TIL: The Repeal of the Fairness Doctrine (1987)

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Introduced in 1949, the Fairness Doctrine required television and radio stations holding broadcast licenses to present "contrasting viewpoints" on controversial issues of public importance. “The repeal of the Fairness Doctrine did not directly enable Fox News through a change in law for cable. Instead, the 1987 repeal (and subsequent deregulation in the 1990s) encouraged a media environment where, for the first time, a channel explicitly targeting a conservative audience with a specific ideological viewpoint was commercially viable.“