Why is "Mayflower doctrine" trending?

Wikipedia Overview

The Mayflower doctrine was a 1941 policy of the Federal Communications Commission that purportedly prohibited radio stations from editorializing. It was never formally announced by the FCC. Rather, it emanated from "cryptic dictum" in an FCC license renewal decision. That decision - Mayflower Broadcasting Corp., 8 FCC 333, 340 (1941) - stated that "the broadcaster shall not be an advocate." The issue under consideration was whether the network had breached its duty to the public by broadcasting editorials supporting candidates for public office. The Commission found that this practice was inconsistent with the licensee's responsibilities to the public. Its full explanation of its position was as follows: "[T]he public interest can never be served by a dedication of any broadcast facility to the support of [the licensee's] partisan ends. Radio can serve as an instrument of democracy only when devoted to the communication of information and the exchange of ideas fairly and objectively presented. A truly free radio cannot be used to advocate the cause of the licensee. It cannot be used to support the candidacies of his friends. It cannot be devoted to the support of principles he happens to regard most favorably. In brief, the broadcaster cannot be an advocate. The FCC went on to say "Freedom of speech on the radio must be broad enough to provide full and equal opportunity for the presentation to the public of all sides of public issues. Indeed, as one licensed to operate in a public domain the licensee has assumed the obligation of presenting all sides of important public questions, fairly, objectively and vithout bias. The public interest-not the private--is paramount. These requirements are inherent in the conception of public interest set up by the Communications Act as the criterion of regulation."