Faculty Scholarship Repository
A Service of the Ross-Blakley Law Library
| Article |
| The Constitutional Case Against “Free†Airtime |
| Laurence Winer |
| Cato Inst. Pol’y Analysis (Aug. 6, 2003, at 1) |
| Open Access |
|
Abstract: Sen. John McCain plans to revive his free airtime bill for the 108th Congress. The proposed law forces broadcasters to cover political campaigns and to subsidize advertising for candidates. Normally such legal restraints on editorial discretion would violate First Amendment protections for the media. The government, however, traditionally has imposed “public interest†obligations on broadcasters in exchange for the spectrum license. The free airtime requirements are seen as an additional “public interest†mandate. But the legal justifications offered for free airtime are inadequate. Scarcity no longer marks broadcasting in the United States, and free airtime is not properly viewed as a price paid for use of the spectrum. Free airtime is less a payback for using the spectrum than an open-ended effort by Congress to extract favors from the broadcasting industry. Free airtime places an unconstitutional condition on receiving a broadcasting license. The proposal also transfers the burden of funding campaigns from supporters of candidates to commercial broadcasters, which may be an unconstitutional transfer of wealth under the Fifth Amendment.Broadcasting, media, politics |
| 3,088 |
| Total Views |