The Federal Communications Commission, : the Broadcast Industry, and the Fairness Doctrine: 1981-1987

The Federal Communications Commission, the Broadcast Industry, and the Fairness Doctrine: 1981-1987 is an institutional history of the Federal Communications Commission between 1981 and 1987 as it systematically positioned itself to eliminate enforcement of the broadcast fairness doctrine. The book is arranged chronologically and is based on documentary research and interviews. Because the book focuses on regulatory reform, Roger Noll's four-part typology of regulatory reform is used as a means of organizing the material. It is organized into seven major sections: the Introduction includes the rationale for the study, the primary research question, and methodological and literature review; Chapter I includes a brief overview of both the history of the commission and the fairness doctrine; Chapter II gives historical context to the period prior to 1981; Chpater III focuses on commission actions between 1981 and 1983; Chapter IV focuses on commission actions between 1984 and 1985; Chapter V focuses on commission actions between 1986 and 1987; and Chapter VI provides an analysis and conclusions. The author shows that through the redefinition process the commission was able to achieve its stated 1981 goal: elimination of the fairness doctrine.