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The Positive- And Negative-Right Conceptions Of Freedom Of Speech And The Specter Of Reimposing The Broadcast Fairness Doctrine ... Or Something Like It, Adam Fowler
USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations
A key theoretical debate underlying the now defunct Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulation known as the Fairness Doctrine is conflict over what constitutes the right to freedom of speech: a positive or negative conception. Similarly, since repeal of the Doctrine, other FCC measures to uphold the “public-interest” standard in broadcasting have relied on a positive conception of speech. This thesis demonstrates the history of this debate through court cases, news reports, scholarly articles and historical documents. It then is argued that the positive-right nature of these regulations is problematic philosophically, constitutionally and practically. The positive-right conception lends itself to an …