Media-Regulation

Reagan FCC Abolishes Fairness Doctrine in 4-0 Vote, Eliminating Balanced Coverage Requirements for Broadcasters

| Importance: 10/10

FCC Chairman Dennis R. Patrick’s Commission votes 4-0 to abolish the Fairness Doctrine in the Syracuse Peace Council decision, eliminating the 38-year requirement that broadcast licensees using publicly-owned airwaves must provide balanced coverage of controversial issues and present opposing …

Dennis R. Patrick Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Ronald Reagan Mark S. Fowler Mimi Weyforth Dawson +3 more media-regulation fairness-doctrine deregulation fcc regulatory-capture +3 more
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FCC Adopts Seven-Station Rule Limiting Broadcast Ownership to Prevent Media Monopoly and Ensure Viewpoint Diversity

| Importance: 8/10

The Federal Communications Commission formally adopts the “seven-station rule” (Report and Order in Docket No. 8967, 18 F.C.C. 288) establishing that no single entity may own more than seven AM radio stations, seven FM radio stations, and seven television stations nationwide, with the …

Federal Communications Commission (FCC) media-regulation ownership-limits seven-station-rule fcc antitrust +2 more
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FCC Establishes Fairness Doctrine Requiring Broadcasters to Present Balanced Coverage of Controversial Issues

| Importance: 9/10

The Federal Communications Commission adopts the Fairness Doctrine through its “Report on Editorializing by Broadcast Licensees,” establishing a formal regulatory requirement that broadcast license holders must (1) provide adequate coverage of controversial issues of public importance …

Federal Communications Commission (FCC) U.S. Congress media-regulation fairness-doctrine fcc public-interest-standard broadcasting +1 more
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FCC Establishes Television Ownership Limit of Three Stations to Prevent Media Monopoly Concentration

| Importance: 8/10

The Federal Communications Commission imposes the first national ownership restrictions for television stations at the dawn of the television industry, limiting any single entity from owning, operating, or controlling more than three television stations nationwide. The rule implements the …

Federal Communications Commission (FCC) media-regulation ownership-limits fcc television antitrust +1 more
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Communications Act of 1934 Creates FCC and Consolidates Federal Media Regulation Under Public Interest Standard

| Importance: 9/10

President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs the Communications Act of 1934 (Chapter 5 of Title 47 U.S. Code), replacing the Federal Radio Commission with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and consolidating federal regulation of all interstate and foreign communications including radio, …

Franklin D. Roosevelt U.S. Congress Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Federal Radio Commission media-regulation fcc public-interest-standard new-deal communications-policy +1 more
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Radio Act of 1927 Establishes Public Ownership of Airwaves and "Public Interest" Broadcasting Standard

| Importance: 9/10

President Calvin Coolidge signs the Radio Act of 1927 (Public Law 632, 69th Congress), establishing the foundational principle that radio spectrum frequencies are publicly owned natural resources held in trust by the federal government for the American people. The legislation creates the Federal …

Calvin Coolidge Clarence Dill Wallace H. White Jr. Federal Radio Commission U.S. Congress media-regulation public-airwaves fcc broadcasting public-interest-standard +1 more
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