Abstract
Since the early days of commercial radio and television broadcasting, the federal government has extensively regulated the use of the airways. The cornerstone of that regulatory system, the Communications Act of 1934 (the 1934 Act), attempted to balance the constitutional guarantee of freedom of the press with regulation of the public airwaves to further the public interest. Providing political programming has long been considered an essential public interest and subject to regulation." Thus, the Campaign Communications Reform Act of 1971 (1971 Act) amended the 1934 Act to provide for the revocation of the license of a broadcaster who willfully or repeatedly denies a candidate for federal elective office reasonable access to its broadcast facilities. In CBS, Inc. v. Federal Communications Commission, the United States Supreme Court construed that amendment as granting federal candidates a new, individually enforceable right of access to broadcast facilities8 that requires broadcasters to consider candidates' individual needs in responding to requests for access.9 Although candidates now will be better able to secure access consistent with their needs, the Court's decision necessarily restricts broadcasters' programming discretion. That new ruling deviates significantly from the principles of governmental neutrality in the area of free speech and upsets the delicate balance between public accountability and private control of broadcast media.
Recommended Citation
Deisley, David L.
(1982)
"CBS, Inc. v. Federal Communications Commission:
Recognition of Federal Candidates' Right of Access
to Broadcasting Facilities,"
Utah Law Review: Vol. 1982:
No.
3, Article 8.
Available at:
https://dc.law.utah.edu/ulr/vol1982/iss3/8