Frequent readers of this blog know that one of the more interesting and troubling aspects of campaign finance regulation is the exemption to otherwise applicable limits on corporations for the institutional media. The issue may well be discussed in at least some of the opinions the Supreme Court will issue in the McCain-Feingold case, perhaps as early as Tuesday.
In the meantime, see NRA Seeks Status as a News Outlet in the Washington Post. The article begins: “Hoping to spend as much as it wants on next year’s elections, the National Rifle Association is looking to buy a television or radio station and declare that it should be treated as a news organization, exempt from spending limits in the campaign finance law.
“We’re looking at bringing a court case that we’re as legitimate a media outlet as Disney or Viacom or Time Warner,” the NRA’s executive vice president, Wayne LaPierre, said in an interview. “