TV & VIDEO - Sept. 23, 1987

The Federal Communications Commission’s decision earlier this year to abolish its Fairness Doctrine regulation has so angered some members of Congress that legislation sought by the broadcast industry may be tied up until legislators can turn the doctrine into a law, Rep. Al Swift (D-Wash.) said Monday. Swift, who serves on the House Energy and Commerce telecommunications subcommittee, said broadcasters “are now caught in a battle that has very little to do with the merits of the doctrine,” which required radio and TV stations to air all sides of controversial issues. Congress and the Reagan Administration have been at loggerheads over the doctrine ever since Congress first tried to write the regulation into law in early 1986.