Was the Fairness Doctrine a 'Chilling Effect'?: Evidence from the Post-Deregulation Radio Market

Journal of Legal Studies,January 1997.

Posted: 15 Sep 1996

Abstract

The stated rationale for the Fairness Doctrine was to encourage more information to be aired by radio and TV stations, on the theory that private broadcasters would tend to underprovide a public good - news about important social issues. Yet, the danger has been seen, at the U.S. Supreme Court, the FCC, and elsewhere, that there exists a potentially unconstitutional "chilling effect": The prospect of having to award equal (unpaid) time to dissenting points of view constitutes a tax on controversial speech. After a brief review of the history of the Fairness Doctrine, we develop a model for the supply of informational programming in radio. In that the Doctrine was abolished in 1987, the radio market now allows us to observe licensees' unregulated choices in selecting the profit-maximizing quantity of informational programming. Industry data show a clear break in the trend around 1987, when informational formats began rising relative to others - evidence suggesting just the "chilling effect" feared by the Supreme Court.

JEL Classification: K23, L82

Suggested Citation

Hazlett, Thomas W. and Sosa, David W., Was the Fairness Doctrine a 'Chilling Effect'?: Evidence from the Post-Deregulation Radio Market. Journal of Legal Studies,January 1997., Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=10146

Thomas W. Hazlett

Clemson University ( email )

Clemson, SC 29634
United States
8646563430 (Phone)
8646564192 (Fax)

HOME PAGE: http://hazlett.people.clemson.edu/

David W. Sosa (Contact Author)

Analysis Group, Inc. ( email )

San Francisco, CA 94111
United States

HOME PAGE: http://www.analysisgroup.com/vps.htm#staff

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