"Fairness" doctrine -- on the way out?
Michael C. Berch
old warhorse whose time has long since past, may finally be on the way out.
A wire-service story in this morning's paper noted that a three-judge
panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit held that the
doctrine is not a part of Federal law (i.e., the Communications Act
amended in 1959) but is merely an agency regulation. This may make it
possible for the FCC to drop the requirement, since its chairman Mark
Fowler has often spoken out against the doctrine as refers to it as
"misguided public policy".
The decision was rendered by a 2-1 vote. The majority judges were,
notably, Robert Bork, the conservative former Solicitor General, and
Antonin Scalia, who has just been confirmed as an associate justice of
the Supreme Court. Bork's name is often brought up in connection with
Supreme Court appointments, and some insiders think he might get the
next vacancy.
The court also upheld FCC regulations permitting teletext operators to
omit all political candidate material entirely. The wire service
reporter seemed to think this was curious, but I think it's clear that
the majority judges are simply in favor of removing government
interference in what broadcasters can or cannot do. While I certainly
don't agree with JJ. Bork and Scalia all the time, I think these two
decisions help wrest control of the electronic media from Big
Government -- and that's a good idea.
Michael C. Berch
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