Once upon a time in American Journalism, there was a rule that required television reporters to give "equal time" to both sides of an issue. If a news reporter gave ten minutes of time to the left side of a story, he or she had to give ten minutes of time to the right side of the story as well. The same was true, in a way, for newspaper reporters: newspaper reporters had to write and give equal say to both sides of whatever story they were writing. If they quoted someone in favor of an issue, they needed to quote (or at least demonstrate the attempt to get a quote) from someone who was against the issue. This rule was called the Fairness Doctrine.

History of the Fairness Doctrine

The Fairness Doctrine was first introduced in the United States in the year 1949. However, it took until 1967 for the doctrine to be adopted by the Federal Communications Commission as a regulation and not be applied to stories on a case by case basis. Seven years later, the FCC said that Congress had given it the power to give access to people who wanted to express their views via the airwaves on issues that could be of a controversial nature but that they hadn't had to assert their authority on the issue because most broadcasters already followed the general tenets of the Doctrine because they were obliged to do so under journalist ethic views.

In 1969, the Fairness Doctrine was upheld by the United States Supreme Court in the Red Lion Broadcasting Company versus the FCC when there were allegations that someone was not given the opportunity to respond to a personal attack that happened during a Christian Radio broadcast.

There are laws similar to the Fairness Doctrine—like the Equal Time law which applies to political candidates.

The Fairness Doctrine has been opposed by a number of individuals and groups since its inception. These groups claim that the doctrine infringes upon the first amendment and inserts governmental authority into areas where the government might not belong. Some feel that the Fairness Doctrine infringed on the rights of the people who were featured in interviews, etc.

Under the Reagan administration, various sections of the Fairness Doctrine began being repealed, allowing journalists more freedom in their reporting. The Reagan administration asserted that the Fairness Doctrine violated the First Amendment. Later, most of the act was abolished in a vote that went 4-0 by the Syracuse Peace Council and was upheld by the Appeals Court in D.C. in 1989.

A variety of attempts have been made by journalists and individuals alike to revive the doctrine but legislation was vetoed by Ronald Reagan and George H W Bush threatened to veto it as well.

Over time other types of rules similar to the Fairness Doctrine have been introduced but haven't gotten very far. Journalists feel that they can remain responsible for their own ethics without governmental interference and some people feel that if a person wants equal time or a chance to give their say on an issue then they should find a way to make that happen. What do you think?

Interesting links:

Journalists Micro Blog

News Micro Blog

Newspaper Micro Blog

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