Fairness
Jasmin Mejia, Jackson Pillow, and John Twork
Defined
 Michael Bugeja “Living Ethics”
 Fairness is a continual process of improvement involving
the evaluation of work and behavior to determine (a)
whether the work is accurate or truthful, (b) whether
the behavior is honest or appropriate, and (c) whether
methods or values can be enhanced to meet those
goals.
Defined
 Merriam-Webster
 Fairness is marked by impartiality and honesty : free
from self-interest, prejudice, or favoritism
Defined
 Wikipedia
 Fairness is a legal principle allowing for the use of
discretion, an equality and solidarity in a society, an
equal allocation of goods in a society, and/or an absence
of bias in specific realms.
Defined
 Dictionary.com
 Fairness is the state, condition, or quality of being
fair, or free from bias or injustice; evenhandedness; free
from discrimination, dishonesty, etc; just; impartial
Themes
Fairness?
How We Define It
 Incorporating reoccurring themes
 Process, Instance, or can it be both?
 How is fairness determined/constructed?
History: The Fairness Doctrine
 Introduced by the FCC in 1949.
 Required that all broadcasters (1) devote a reasonable
amount of their programming to controversial issues
of public importance and (2) provide contrasting
viewpoints on those issues.
 Theory behind the doctrine was that the radio
spectrum did not have space for every view.
 Red Lion Broadcasting Co. v. FCC (1969).
History: The Fairness Doctrine
 No rigid regulation. Equal time was not required (NOT
the Equal Opportunities Rule).
 Caused considerable problems: Audience complaints
and litigation were common, particularly involving
part 2 of the doctrine.
 Broadcasters were forced to reduce controversial
programming, rather than face an abundance of
contrasting complaints.
History: The Fairness Doctrine
 In 1987, the FCC formally abandoned the doctrine in its
Syracuse Peace Council decision.
 “The intrusion by government into the content of
programming occasioned by the enforcement of [the
Fairness Doctrine] restricts the journalistic freedom of
broadcasters ... [and] actually inhibits the presentation of
controversial issues of public importance to the detriment
of the public and the degradation of the editorial
prerogative of broadcast journalists.”
The Fairness Doctrine Now
 During 2007-09, some Democrats in Congress said
publicly that the doctrine should be reinstated. This
was prompted by the abundance of conservative talk
radio stations (90% conservative, 10% liberal,
according to americanprogress.org).
 On August 22, 2011, President Obama’s FCC formally
voted to repeal the doctrine, along with 80 other
rules from the Federal Register, following a White
House executive order.
Ideas Behind The Fairness Doctrine
 The Fairness Doctrine attempted to regulate an
ethical aspect of broadcasting: fairness.
 Is it possible to regulate ethical behavior?
 Does converged media enhance or hinder the
chances of achieving fairness in the media?
Media Ownership
 Can be currently defined as a process in which fewer
individuals or organizations control increasing shares
of mass media.
 Many media industries are already highly concentrated
and dominated by a very small number of firms.
 Television/Cable service
 Internet service
 Telephone/Cellular service
Mourning or Moving on?
Converged Media and Fairness
 Control?
 Moved beyond standard forms of regulation
 Message senders
 Journalists, bloggers, fans, foes, the occasional crayon eater, etc.
 Message receivers
 Global audience; anyone with access can be targeted
Fairness and the Future
 What are the future implications for converged media
in regards to editorial independence, media bias, and
freedom of the press?
 Presidential campaigns and debates
 Special Interest Groups
 Some suggest a “newer” more adaptable focus
 Equal access and opportunity for all
Net Neutrality as the “New” Focus
 Net Neutrality
 In its simplest terms, this principle states that all internet
traffic should be treated equally.
 No restrictions by Internet service providers or
governments on consumers' access to networks that
participate in the internet.
 Specifically, network neutrality would prevent restrictions
on content, sites, platforms, types of equipment that may
be attached, and modes of communication.
Dilemma
 How do we regulate fairness ethics and converged
media?
 Is a newer, adapted doctrine the solution?
 Are there options that can provide a long-term solution?
 Is there a such thing as a long-term solution?
 Which theories can be used to support fairness ethics
within converged media?
Theory
 Utilitarianism
 Actions should be done for the greater good of the
many over the needs for the few.
 Major contributors were Jeremy Bentham and John
Stuart Mill.
Theory
 Agenda Setting
 The process of the media placing value on particular
issues influencing the public’s perception of the
importance of those issues.
 Second level agenda setting focuses on the media
actually being able to influence public opinion on certain
issues.
 McCombs and Shaw starting agenda research in the
early 1970s.
Theory
 Framing
 The process in which the media emphasize specific parts
of a story and disregard other parts.
 Ghanem and Takeshita were major contributors to
notion of framing.
Questions?