Columbia Broadcasting System, Inc. v. Democratic National Committee

Decided May 29, 1973. Warren Earl Burger delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 71-863 · 412 U.S. 94 (1973) · Cited 580 times

Holding

Neither the Communications Act nor the First Amendment requires broadcasters to accept paid editorial advertisements.

The Court’s statement of the holding, from the opinion’s syllabus. The syllabus is prepared by the Reporter of Decisions and is not part of the opinion of the Court — read the official opinion for authority.

How the Justices voted

Decided 7–2.

“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. Source: the Supreme Court Database (Spaeth et al.), Washington University.

Precedents cited

Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.

• Red Lion Broadcasting Co. v. Federal Communications Commission · 395 U.S. 367 (1969)
• Public Utilities Commission v. Pollak · 343 U.S. 451 (1952)
• Burton v. Wilmington Parking Authority · 365 U.S. 715 (1961)
• Moose Lodge No. 107 v. Irvis · 407 U.S. 163 (1972)
• Police Dept. of Chicago v. Mosley · 408 U.S. 92 (1972)
• National Broadcasting Co. v. United States · 319 U.S. 190 (1943)
• New York Times Co. v. Sullivan · 376 U.S. 254 (1964)
• United States v. Paramount Pictures, Inc. · 334 U.S. 131 (1948)
• Amalgamated Food Employees Union Local 590 v. Logan Valley Plaza, Inc. · 391 U.S. 308 (1968)
• Cox v. Louisiana · 379 U.S. 536 (1965)
• New York Times Co. v. United States · 403 U.S. 713 (1971)
• Marsh v. Alabama · 326 U.S. 501 (1946)
• Grayned v. City of Rockford · 408 U.S. 104 (1972)
• Kovacs v. Cooper · 336 U.S. 77 (1949)
• Cox v. New Hampshire · 312 U.S. 569 (1941)
• Associated Press v. United States · 326 U.S. 1 (1945)
• Evans v. Newton · 382 U.S. 296 (1966)
• Reitman v. Mulkey · 387 U.S. 369 (1967)
• Mills v. Alabama · 384 U.S. 214 (1966)
• Lloyd Corp. v. Tanner · 407 U.S. 551 (1972)
• Niemotko v. Maryland · 340 U.S. 268 (1951)
• Federal Communications Commission v. Sanders Bros. Radio Station · 309 U.S. 470 (1940)
• Poulos v. New Hampshire · 345 U.S. 395 (1953)
• Fowler v. Rhode Island · 345 U.S. 67 (1953)
• McCabe v. Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway Co. · 235 U.S. 151 (1914)
• Roth v. United States · 354 U.S. 476 (1957)
• Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District · 393 U.S. 503 (1969)
• Haguer v. Committee for Industrial Organization · 307 U.S. 496 (1939)
• Palko v. Connecticut · 302 U.S. 319 (1937)
• Schneider v. State (Town of Irvington) · 308 U.S. 147 (1939)

Cited by

Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.

• CBS, Inc. v. Federal Communications Commission · 453 U.S. 367 (1981)
• Federal Communications Commission v. Midwest Video Corp. · 440 U.S. 689 (1979)
• Federal Communications Commission v. League of Women Voters of California · 468 U.S. 364 (1984)
• Arkansas Educational Television Commission v. Forbes · 523 U.S. 666 (1998)
• Denver Area Educational Telecommunications Consortium, Inc. v. Federal Communications Commission · 518 U.S. 727 (1996)
• Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. v. Federal Communications Commission · 512 U.S. 622 (1994)
• Herbert v. Lando · 441 U.S. 153 (1979)
• Miami Herald Publishing Co. v. Tornillo · 418 U.S. 241 (1974)
• Rostker v. Goldberg · 453 U.S. 57 (1981)
• Manhattan Community Access Corp. v. Halleck · 587 U.S. 802 (2019)
• Metro Broadcasting, Inc. v. Federal Communications Commission · 497 U.S. 547 (1990)
• Jackson v. Metropolitan Edison Co. · 419 U.S. 345 (1974)
• Morrison v. Olson · 487 U.S. 654 (1988)
• Fullilove v. Klutznick · 448 U.S. 448 (1980)
• Federal Communications Commission v. Pacifica Foundation · 438 U.S. 726 (1978)
• City of Akron v. Akron Center for Reproductive Health, Inc. · 462 U.S. 416 (1983)
• Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. v. Federal Communications Commission · 520 U.S. 180 (1997)
• Pacific Gas & Electric Co. v. Public Utilities Commission · 475 U.S. 1 (1986)
• Federal Communications Commission v. National Citizens Committee for Broadcasting · 436 U.S. 775 (1978)
• Federal Communications Commission v. WNCN Listeners Guild · 450 U.S. 582 (1981)
• United States v. American Library Assn., Inc. · 539 U.S. 194 (2003)
• Buckley v. Valeo · 424 U.S. 1 (1976)
• Nebraska Press Assn. v. Stuart · 427 U.S. 539 (1976)
• First Nat. Bank of Boston v. Bellotti · 435 U.S. 765 (1978)
• Metromedia, Inc. v. City of San Diego · 453 U.S. 490 (1981)
• PruneYard Shopping Center v. Robins · 447 U.S. 74 (1980)
• Sony Corp. of America v. Universal City Studios, Inc. · 464 U.S. 417 (1984)
• Printz v. United States · 521 U.S. 898 (1997)
• Bigelow v. Virginia · 421 U.S. 809 (1975)
• Pleasant Grove City v. Summum · 555 U.S. 460 (2009)

Official text

Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1973). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-07-03. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).