FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai touted the FCC’s rejection...

FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai touted the FCC’s rejection of an attempt by Media Action Center to shut down two Wisconsin radio stations as a First Amendment victory and the end of the Zapple doctrine. The cancellation of the FCC’s critical information needs studies also is a victory for the First Amendment, he said. Americans made clear that “the government has no place in the newsroom,” and that the American people, not the FCC, should decide what information is important, he said in an opinion article on the RedState blog (http://bit.ly/1iAzpAq). Media Action Center made a complaint based on the Zapple doctrine, against two Wisconsin radio stations, accusing them of giving more airtime to Republican supporters of Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker than they did to his opponents (CD May 12 p14). That doctrine required stations to provide similar airtime to supporters and opponents of a political candidate. In rejecting the request, the commission “finally confirmed that the Zapple Doctrine is indeed dead,” Pai said. If the 1987 marketplace was diverse enough that the Fairness Doctrine was no longer justified, “there is no way that the Zapple Doctrine could survive in today’s marketplace -- a marketplace in which countless viewpoints are only a tweet or blog post away,” he said. Policies like the Fairness and Zapple doctrines suppress public debate, he said. The way outlets cover stories is driven by consumers and “shouldn’t be second-guessed by a majority of FCC Commissioners or a minuscule but vocal minority trying to cast heckler’s vetoes,” Pai said. The end of the Zapple doctrine presents an important lesson that “there will always be someone eager to manipulate the levers of government to serve a political end,” he said.