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Books
Luis Palau
The Fairness Doctrine
To bring you up to speed on this controversial issue that the Democrats so artfully call the “Fairness Doctrine” (an interesting title much like the serpent in the Garden so subtly misrepresented the mandate of God to Eve). This is a policy that had been in force throughout most of the era of the FCC which was established in 1934 by an act of Congress. The Fairness Doctrine was a “regulation” of the FCC to require Broadcast licensees to present controversial issues of public importance in an a) honest, b) equal, and c) balanced manner. Let me pause here to state that the FCC like the IRS establishes “regulations” in order to effectuate their interpretation of the law and good public policy. Regulations are not laws and can be challenged on the basis that they are not in conformity with the law. I have done this myself in the context of the IRS only to initially lose but eventually be vindicated in the Federal Court of Appeals that the particular IRS regulation did not serve the purpose of the IRS Code but hindered it.
In the same matter the FCC voted in 1987 on a 4-0 ruling to overturn the long standing “Fairness Doctrine” on the basis that the regulation had grown to inhibit rather than enhance debate. This position of the FCC followed a 1986 DC Appeals Court ruling that stated that Congress never made the so called doctrine a “binding requirement” of the FCC. This decision is understood to be operative and accepted by all sides of this issue.
The Conservatives considered this FCC ruling a victory and opening in the otherwise Liberal Domination of other media outlets such as Newspapers, Cable New, Network News and Read more