Progressive Media Resources Group

A candidate who has money and wants to buy additional ads (beyond the mandated freebies) would have to be allowed to do so.

Requiring the broadcast stations to provide some free ads to candidates, as a condition of getting the license, would probably be allowed. (It might have to be made effective only as licenses are renewed or newly issued, but the phase-in period wouldn't be long.) Imposing that requirement on cable stations would be dicier. The Fairness Doctrine was in effect when broadcast had a much higher percentage of the market than it does today. The scarcity of broadcast spectrum space, and consequent need for government licensing, provided a basis for regulation. It's clear that a Fairness Doctrine applied to printed newspapers or the Internet would be unconstitutional.