Media Bias, Explained

How a Repeal of the Fairness Doctrine Changed American News

Religion and politics, we all have our thoughts on both and it’s hard to completely keep those thoughts to yourself. This becomes especially difficult in a social setting, yet, I’ve found more often than not, people have awareness that these are sensitive topics and tread lightly for the sake of keeping the peace. I experienced this first hand at a party I recently attended this past weekend. Speaking with multiple people from varying social, economic and ethnic backgrounds, we were able to discuss the state of the country and our disappointment about certain things while expressing hope for the future. One of the main topics of discussion centered around the news. More than once, I was asked, “where do I find the actual news,” or “why is the news so biased one way or the other, I don’t get it.” As I’ve found with most things, let’s look to history to help provide us with the truth. 

We’ll need to head back to the time of FDR and one of the many agencies put in place during his Presidency. The Federal Communication Commission or FCC was founded in 1934 as part of the Communications Act. Per the FCC website: 

The Federal Communications Commission regulates interstate and international communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and U.S. territories. An independent U.S. government agency overseen by Congress, the Commission is the federal agency responsible for implementing and enforcing America’s communications law and regulations.

As you would imagine, the FCC has rules and laws in place that provide parameters for all those under their authority to better understand what they can and cannot do, say or present to the American public. One of those laws that was in place was called the Fairness Doctrine. The Fairness Doctrine was established in 1949 and it “mandated broadcast networks devote time to contrasting views on issues of public importance1”. By the 1970’s, Congress referred to it as the ,”single most important requirement of operation in the public interest1.” The law was originally put in place due to a fear that the Big 3 networks (NBC, ABC and CBS) would use their power against the public good. Keep in mind, this is back before cable so these networks controlled the news and radio/television programming within the United States. 

In 1985, under the Reagan administration, FCC chairman Mark Fowler (a Republican lawyer) argued that the law should be repealed due to first amendment/free speech concerns. The FCC officially repealed the law in 1987, the Democratic majority congress attempted to pass a bill keeping all or part of the law in place but Reagan vetoed congress, siding with the FCC. 

Think about this given our current media landscape, one which is now dominated by left leaning, liberal and/or progressive ideals. A Democratic majority congress attempted to thwart the efforts of a Republican president to remove the guard rails put in place to allow for fair, ethical and unbiased reporting. Funny enough, members of Reagan’s own cabinet thought the repeal was a bad idea as, in their mind, the law was the only thing protecting the president from being lambasted in the press. He supported it anyway, more than likely under the guise of free speech as Fowler had originally argued. 

It’s hard to think Fowler, Reagan or anyone else who supported the bill would’ve imagined the world we live in today and how that has impacted the news provided to the American public. What were once fact based broadcasts and newspapers designed to inform have increasingly been replaced with opinion pieces designed to incite emotion. Cable outlets providing you with the “news” are nothing more than reality TV shows while newspapers are holding on for dear life and becoming more irrelevant by the day. It’s hard to blame the producers and creators of these shows, they’re simply trying to survive and be seen through all the noise. No one at MSNBC is going to apologize for trashing Donald Trump on a daily basis, just like no one on Fox News will apologize for praising him. Each of these outlets understands their audience and they’ve worked hard to curate them, the last thing they’re going to do is find a way to lose them. Are you listening Anheuser Busch executives? First rule of marketing, know your audience, they’re learning that the hard way. 

Where does this leave us? Where can you get real news? I’m inclined to simply speak to my neighbors, friends and relatives. I talked about this in my previous article (My Path to Understanding Woke-ism) but conversations are crucial to our understanding of each other and society as a whole. If the pandemic and all the rules put in place against us and our freedoms have taught us anything, I hope it’s taught us that we’re all in this thing together. Definitely listen to the news and attempt to become educated, but make sure you do so with a healthy dose of skepticism. Look at the story from both sides of the aisle and attempt to get to the truth, it’s normally lying around in the gray, where it’s not that hard to find if you’re willing to look. Stop getting mad at different outlets for pandering to one side or the other, they won’t change until you or their audience stops watching. Again, it’s not news, it’s a TV show and/or digital magazine designed to get the highest ratings and number of readers possible. 

The next time you get upset at the media bias in America, just remember, we have both Democrats and Republicans to thank. FDR created the FCC which was the vehicle used to repeal the Fairness Doctrine by a Republican lawyer and a Republican president. Crazy right? As John Adams once said, “Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passion, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.” My friends, I give you the historical facts on why the American media is a shell of its former self. 

Blame FDR, blame Reagan but don’t blame the networks or other news outlets, they were empowered to provide you with their opinions rather than the news. How you form your own opinion now that you’re armed with this information, is wholly and completely up to you. You can start by using the freedoms we still have to lend a voice to those who don’t have one, or, you can just keep yelling at the TV, I’ll let you decide which is more constructive. 

1. Reagan Library, reaganlibrary.gov, https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/archives/topic-guide/fairness-doctrine#:~:text=The%20Fairness%20Doctrine%2C%20enforced%20by,set%20a%20biased%20public%20agenda.