The FCC, by administrative rulemaking, had required that discussion of public issues be presented on broadcast stations, and that each side of those issues must be given fair coverage. As a result, the FCC added an "equal time rule" and a "response to personal attack" rule. Red Lion Broadcasting Co. challenged these rules as unconstitutionally infringing on the speech of the station's editorial judgment. Justice Byron White, writing for the majority, explained: "the FCC has included among the conditions of the Red Lion license itself the requirement that operation of the station be carried out in the public interest."