Enemy of the People: The Ghost of the F.C.C. Fairness Doctrine in the Age of Alternative Facts

<p>The<span> </span>FCC<span> </span>Fairness<span> </span>Doctrine<span> </span>required<span> </span>that<span> </span>all<span> </span>major<span> </span>broadcasting<span> </span>outlets spend equal time covering both sides of all controversial issues of national importance.<span> </span>The<span> </span>Fairness<span> </span>Doctrine<span> </span>remained<span> </span>the<span> </span>standard<span> </span>for<span> </span>decades<span> </span>before it stopped being enforced during the Reagan administration, and was removed<span> </span>from<span> </span>the<span> </span>Federal<span> </span>Register<span> </span>during<span> </span>the<span> </span>Obama<span> </span>administration.<span> </span>Since the Fairness Doctrine’s disappearance, the perception by conservatives and progressives alike has been that major media outlets display overt biases towards one political affiliation or the other.<span> </span>As it becomes harder to determine real news from “fake news,” Americans’ trust in media is at an all-time low.<span> </span>An appreciable number of people of various political affiliations<span> </span>now<span> </span>want<span> </span>the<span> </span>Fairness<span> </span>Doctrine<span> </span>to<span> </span>be<span> </span>reintroduced<span> </span>in<span> </span>some<span> </span>form. The purpose of this article is threefold: first, to examine the modern analogues to legal and Constitutional issues that the Fairness Doctrine overcame in its infancy, as Section II explains.<span> </span>Second, to explore modern problems vis-à-vis media distrust, bias, and reliability, as Section III discusses.<span> </span>Third,<span> </span>to<span> </span>explain<span> </span>why a<span> </span>“Fairness<span> </span>Doctrine<span> </span>2.0”<span> </span>would<span> </span>go<span> </span>a<span> </span>long way towards curbing the biases in broadcast news media and restoring the American public’s trust in journalism, outlined in Section IV.<span> </span>Finally, Section<span> </span>V<span> </span>will<span> </span>offer<span> </span>alternative<span> </span>solutions<span> </span>to<span> </span>the<span> </span>modern<span> </span>issues<span> </span>of<span> </span>media<span> </span>bias, public distrust of media, and “fake news.”</p>