The "Fairness" Doctrine

There is talk among some democrats about reinstating the "fairness" doctrine. That former rule (which was abolished during the Reagan Administration) was established to assure opportunity for airing of diverse points of view on the broadcast bands which were allocated by the government(as a scarce resource) and thus in theory subject to monopolization.

The Reagan FCC recognized correctly that since the doctrine was originally established a couple of things had happened. First, and this is even more true now, there are numerous opportunities for airing points of view. There are not only more channels (virtually hundreds of channels in the spectrum of cable) but also new types of channels (Blogs and Youtube for example) There is plenty of chance to get your point of view heard.

After the FCC decision, talk radio grew up - first with people like Rush Limbaugh and then with a raft of others. Most of them are conservative. In this last election, some of them got pretty partisan. And at the same time attempts at liberal alternatives (Air America, for example) have for the most part been a bust. They went bust because, unlike many of the conservatives, the liberal talk shows weren't entertaining. But that should not encourage government to step into the supposed breach. Some have argued that the Congress or the new FCC under President Obama should reinstate the policy.

That is bunk. There are plenty of opportunities for a rich public debate. One wishes at times that channels like Fox and CNN and the other 24/7 purveyors of "news" would be a bit more balanced in their coverage. But if the last election is any example, people have plenty of chances to hear all sorts of thoughtful and even silly ideas. No need to rebalance here. Fairness comes out in the election results and from most observers, we did not lack any understanding of what the candidates were offering.