LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Fairness Doctrine: Broadcasters
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The Fairness Doctrine was an FCC regulation which required all licensed broadcasters to present all sides of an issue as being of equal merit. It came into existence in 1949 because everyone was frightened of communists. It was justified, though clearly Unconstitutional, because the public airwaves were a limited, governmentally controlled resource. The Fairness Doctrine died in 1987.
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Created by the FCC in 1949, the Fairness Doctrine was a set of rules based on the idea that the airwaves were in scarce supply and were owned by the public, with TV and radio stations functioning as "public trustees." As such, the FCC required that broadcasters provide a reasonable opportunity for "ample play for the free and fair competition of opposing views … [for all] issues of importance to the public."
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Opponents of the Fairness Doctrine have included New York Governor Mario Cuomo, and broadcaster Rush Limbaugh. Cuomo argued that, "Precisely because radio and TV have become our principal sources of news and information, we should accord broadcasters the utmost freedom in order to insure a truly free press." Limbaugh argued that there should be no government fairness standards on broadcasters, since there are none on the print press.
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States the site: "The Fairness Doctrine is fundamentally about making sure broadcasters uphold the social contract they have made in exchange for the free use of billions of dollars worth of the public airwaves. The first provision in the doctrine requires broadcasters to cover important issues. The second provision calls for balance. It's hard to argue against the people's right to be informed about important debates and to hear all points of view.
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[T]imes change, and the Fairness Doctrine fell out of fashion. Some civil libertarians claimed it violated the First Amendment; because, among other things, it meant that the government was substituting its judgment for that of broadcasters, particularly broadcast journalists. Some even argued the Fairness Doctrine was actually counter-productive, because radio and television stations were avoiding airing controversial issues for fear of running afoul of the FCC. Rather than attempt to seek out contrasting points of view, this argument went, broadcasters would simply avoid subjects altogether. Civil liberties advocates call that a “chilling effect.”
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The Fairness Doctrine was repealed in the mid-1980s. Originally, it was put in place when the only national broadcast influence was controlled by the three major networks in an attempt to ensure that opposing views on controversial subjects were aired. It had the effect... of discouraging broadcasters from airing controversial issues to sidestep running afoul of the regulation.
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