Columbia Broadcasting System v. Democratic National Committee

412 U.S. 94 (1973)

Study Aids
Case Briefs Overview
Casebooks
Case Briefs
C
From our private database of 46,300+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

Columbia Broadcasting System v. Democratic National Committee

United States Supreme Court
412 U.S. 94 (1973)

  • Written by Rose VanHofwegen, JD

Facts

The Democratic National Committee (DNC) and an association called Business Executives Move for Vietnam Peace (BEM) (plaintiffs) tried unsuccessfully to buy airtime to express views on social and political issues. The DNC brought a lawsuit against the Columbia Broadcasting System (defendant) asking the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to declare that broadcasters could not refuse to sell airtime to entities like the DNC to raise funds and disseminate commentary on public issues. The BEM brought a similar suit against Washington, D.C., radio station WTOP (defendant). The FCC issued simultaneous orders in both suits refusing to declare that the broadcaster had to sell the DNC and BEM airtime. The DNC and BEM both appealed. The appellate court reversed in both cases, reasoning that a broadcaster enforcing a fixed policy of refusing editorial advertisements violated the First Amendment. The Supreme Court consolidated the appeals and granted review.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Burger, C.J.)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 806,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools—such as Yale, Berkeley, and Northwestern—even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

    Unlock this case briefRead our student testimonials

  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

    Learn about our approachRead more about Quimbee

Here's why 806,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
  • The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
  • Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
  • Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 806,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 46,300 briefs - keyed to 988 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership

Casebooks

Constitutional Law
Media Law

Key Terms