The Fairness Doctrine was a United States FCC regulation requiring broadcast licensees to present controversial issues of public importance in a manner deemed by the FCC to be honest, equitable and balanced. The doctrine has since been withdrawn by the FCC, and certain aspects of the doctrine have been questioned by courts.^[1] FCC redirects here. ... Broadcasting is the distribution of audio and/or video signals which transmit programs to an audience. ...

Overview

The Fairness Doctrine was introduced in an atmosphere of anti-Communist sentiment in the U.S. in 1949 (Report on Editorializing by Broadcast Licensees, 13 F.C.C. 1246 [1949]). 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. ^[2] Pro-communism refers to opposition to baby eating. ...

In Red Lion Broadcasting Co. v. FCC, 395 U.S. 367 (1969), the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the Fairness Doctrine in a case of an on-air personal attack, in response to challenges that it violated the First Amendment. The case began when journalist Fred J. Cook, after his publication of Goldwater: Extremist of the Right was the topic of discussion by Billy James Hargis on his daily Christian Crusade radio broadcast on WGCB in Red Lion, PA. Mr. Cook sued arguing that the FCC’s fairness doctrine entitled him to free air time to respond to the personal attacks. ^[3] Holding The First Amendment permits federal agency to formulate rules to allow persons defamed or potentially defamed access to equal time to respond and fairness standard for editorial speech by broadcast radio stations. ... // The United States Reports, the official reporter of the Supreme Court of the United States Case citation is the system used in common law countries such as the United States, England and Wales, Ireland, Canada, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Australia and India to uniquely identify the location of past court... Also: 1969 (Stargate SG-1) episode. ... Federal courts Supreme Court Circuit Courts of Appeal District Courts Elections Presidential elections Midterm elections Political Parties Democratic Republican Third parties State & Local government Governors Legislatures (List) State Courts Local Government Other countries Atlas  US Government Portal      The Supreme Court of the United States (sometimes colloquially referred to by the... The first ten Amendments to the U.S. Constitution make up the Bill of Rights. ... Fred J. Cook {March 8, 1911–April 4, 2003) was an investigative journalist whose career spanned from the 1950s to the late 1970s. ... Billy James Hargis (August 3, 1925, Texarkana, Texas - November 29, 2004, Tulsa, Oklahoma) was a far-right-wing Protestant Christian evangelist who, it could be argued, was one of the founding fathers of the Christian Right. ...

Although similar laws had been called unconstitutional when applied to the press, the Court cited a Senate report (S. Rep. No. 562, 86th Cong., 1st Sess., 8-9 [1884]) stating that radio stations could be regulated in this way due to the limited spectrum of the public airwaves.^[4] Type Upper House President of the Senate Richard B. Cheney, R since January 20, 2001 President pro tempore Robert C. Byrd, D since January 4, 2007 Members 100 Political groups Democratic Party Republican Party Last elections November 7, 2006 Meeting place Senate Chamber United States Capitol Washington, DC United States...

However, in the case of Miami Herald Publishing Co. v. Tornillo, 418 U.S. 241 (1974), Chief Justice Warren Burger wrote (for a unanimous court), "Government-enforced right of access inescapably dampens the vigor and limits the variety of public debate." This decision differs from the previous in that it applies to a newspaper, where there is no limit on the number of possible newspapers. Holding The Court overturned a Florida state law requiring newspapers to allow equal access to political candidates in the case of a political editorial or endorsement content. ... Federal courts Supreme Court Circuit Courts of Appeal District Courts Elections Presidential elections Midterm elections Political Parties Democratic Republican Third parties State & Local government Governors Legislatures (List) State Courts Local Government Other countries Atlas  Politics Portal      The Chief Justice of the United States is the head of the judicial branch... Warren Burger at a press conference in May 1969 shortly after he was nominated to be Chief Justice of the United States. ...

Supreme Court 1969 decision

• "A license permits broadcasting, but the licensee has no constitutional right to be the one who holds the license or to monopolize a... frequency to the exclusion of his fellow citizens. There is nothing in the First Amendment which prevents the Government from requiring a licensee to share his frequency with others.... It is the right of the viewers and listeners, not the right of the broadcasters, which is paramount."

U.S. Supreme Court, upholding the constitutionality of the Fairness Doctrine in Red Lion Broadcasting Co. v. FCC, 1969.^[5]

The Court warned that if the doctrine ever restrained speech, then its constitutionality should be reconsidered. Without ruling the doctrine unconstitutional, the Court also concluded in a subsequent case (Miami Herald Publishing Co. v. Tornillo, 418 U.S. 241) that the doctrine "inescapably dampens the vigor and limits the variety of public debate."

Partisan Use

The fairness doctrine has been used by various administrations to harass political opponents on the radio. Bill Ruder, Assistant Secretary of Commerce in the Kennedy administration, acknowledged that "Our massive strategy [in the early 1960s] 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." ^[6] Former Kennedy FCC staffer Martin Firestone wrote a memo to the Democratic National Committee on strategies to combat small rural radio stations unfriendly to Democrats: William Bill Ruder is an American public relations executive and co-founder of Ruder Finn with David Finn. ... Former Vermont Governor Dr. Howard Dean is the current Chairman of the DNC. The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is the principal campaign and fund-raising organization affiliated with the United States Democratic Party. ...

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. ^[7]

Democratic Party operatives were deeply involved in the Red Lion case since the start of the litigation. Wayne Phillips, a Democratic National Committee 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”.^[8] Former Vermont Governor Dr. Howard Dean is the current Chairman of the DNC. The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is the principal campaign and fund-raising organization affiliated with the United States Democratic Party. ...

End of Fairness Doctrine

In 1984, the Supreme Court decided that the scarcity rationale underlying the doctrine did not apply to expanding communications technologies, and that the doctrine was limiting the breadth of public debate (FCC v. League of Women Voters, 468 U.S. 364)^[9]. The Court's majority decision by William J. Brennan, Jr. noted concerns that the Fairness Doctrine was "chilling speech," and added that the Supreme Court would be "forced" to revisit the constitutionality of the doctrine if it did have "the net effect of reducing rather than enhancing speech." William Joseph Brennan, Jr. ...

Under FCC Chairman Mark S. Fowler, a communications attorney who had served on Ronald Reagan's campaign staff in 1976 and 1980, the commission began to repeal parts of the Fairness Doctrine, announcing in 1985 that the doctrine hurt the public interest and violated the First Amendment. Mark S. Fowler served as Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission from May 18, 1981 to April 17, 1987. ... This article is about the year. ... “First Amendment” redirects here. ...

In one landmark case, the FCC argued that teletext 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 (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, Appeals Court Judges Robert Bork and Antonin Scalia 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, the courts declared that Congress did not mandate the doctrine and the FCC did not have to continue to enforce it. Year 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link displays 1986 Gregorian calendar). ... Robert Heron Bork (born March 1, 1927) is a conservative American legal scholar who advocates the judicial philosophy of originalism. ... Antonin Gregory Scalia (born March 11, 1936[1]) is an American jurist and the second most senior Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. ... A BBC Ceefax page from January 9, 2007. ... Meredith Corporation NYSE: MDP is based in Des Moines, Iowa. ...

In August 1987, the FCC abolished the doctrine by a 4-0 vote, in the Syracuse Peace Council decision. The FCC stated, "the intrusion by government into the content of programming occasioned by the enforcement of [the Fairness Doctrine] restricts the journalistic freedom of broadcasters ... [and] actually inhibits the presentation of controversial issues of public importance to the detriment of the public and the degradation of the editorial prerogative of broadcast journalists," and suggested that, due to the many media voices in the marketplace, the doctrine be deemed unconstitutional. Year 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link displays 1987 Gregorian calendar). ...

Reaction

In June 1987, Congress had attempted to preempt the FCC decision and codify the Fairness Doctrine (S. 742, 100th Cong., 1st Sess. (1987)), but the legislation was vetoed by President Ronald Reagan. Another attempt to revive the doctrine in 1991 ran out of steam when President George H.W. Bush threatened another veto.^[10] Year 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link displays 1987 Gregorian calendar). ... Reagan redirects here. ... Year 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the 1991 Gregorian calendar). ... Order: 41st President Vice President: Dan Quayle Term of office: January 20, 1989 – January 20, 1993 Preceded by: Ronald Reagan Succeeded by: Bill Clinton Date of birth: June 12, 1924 Place of birth: Milton, Massachusetts First Lady: Barbara Pierce Bush Political party: Republican George Herbert Walker Bush, KBE (born...

Two corollary rules of the doctrine, i.e., the "personal attack" rule 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. Year 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full 2000 Gregorian calendar). ...

The U.S. Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit, 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, and ultimately ordered their repeal in 2000.

Controversy over claims of revival

There is an ongoing controversy about the possibility of reviving the Fairness Doctrine.

Bryon York of the National Review has written that Media Matters for America announced a campaign to reimpose the Fairness Doctrine as early as October 2004.^{[citation needed]} Senator Richard Durbin has been quoted as saying "“It’s time to reinstitute the Fairness Doctrine.”[2] And a YouTube clip shows Senator John Kerry apparently responding to a question with "Well, I think the Fairness Doctrine ought to be there, and also I think the Equal Time doctrine ought to come back. One of the most profound changes in the balance of the media is when the conservatives got rid of the equal time requirements. And the result is they've been able to squeeze down and squeeze out opinion and opposing views..." [3]. The clip is then cut off and the question and other circumstances are not identified. National Review (NR) is a biweekly magazine of political opinion, founded by author William F. Buckley, Jr. ... Screenshot from Media Matters for America (Jan 6, 2006) Media Matters for America (or MMfA) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded in 2004 by journalist and author David Brock. ... Richard Joseph Dick Durbin, (born November 21, 1944) is currently the senior United States Senator from Illinois and Democratic Whip, the second highest position in the party leadership in the Senate. ... YouTube is a popular video sharing website where users can upload, view and share video clips. ... John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is the junior United States Senator from Massachusetts, in his fourth term of office. ...

In contrast, Alex Koppelman of Salon.com said that "those who could realistically be the catalysts for such legislation don't seem to have much interest."^[11] The spokesman for Senate majority leader Harry Reid stated for the record:"I'm not aware that there's any kind of debate about the Fairness Doctrine ... [Sen. Reid] is not contemplating anything like that. It truly is not on his radar screen."^[11] Salon. ... Harry Mason Reid (born December 2, 1939) is the senior United States Senator from Nevada and a member of the Democratic Party. ...

Legislation

In the 109th Congress, Representative Maurice Hinchey introduce legislation "to restore the Fairness Doctrine". H.R. 3302, also known as the "Media Ownership Reform Act" or MORA, had 16 co-sponsors incongress.^[12] Maurice Dunlea Hinchey (born October 27, 1938), is an American politician. ...

In the 110th Congress, no legislation to restore the Fairness Doctrine has been introduced. ^{[citation needed]} Senator Norm Coleman (R-MN) proposed an amendment to a defense appropriations bill that forbade the FCC from "using any funds to adopt a fairness rule."^[13]. It was blocked, in part on grounds that "the amendment belonged in the Commerce Committee’s jurisdiction". See Norman Jay Coleman for the former secretary of Agriculture. ...

References

Fred W. Friendly Fred W. Friendly (October 30, 1915 – March 3, 1998) was the former president of CBS News and the creator, with Edward R. Murrow, of the documentary television program See It Now. ... // Random House is a publishing house based in New York City. ... // Random House is a publishing house based in New York City. ... // Random House is a publishing house based in New York City. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 124th day of the year (125th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... The Associated Press, or AP, is an American news agency, the worlds largest such organization. ...

External links

• Fairness Doctrine from the Museum of Broadcast Communications
• Fairness Doctrine from NOW on PBS
• The Media Cornucopia from The City Journal
• Fixing the Fairness Doctrine - A modest technology proposal Writer and Blogger Mike Wallach offers a topical commentary on the Fairness Doctrine.

The Museum of Broadcast Communications is located in Chicago, Illinois. ...

See also

• Equal-time rule
• Free speech
• Prior restraint