Writers Guild of America, West, Inc. v. Federal Communications Commission

MEMORANDUM OPINION

INTRODUCTION

More than half a century ago, Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover warned that, “We cannot allow any single person or group to place themselves in a position where they can censor the material which shall be broadcast to the public, nor do I believe that the government should ever be placed in a position of censoring this material.” The plaintiffs in this case have exposed a joint agreement on the part of the three major television networks, the Feder al Communications Commission (“FCC”), and the National Association of Broadcasters (“NAB”) to permit one group — the NAB Television Code Review Board — to act as a national board of censors for American television. The plaintiffs have evidenced a successful attempt by the FCC to pressure the networks and the NAB into adopting a programming policy they did not wish to adopt. The plaintiffs have proven that the FCC formulated and imposed new industry policy without giving the public its right to notice and its right to be heard.

The policy involved is well known. It has been called the “family hour,” the “family viewing policy,” the “9:00 rule,” even the “prime time censorship rule.” Specifically, the…