Words Signifying Nothing - The Evolution of 315(a) in an Age of Deregulation and Its Effect on Television News Coverage of Presidential Elections

Authors

Colin Vandell

Abstract

Focusing on private networks' television news coverage of presidential campaigns, this Note addresses the enactment and rise of Section 315(a) of the Communications Act of 1934 (the equal time rule) and the fairness doctrine that it officially operated in conjunction with for forty years. The Note then turns to the deregulation trend that abolished the fairness doctrine and took much of the bite out of Section 315(a). The Note concludes by examining the rise of ideology-driven and also of marketdriven political coverage that a laxly-enforced Section 315(a) has allowed.

Recommended Citation

Colin Vandell, Words Signifying Nothing - The Evolution of 315(a) in an Age of Deregulation and Its Effect on Television News Coverage of Presidential Elections, 27 UC Law SF Comm. & Ent. L.J. 443 (2005).
Available at: https://repository.uclawsf.edu/hastings_comm_ent_law_journal/vol27/iss2/5