Looming battles in Britain

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapter (Book)Researchpeer-review

Abstract

What guarantees the fairness of broadcast news—government regulation or a commercial marketplace of ideas? In the United States, the death of the Fairness Doctrine in 1987 ended four decades of regulation requiring broadcasters to address controversial public issues and cover them in ways that reflect contrasting viewpoints. Opponents of the Fairness Doctrine prevailed by arguing that it violated the First Amendment, that the marketplace provided a better guarantee of fairness than the Federal Communications Commission, and that the problem of spectrum scarcity, which limited the number of voices with access to the airwaves, had been removed by the widespread supply of local and national news through cable and satellite channels.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationWhat's Fair?
Subtitle of host publicationThe Problem of Equity in Journalism
PublisherTaylor & Francis
Pages85-90
Number of pages6
Edition1st
ISBN (Electronic)9781351299398
ISBN (Print)0765806169, 9781351299404
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1998
Externally publishedYes

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