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Considered an important corollary to Section 315, the Fairness Doctrine was to controversial issues what Section 315 is to political speech. Initiated in 1949, this FCC rule required stations to air programs about controversial issues affecting their communities and to provide competing points of view during the programs. Broadcasters again protested that the print media did not have to obey these requirements. And once more, many stations simply avoided airing controversial issues. The Fairness Doctrine ended with little public debate in 1987 after a federal court ruled that it was merely a regulation, not an extension of Section 315 law.

Since 1987, however, support for reviving the Fairness Doctrine has surfaced periodically. Its advocates argue that broadcasting is fundamentally different from—and more pervasive than—print media. Thus, it should be more accountable to the public interest. The end of the Fairness Doctrine might have contributed to a more polarized political climate, fed in part by news networks unburdened by the requirement to provide different points of view. On the other hand, the lack of requirements could also allow the dissemination of other views that might not otherwise garner much attention.