David Inserra argued the FCC’s public-interest doctrine and the 1969 Red Lion scarcity rationale are now both technically obsolete and constitutionally indefensible after the agency warned broadcasters they have no right to public spectrum.
Streaming and the broader internet have shattered the old scarcity logic, he wrote, pointing to Stephen Colbert’s blocked CBS interview drawing 5.3 million YouTube views in under 48 hours versus 2.7 million average TV viewers.
Inserra said the doctrine has repeatedly enabled political pressure on broadcasters, citing Kennedy-era efforts against conservative radio, Nixon’s threats to major networks, and current FCC Chair Brendan Carr’s actions involving CBS, ABC and Disney.
His remedies range from scrapping equal-time and news-distortion rules to tightening the public-interest standard, with the broadest proposal ending government spectrum licensing altogether to reduce official leverage over broadcast speech.