ...
'' following an executive order by President Obama directing a "government-wide review of regulations already on the books" to eliminate unnecessary regulations.
See also
*
Right of reply The right of reply or right of correction generally means the right to defend oneself against public criticism in the same venue where it was published. In some countries, such as Brazil, it is a legal or even constitutional right. In other countrie ...
*
False balance
False balance, also bothsidesism, is a media bias in which journalists present an issue as being more balanced between opposing viewpoints than the evidence supports. Journalists may present evidence and arguments out of proportion to the act ...
*
Free speech
Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The rights, right to freedom of expression has been ...
*
Nakdi Report The Nakdi Report ( he, מסמך נקדי, ' ) is a document outlining the ethical guidelines of Israel's broadcasting industry. History
The Nakdi Report was published in 1995 as the Guidelines for Coverage of News and Current Affairs. It is named ...
*
Prior restraint
Prior restraint (also referred to as prior censorship or pre-publication censorship) is censorship imposed, usually by a government or institution, on expression, that prohibits particular instances of expression. It is in contrast to censorship ...
*
Mayflower doctrine
The Mayflower doctrine was a mandate implemented by the U.S. Government Federal Communications Commission (FCC) that required American radio broadcasters to "provide full and equal opportunity for the presentation to the public all sides of public ...
*
Zapple doctrine
The Zapple doctrine pertained to a particular sort of political speech in the United States, for which a candidate or his supporters bought air time but the candidate himself did not actually participate in the broadcast. The content could be suppo ...
* ''
Accurate News and Information Act
The ''Accurate News and Information Act'' (complete title: ''An Act to Ensure the Publication of Accurate News and Information'') was a statute passed by the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, Canada, in 1937, at the instigation of William Aberhar ...
''
References
Further reading
*
*
Pickard, Victor (2014). ''America's Battle for Media Democracy: The Triumph of Corporate Libertarianism and the Future of Media Reform'', Cambridge University Press,
External links
A primer on the Fairness Doctrine and how its absence now affects politics and culture in the media. by Val E. Limburg, from the
Museum of Broadcast Communications
The Museum of Broadcast Communications (MBC) is an American museum, the stated mission of which is "to collect, preserve, and present historic and contemporary radio and television content as well as educate, inform and entertain through our archi ...
Fairness Doctrinefrom ''NOW'' on
PBS
The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...
The Media Cornucopiafrom ''
City Journal
''City Journal'' is a public policy magazine and website, published by the conservative Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, that covers a range of topics on urban affairs, such as policing, education, housing, and other issues. The magazine ...
''
Important legislation for and against the Fairness Doctrinefrom Ceasespin.org
Speech to the Media Institute by FCC Commissioner
Robert M. McDowell
Robert Malcolm McDowell (born June 13, 1963) is a lawyer and lobbyist who served as a commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission from June 1, 2006, to May 17, 2013. He is currently a partner in the law firm Cooley LLP.
Early career
M ...
on January 28, 2009, outlining the likely practical and constitutional challenges of reviving a fairness or neutrality doctrine.
{{Authority control
Censorship of broadcasting in the United States
Federal Communications Commission
Legal doctrines and principles
Legal history of the United States
Net neutrality
United States communications regulation
1949 establishments in the United States
1987 disestablishments in the United States