Red Lion Broadcasting Co. v. Federal Communications Commission

23 L. Ed. 2d 371 · Supreme Court of the United States · 1969

Facts

Red Lion Broadcasting Co. (WGCB) aired a broadcast attacking Fred J. Cook, who then demanded free reply time, which the station refused. The FCC ruled that WGCB failed to meet its fairness doctrine obligation and must provide reply time. This case was consolidated with RTNDA, which challenged the FCC's 1967 regulations codifying personal attack and political editorializing aspects of the fairness doctrine.

Issue

Do the FCC's fairness doctrine, specifically its personal attack and political editorializing regulations, violate the First Amendment rights of broadcasters or exceed the FCC's statutory authority under the Communications Act?

Holding

The Supreme Court held that the fairness doctrine and its personal attack and political editorializing regulations are constitutional and within the FCC's statutory authority. The Court affirmed the judgment in Red Lion and reversed the judgment in RTNDA.

Rule

The First Amendment does not grant broadcasters an exclusive right to their assigned frequencies; rather, it protects the public's right to receive diverse information. Due to the scarcity of broadcast frequencies, the government may impose obligations on licensees, such as the fairness doctrine, to ensure fair coverage of public issues and allow reply time for personal attacks or political endorsements, as this serves the public interest.

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Case brief last reviewed 2026-01-16. Prepared by CaseReader from the published opinion.