Some time ago your long-suffering reporter did a comparison of the three major cable news networks and I found one hell of a difference in what they were broadcasting.
MSNBC and CNN stayed true to their left-wing and middle-of-the-road ideologies but FOX News was broadcasting way out to a right field Twilight Zone... as were radio hosts Alex Jones, Rush Limburger, Sean Hannity, Mark Levin, Dave Ramsey, etc.
Now there's a reason things are so screwed up on the air-waves!
They used to have a fairness doctrine:
- What it was: The Fairness Doctrine required that TV and radio stations holding FCC-issued broadcast licenses to (a) devote some of their programming to controversial issues of public importance and (b) allow the airing of opposing views on those issues. This meant that programs on politics were required to include opposing opinions on the topic under discussion. Broadcasters had an active duty to determine the spectrum of views on a given issue and include those people best suited to representing those views in their programming.
- Additionally, the rule mandated that broadcasters alert anyone subject to a personal attack in their programming and give them a chance to respond, and required any broadcasters who endorse political candidates to invite other candidates to respond. However, the Fairness Doctrine is different from the Equal Time rule, which is still in force and requires equal time to be given to legally qualified political candidates. (The fairness doctrine is not the same as the equal-time rule. The fairness doctrine deals with the discussion of controversial issues, while the equal-time rule deals only with political candidates.)