VIDEO Crying Foul over Fairness

The Congress shall have Power . . . To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts ARTICLE I SECTION 8 VIDEO Crying Foul over Fairness Should the Government require that broadcasting be balanced?

Readers with a beef against their local newspaper usually have little recourse other than writing an angry letter to the editor. But people with complaints about their local TV or radio station have a powerful ally in their corner: the Federal Government. Every broadcast station in the country must abide by the fairness doctrine, a Federal Communications Commission rule that requires broadcasters to air contrasting views on controversial public issues. A station that runs an editorial opposing nuclear power, for instance, must give the pronuclear side a chance to express its views. If the station fails to do so, it risks...

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