Description

Executive Summary

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) plans to introduce

a free airtime bill in the 108th Congress. The proposed

law requires broadcasters to devote airtime

to political campaigns and to subsidize electoral

advertising for candidates.



Supporters of the bill argue that it will reduce

the need for campaign spending, which allegedly

leads to several harms to the public interest. Yet

recent research shows that increases in the costs of

political advertising have not caused the overall

rise in campaign spending. Proponents also claim

that free airtime would improve election discourse,

thereby better informing the American

people prior to an election. Yet research also shows

that the negative ads cited by proponents as a

problem for democracy actually serve the public

good by informing and mobilizing voters.



Advocates of "free" airtime defend their proposal

against First Amendment challenges by arguing that

the broadcast spectrum is a publicly owned, government-managed resource that can and should be used

to further myriad political objectives. Because private

broadcast companies do not technically own their

spectrum but merely lease it from the federal government,

they must satisfy certain "public interest"

requirements--such as offering the public a certain

amount of educational fare and informational programming.

Because those public interest requirements

are legally imposed on broadcasters, the argument

goes, broadcasters can also be required to allocate

more time or money for political advertising or

campaign coverage in general.



That justification for government regulation of

broadcasting cannot be sustained. The traditional

arguments for regulation--scarcity, preventing signal

interference, providing a public service--no longer

hold up. The Federal Communications Commission

itself is starting to recognize the decline of the broadcast

regulation regime and acknowledge quasi-property

rights in the spectrum. This trend is certain to

continue, depriving the free airtime proposal of its

legal and philosophical foundation.