Fairness Doctrine

The fairness doctrine was first implemented by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in 1949 in a proceeding titled: In the Matter of Editorializing by Broadcast Licensees and would be commodified into the Communications Act in 1959. The fairness doctrine itself was a direct response to the broadcaster concerns over the editorial ban implemented in 1941 as part of the Mayflower decision and the FCC’s Blue Book.

Functionally, the fairness doctrine required that broadcast licensees carry information about issues of public concern and balance the presentation of those issues. While often confused with the equal time requirements for political advertising in Section 315 of the Communications Act, the fairness doctrine was a separate provision and did not grant equal time to parties.

The fairness doctrine was expanded in ...