FCC Record, Volume 2, No. 17, Pages 5002 to 5398, August 17 - August 28, 1987 Page: 5,043
This book is part of the collection entitled: Federal Communications Commission Record and was provided to UNT Digital Library by the UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.
- Highlighting
- Highlighting On/Off
- Color:
- Adjust Image
- Rotate Left
- Rotate Right
- Brightness, Contrast, etc. (Experimental)
- Cropping Tool
- Download Sizes
- Preview all sizes/dimensions or...
- Download Thumbnail
- Download Small
- Download Medium
- Download Large
- High Resolution Files
- IIIF Image JSON
- IIIF Image URL
- Accessibility
- View Extracted Text
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
2 FCC Rcd Vol. 17
Federal Communications Commission Record
Before the
Federal Communications Commission
Washington, D.C. 20554
In re Complaint of
Syracuse Peace Council
against
Television Station WTVH
Syracuse, New York
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORD]
Adopted: August 4, 1987; Released: Aug
By the Commission:
TABLE OF CONTENTS
I. INTRODUCTIONII. BACKGROUND 3
A. 1985 Fairness Report 3
B. History of this Proceeding 7
1. Syracuse Peace Council v. Television Station WTVH 7
2. Meredith Corp. v. FCC 11
3. Comments on Remand 13
III. DISCUSSION 17
A. Scope of this Proceeding
Procedural Issues 17
1. Discussion of Policy and Constitutional Issues 17
2. Consideration of the Doctrine on its Face 27
B. Constitutional Considerations Under Red Lion 36
1. Red Lion Broadcasting v. FCC 37
2. Application of the Red Lion Standard 39
(a) Chilling Effect of the Doctrine 42
(b) The Extent and Necessity of Government
Intervention into Editorial Discretion 52
(c) Conclusion 58
C. Preferred Constitutional Approach 62
1. Basis for Reconsidering Red Lion 66
2. The Scarcity Rationale 73
3. Divergence of Red Lion from Traditional
First Amendment Precepts 83
4. First Amendment Standard Applicable to the Press 95
IV. CONCLUSION 98
I. INTRODUCTION
1. In Meredith Corp. v. FCC, 1 the United States Court
of Appeals remanded this case to the Commission for
further consideration of our decision, in this adjudication,
to enforce the fairness doctrine 2 against station WTVH. 3The court found that the Commission. on the basis of the
evidence of record, had properly concluded that the station
failed to satisfy the requirements of the fairness doctrine.
It determined, however, that the Commission had
acted arbitrarily and capriciously in not considering
WTVH's contentions that the enforcement of the doctrine
deprived the station of its constitutional rights.
2. Pursuant to the court's Order. we reopened this
proceeding in order to consider the constitutional and
public interest issues raised by WTVH. 4 In light of "the
general importance of the issues in this particular case," 5
we published a notice in the Federal Register inviting
comment from interested members of the public as well as
from the parties to this adjudication. As explained more
fully below, based upon this record, our experience in
ER administering the fairness doctrine, fundamental constitutional
principles, and the findings contained in our corn;ust
6, 1987 prehensive 1985 Fairness Report, 6 we conclude that the
fairness doctrine, on its face, violates the First Amendment
and contravenes the public interest. Accordingly, we
shall grant reconsideration of our earlier determinations in
this proceeding, and our previous orders in this proceeding
are hereby vacated. Any formal determination that
WTVH failed to comply with the requirements of the
Paragraph fairness doctrine can no longer be used against WTVH in
any subsequent renewal proceedings or in any other context.II. BACKGROUND
A. 1985 FAIRNESS REPORT
3. As the Court noted in Meredith Corp. v. FCC, the
Commission recently conducted "a comprehensive reexamination
of the public policy and constitutional implications
of the fairness doctrine." 8 During the course of that
proceeding, the Commission considered more than one
hundred formal comments and reply comments, hundreds
of informal submissions, and oral arguments presented in
two full days of hearings. The inquiry culminated in the
1985 Fairness Report released by the Commission on August
23, 1985. 9 Because we believe that the determinations
made in the 1985 Fairness Report are directly relevant to
the issues on remand, in this section we shall briefly
summarize the major conclusions of that Report before
describing the history of this proceeding.
4. Based upon compelling evidence of record, the Commission,
in its 1985 Fairness Report, concluded that the
fairness doctrine disserved the public interest. Evaluating
the explosive growth in the number and types of information
sources available in the marketplace, the Commission
found that the public has "access to a multitude of
viewpoints without the need or danger of regulatory intervention."
10 The Commission also determined that the
fairness doctrine "chills" speech, finding that "in stark
contravention of its purpose, [the doctrine] operates as a
pervasive and significant impediment to the broadcasting
of controversial issues of public importance." " In addition,
the agency found that its enforcement of the doctrine
acts to inhibit the expression of unpopular opinion; 12 it
places the government in the intrusive role of scrutinizing
program content; 13 it creates the opportunity for abuse
for partisan political purposes; 14 and it imposes unnec-
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This book can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Matching Search Results
View 11 pages within this book that match your search.Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Book.
United States. Federal Communications Commission. FCC Record, Volume 2, No. 17, Pages 5002 to 5398, August 17 - August 28, 1987, book, August 1987; Washington D.C.. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1594/m1/48/?q=wtvh: accessed March 29, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.