Fair & Balanced

The Fairness Doctine is back on the table and Dennis Kucinich is my hero of the day. What is the Fairness Doctrine? Briefly,

The policy of the United States Federal Communications Commission that became known as the "Fairness Doctrine" is an attempt to ensure that all coverage of controversial issues by a broadcast station be balanced and fair. The FCC took the view, in 1949, that station licensees were "public trustees," and as such had an obligation to afford reasonable opportunity for discussion of contrasting points of view on controversial issues of public importance. The Commission later held that stations were also obligated to actively seek out issues of importance to their community and air programming that addressed those issues. With the deregulation sweep of the Reagan Administration during the 1980s, the Commission dissolved the fairness doctrine.

This doctrine grew out of concern that because of the large number of applications for radio station being submitted and the limited number of frequencies available, broadcasters should make sure they did not use their stations simply as advocates with a singular perspective. Rather, they must allow all points of view. That requirement was to be enforced by FCC mandate.

Done away with during the Reagan Administration. Imagine how different the last 6 years might have been with such a law on the books. We wouldn't have been subjected to that biased liberal media 24/7, if you know what I mean. Read more about it here.

And then, write to your representatives in Congress supporting fairness in media -- real fairness, not "fairness" ala Faux News.