I must respectfully, and vehemently, disagree with the diary re restoration of the fairness doctrine. The Fairness Doctrine is bad policy and arguably unconstitutional. Let me tell you about the original fairness doctrine. It was authored in 1789 by James Madison and was passed by Congress shortly thereafter as a proposed Third Amendment among twelve. It was ratified, along with ten of the twelve proposed amendments, by the States in 1791 as the First Amendment. Its words provide, in relevant part:
Congress shall make no law . . . abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press . . .
Do we really want Congress meddling in cable and satellite television and radio -- or even the internets: it's not that far-fetched if you agree with the former.
Join me on the flip for more discussion.
Look, I do not question the good faith of davej, but restoration of any form of the fairness doctrine would be a VERY bad idea. Davej states: "Currently we only see subjects that the corporate world is interested in, covered from a pro-corporate perspective. Imagine the effect on the country if the public were exposed to a variety of viewpoints on issues like trade, consumer protection, sustainability, unions, health care, global warming and energy, religion, the environment, nutrition, and SO MANY other issues!"
Here's the question: Who decides what's not a "pro-corporate perspective"? Political appointees, who are lobbied by lobbiests, etc. (We can't say that they can't be lobbied, because the First Amendment provides that the people have right to "petition the government for redress of grievances"). Who decides what variety of viewpoints should be given "equal" time?
We could go on and on and on and on. And there are no answers to these questions. The true fairness doctrine is the First Amendment which says that Government cannot regulate speech. Period. Furthermore, with the explosion of the internet, any citizen can have a "printing press" and distribute their viewpoint. Let me just say it: NO RETURN TO THE FAIRNESS DOCTRINE. It is outdated, and would lead to very, very, very bad results.