Page 26 - Cultural Studies A Practical Introduction

10 Policy and Industry

The doctrine was eliminated in 1987 by conservatives who argued
that the doctrine restricted free speech. They claimed broadcasters
were afraid to air controversial material for fear of losing their license.
Do you think the doctrine fostered or restricted the discussion of

controversial material? Can you find any evidence to support your
position?
Consider the following evidence that the absence of regulation
(such as the Fairness Doctrine) on controversial issues actually leads
to a limiting of viewpoints. Of 432 stations that had sold advertising
time to one side of a ballot issue while the doctrine was still in force,
31 percent initially refused to accept that they had an obligation to
present an opposed view; 44 percent of that group still refused to
broadcast the opposed viewpoint once informed of their obligation.
In other words, without an authority to make them represent all sides
of a controversy, the side without the wherewithal to buy airtime
would be underrepresented. The absence of the doctrine would in
fact chill free speech because it allowed money, not ideas, to deter-
mine the outcome of public debate. Not all broadcasters were reluc-
tant to air opposing viewpoints to those willing to pay. All of those
who did accept the obligation of the fairness doctrine, on the other
hand, did air opposing positions. Non - enforcement, in combination
with changing market conditions fostered by deregulation, would
seem to limit controversy.
Has the elimination of the doctrine made any difference?
Has access to the media by small, less powerful, or marginalized
groups or voices decreased? The conservative side of the political
spectrum is quite powerful in America, and it accounts for a major
portion of the owners of the large media outlets such as Fox News,
whose Rupert Murdoch is a famous conservative. Have right - wing
voices in the mass media increased as a result of the elimination of
the doctrine? And has access by left - wing points of view decreased
– at least in the mainstream mass media such as television network
news? In 1990, there were just 100 conservative talk radio shows; by
2003, there were 1,350. Did the elimination of the Fairness Doctrine
play a role, do you think, in this development?
Is television news any different now than it was, say, 40 or 50 years
ago when the doctrine was in force? The doctrine prevented the