The Fairness Doctrine existed from 1949-1987. Yes it does infringe on free speech, but this does not mean it is wrong. I'll give you a quick civics lesson.

As you probably know free speech is not unconditional. Nor are any other rights. Many times the courts must decide between conflicts of two rights. For example you are not free to yell fire in a theater. Your right to say what you want is less important than the public's right to safety because you would create a riot. You are also not allowed to say untrue things about someone with the intent to cause harm to then, this is known as defamation. Your right to say what you want is less important than someone else's right to not have their business etc. suffer because you told lies, written or spoken, about them. There are many other conflicts, but I just named a few to give you a general idea. So when the court decides if something is constitutional and it is a conflict of multiple rights, they have to determine which right is more important.

Journalism is one of most important things in a democracy. Without a well informed public, which is created by the press, democracy ceases to function. In fact this is one of the requirements of a democracy according to many political scientists. The Fairness Doctrine does impinge upon free speech. It requires that companies holding a broadcast license present both views of controversial issues. This restricts their right to say what they want. But the right of the public to be informed is more important than the right of the company to say whatever it wants to. Does it make sense now?

"We already have have that, the Liberals have the TV and the conservatives have the radio and Fox."

The issue is that it is best for the democratic process if everyone hears both sides. If you only hear one side of the issue all the time, be you liberal or conservative, you are uninformed. If you knew the opinions of the other side of the political spectrum, you might change your mind. I have no problem with hearing conservative points of you because I think it is important to hear other opinions and viewpoints. My problem with channels like Fox News, and other cable news channels to be honest, is just that they are bad news. They often try to paint things in very absolute, black and white ways because it is more entertaining. They are business and they are in business to make money. And companies make a lot more money being entertaining than they do by being factual. A study by the Program on International Policy Attitudes published in Political Science Quarterly demonstrates how bad these traditional media outlets are.

67% of Fox viewers believed that the "U.S. has found clear evidence in Iraq that Saddam Hussein was working closely with the al Qaeda terrorist organization" (Compared with 56% for CBS, 49% for NBC, 48% for CNN, 45% for ABC, 16% for NPR/PBS).

The belief that "The US has found Weapons of Mass Destruction in Iraq" was held by 33% of FOX viewers and only 23% of CBS viewers, 19% for ABC, 20% for NBC, 20% for CNN and 11% for NPR/PBS

35% of Fox viewers believed that "the majority of people [in the world] favor the U.S. having gone to war" with Iraq. (Compared with 28% for CBS, 27% for ABC, 24% for CNN, 20% for NBC, 5% for NPR/PBS)

So as you can see these issues were not opinion issues, they are factual issues. And while Fox News viewers were the most likely to be uninformed, the other cable news companies were not very far behind. The one thing you'll notice is that people who listened to NPR and watched PBS were really significantly more likely to be correct about these current events, which brings me to my final point.

If you really want to hear good news and actually find out what is going on the world, do not watch cable television and do not get your news from a profit organization. You have to realize that the prime motivating factor in a profit organization is to make money and they will sacrifice their quality without thought to increase their bottom line. I highly, highly recommend NPR and PBS. Just because I listen to them does not mean they are a bastion of liberal bias. For some reason I have heard conservatives accuse NPR of being biased, but this really is not true. About 63% of experts on NPR are from right-wing think-tanks, while only 37% are from left-wing think-tanks. I am completely okay with that because NPR is non-profit news organization publicly and privately funded that is dedicated to reporting facts. I am quite happy with the information I get from NPR as it is reported in a non-sensational matter of fact way with absolutely no spin.

So like I said I totally disdain cable news and for-profit radio news, that includes even the liberal outlets even though I am a strong liberal. If you really want good news listen to NPR on the go, and watch PBS at home. You will be one of the most well-informed people you know if all you did is listen to NPR on your morning commute to school or work. If you would like find an NPR member station near you click here.