In the Public Interest: The Proliferation of Opinion-based T.V. News Content and the FCC’s Ability to Regulate Post-Fairness Doctrine

Abstract

The Capitol Insurrection of January 6, 2021 has renewed discussions about ways our institutions can curb the spread of disinformation. One of these institutions being re-examined is the Fourth Estate, the press. Freedom of the Press was written into the Constitution because our framers understood that a well-informed electorate was imperative to the functioning of a democratic society, where the government is accountable to the people. But what happens to a democracy when the electorate doesn’t trust the press? When the electorate can no longer differentiate between fact and opinion? When news is labeled as “fake”? This Note sets out to analyze ways in which the FCC has in the past assisted the public in sifting through the deluge of information that flows from television screens. While the print media is largely free from regulation, the history of telecommunications media tells a different story. From its inception, the broadcast industry has always been tightly regulated by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). This is likely because of broadcasters’ ability to reach the most people and because the barriers to entry into the broadcast industry are high. One way the FCC has historically regulated broadcast media is through licensing. Licensing allows broadcasters to operate a radio or television station should there be availability on the broadcast spectrum, and should they show that their programming was in the public interest, convenience, or necessity. This note does not suggest that a government commission such as the FCC should implement news reporting content standards for television news, but it does explore the government’s capabilities and the shortcomings when it comes to the regulation of television news. This note suggests that moving forward, the answer to the proliferation of opinion-based T.V. news both relies on principles from the Fairness Doctrine, yet also might lie outside the bounds of FCC regulation.