-
The First Amendment
The First Amendment to the United States Constitution forbids the government from abridging freedom of speech or freedom of the press. -
The Communications Act of 1934
The Communications Act of 1934 created a powerful entity to monitor the airwaves—a seven-member Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to oversee both radio and telephone communication. -
Freedom of Information Act
The act requires the executive branch of the U.S. government to provide information requested by citizens and was intended to increase openness in the executive branch, which had been criticized for hiding information. -
The Telecommunications Act of 1996
The Telecommunications Act of 1996 brought significant changes to the radio and television industries. It dropped the limit on the number of radio stations (forty) and television stations (twelve) a single company could own. It also allowed networks to purchase large numbers of cable stations. -
Chairman Powell
Thirty Congressmen sign a letter to Chairman Powell criticizing the FCC for not adequately publicizing the media ownership debate and rushing the rules-changing process to favor major media outlets. -
Senate
A letter signed by 208 members of Congress is sent to House Speaker Dennis Hastert requesting the full House be allowed to consider the resolution of disapproval passed in the Senate on September 16, 2003. -
Broadcasters
The Supreme Court determined that the presence of children in the audience trumped the right of broadcasters to air obscene and profane programming. However, broadcasters can show indecent programming or air profane language between the hours of 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. -
Public Service
One is the public service variant, the other consists of privately owned and financed systems. The distinction is not always absolute, since some commercial broadcasters may also have public service duties as a licensing condition. Public service broadcasting is expected to serve the needs of significant social institutions (for instance, in relation to politics, education, the justice system). It is also directly or indirectly expected to serve or to respect the main party political groups. -
Charlie Brown
In October 2014, parent advocacy groups and consumers filed complaints and called for the FCC to fine ABC for running a sexually charged opening scene in the drama Scandal immediately after It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown—without an ad or the cartoon’s credits to act as a buffer between the very different types of programming.[ -
Donald Trump
In 2015, Donald Trump, when he was a candidate running for the presidential Republican nomination, appeared on Saturday Night Live. Other Republican candidates made equal time requests, and NBC agreed to give each candidate twelve minutes and five seconds of air time on a Friday and Saturday night, as well as during a later episode of Saturday Night Live.