Or … the FCC could reinstate the Fairness Doctrine so that everyone would be exposed to a wider range of views, some of which would challenge their current beliefs and thinking, such that a variety of ideas would battle it out in the arena public discourse and better, more-accurate, and more-beneficial ones would tend to prevail and hold sway.
The Fairness Doctrine did not accomplish that, either in theory or practice.
> The fairness doctrine had two basic elements: It required broadcasters to devote some of their airtime to discussing controversial matters of public interest, and to air contrasting views regarding those matters. [0]
Modern Fox News often satisfies the letter of the fairness doctrine when they invite allegedly nonpartisan figures on to interview. For example, when Andrew Ngo mischaracterizes left-wing protests in Seattle, that’s a contrasting view.
Since enforcement was left up to the ruling party’s FCC, the effects were predictable:
> While the original purpose of the doctrine was to ensure that viewers were exposed to a diversity of viewpoints, it was used by the Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon administrations to combat political opponents operating on talk radio and television. [0]
It’s very unclear how a Fairness Doctrine-like could function in today’s legal environment. SCOTUS has made it nearly impossible for any federal agency to levy fines or adjudicate rule-breaking.
Is there an example where a merger which was a good result for consumers? Reducing competition from four companies seems destined to be a bad outcome.
Or … the FCC could reinstate the Fairness Doctrine so that everyone would be exposed to a wider range of views, some of which would challenge their current beliefs and thinking, such that a variety of ideas would battle it out in the arena public discourse and better, more-accurate, and more-beneficial ones would tend to prevail and hold sway.
The Fairness Doctrine did not accomplish that, either in theory or practice.
> The fairness doctrine had two basic elements: It required broadcasters to devote some of their airtime to discussing controversial matters of public interest, and to air contrasting views regarding those matters. [0]
Modern Fox News often satisfies the letter of the fairness doctrine when they invite allegedly nonpartisan figures on to interview. For example, when Andrew Ngo mischaracterizes left-wing protests in Seattle, that’s a contrasting view.
Since enforcement was left up to the ruling party’s FCC, the effects were predictable:
> While the original purpose of the doctrine was to ensure that viewers were exposed to a diversity of viewpoints, it was used by the Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon administrations to combat political opponents operating on talk radio and television. [0]
It’s very unclear how a Fairness Doctrine-like could function in today’s legal environment. SCOTUS has made it nearly impossible for any federal agency to levy fines or adjudicate rule-breaking.
[0] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairness_doctrine