The Fairness Doctrine issue flared up a few months back when reports that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was talking about a Democratic push to reinstate it, although it is still unclear whether it is a new pledge or the restating of a long-held position. There may be some Democrats talking about reimposing the Fairness Doctrine, but one very important one does not: presidential nominee Barack Obama. The Illinois senator’s top aides say the issue continues to be used as a distraction from more pressing media business.
John McCain has said he would sponsor the “Broadcaster Freedom Act” and Senators Norm Coleman (R) of Minnesota, John Thune (R) of South Dakota, and Jim DeMint (R) of South Carolina seem to favor the measure. This legislation would prevent the FCC from reinstating the ‘Fairness Doctrine’,” McCain declared on his senate Web site, “a regulation that had required broadcasters to present opposing viewpoints on issues of public importance.” The statement claims that the rule, which the FCC abandoned 20 years ago, has had a “chilling affect on free speech.”
The Fairness Doctrine was a policy of the FCC that required the holders of broadcast licenses to present controversial issues of public importance and to do so in a honest, equitable, and balanced manner. The United States Supreme Court has upheld the Commission’s general right to enforce such a policy where channels are limited, but the courts have generally not considered that the FCC is obliged to do so. The FCC has since withdrawn the Fairness Doctrine, prompting some to urge its reintroduction through either Commission policy or Congressional legislation.
