CONTENT NEUTRAL REGULATION OF THE MEDIA:

PRESERVING MULTIPLE VOICES

NEWSPAPERS

ASSOCIATED PRESS V. UNITED STATES (1945)

CITIZEN PUBLISHING CO. V. UNITED STATES (1969)

Joint Operating Agreements

NEWSPAPER PRESERVATION ACT OF 1970

BROADCASTING AND CABLE

TURNER BROADCASTING SYSTEM V. F.C.C. (1994, 1997)

CABLE ACT OF 1992

"MUST CARRY RULES"

sec. 4: CABLE SYSTEMS WITH MORE THAN 12 CHANNELS MUST CARRY ONE-THIRD OF THE CAPACITY WITH LOCAL COMMERCIAL BROADCASTERS

sec. 5: CABLE SYSTEMS WITH MORE THAN 12 CHANNELS MUST CARRY ONE NON- COMMERCIAL (PUBLIC) BROADCAST STATION

TURNER I (1994)

1. Rejected the government's claim that cable should be regulated like broadcasting; cable does not have the unique physical limitations of the broadcast medium.

2. Recognized important governmental interests in having the "must carry" rules:

SUPPORT FREE LOCAL BROADCASTING

PRESERVE MULTIPLE VOICES

FAIR COMPETITION

3. Rejected the cable company's claim that the "must carry" rules constituted a content-based regulation of speech. The rules are "content neutral"--they have nothing to do with the messages/views communicated, just the manner in which these messages are transmitted (via cable).

4. Therefore the proper test to use to evaluate the constitutionality of the rules is: p. 207

O'BRIEN TEST:

1. the regulation furthers an important/substantial government interest,

2. which is unrelated to the suppression of expression (is not a content restriction), and

3. will work, and

4. the regulation is no greater than necessary to accomplish the interest

However, more information is needed before the O'Brien Test can be applied.

18 months of gathering information

material used by Congress to enact the Cable Act of 1992

expert testimony

industry documents

 

TURNER II (1997)

The evidence shows that the rules are justified. p. 214

horizontal integration

vertical integration

synergy

 

NEWEST BATTLE

CABLE PROVIDERS ARE BEING THREATED BY CHANNELS WHO WANT MORE $$ TO BE INCLUDED IN THE PACKAGE OFFERED TO CONSUMERS

CABLEVISION AND DISNEY (ABC-7) [just before the Academy Awards]

TIME WARNER AND FOX AND DISNEY