POL 10100 Lecture Notes - Lecture 15: Fairness Doctrine, Federal Communications Commission
11 Dec 2016
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Criticized for being bias: only showing flashy stories, not adequately informing the public, increase distrust of government. Newspapers and magazines: historically most informative, wire services compensate for losses in interest, employment. Television broadcast news and cable television: major source of political information, cbs nbc abc fox cnn, lack of depth. Radio: more segregated audiences, political talk shows. All newspapers and broadcast sources offer websites: additional information. Immediately cover events instead of waiting for next publication or broadcast. More opportunities for interaction between citizens and reporters and citizens and government officials: real time interaction. Lower the bar for citizens becoming involved in political involvement. Regulating the media: communication transmitted over airways, consider airways public property, created by 1934 communications acts. Fairness doctrine- 1940 requires broadcasting station to provide more than one political point of view: revoked in 1987. Equal time provision- give all candidates equal air time outside of scheduled news program. Telecommunications act- 1996 relax restrictions on content and ownership.
