DCLaw1:

That was unFair!

DCLaw1:

"Without getting too into it, my main concern is how to administer such a standard."

Well, gosh. We had it for over 50 years. I'm sure someone took notes.

Very cute. I mean administering it in a way that is truly "fair," because everyone's concept of "balance" is completely different. We all have different definitions of right, left, and center, and different notions of what a reasonable position on an issue, or an issue of high enough importance, looks like.

The very fact that it was administered for 50 years indicates that it's not that hard to do. Imperfectly, to be sure (anti-war voices have always been marginalized, for example) but with much better effect than not trying at all. The right has tried mightily to confuse things over the past 30 years, but the disabling of mechanisms like the Fairness Doctrine has been absolutely crucial in enabling them to do so. Another such mechanism was the Congressional Office of Technology Assessment (OTA), which Gingrich destroyed in September 1995. Wikipedia explains:

The Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) was an office of the United States Congress from 1972 to 1995. OTA's purpose was to provide Congressional members and committees with objective and authoritative analysis of the complex scientific and technical issues of the late 20th century. It was a leader in practicing and encouraging delivery of public services in innovative and inexpensive ways, including distribution of government documents through electronic publishing. Its model was widely copied around the world.

Congress created the Office of Technology Assessment in 1972, Public Law 92-484. Under Newt Gingrich, the 104th Congress withdrew funding for OTA and its full-time staff of 143 people, and the Office of Technology Assessment closed on 29 September 1995.

The OTA Legacy site at Princeton contains "in electronic form the complete collection of OTA publications along with additional materials that illuminate the history and impact of the agency."

It's quite clear that the right has to undermine science and reason in order to function effectively. That should tell you all you need to know about (a) their opposition to the Fairness Doctrine and (b) the importance of reinstating it.

Particularly now, with so many more channels, voices, and issues occupying the airwaves than in the early days of radio and television,

This is a false dichotomy. It functioned quite well up through 1986. That's hardly "the early days of radio and television."

I think the program would prove incredibly unwieldy, particularly from a public policy standpoint with everyone condemning the FCC for what they see as inherent unfairness against their point of view.

Conservatives always think it's unfair when liberals get to speak at all. Look at them accusing Reid and Pelosi of coming close to treason. They are pro-censorship. The liberal view is that all sides should be heard in reasonably equal measure. They are pro-free speech. We are a liberal democracy, not a conservative theocracy, and our public policy ought to reflect that.

I also think that trying to reintroduce any sort of Fairness Doctrine would be an exercise in political futility and not worth the tremendous effort such a resurrection would require.

I can't imagine a more worthwhile political struggle. Without restoring some semblance of balance to our media system, no other major battles are likely to produce lasting, workable solutions.

Again, I reiterate my other points about the higher potency and promise of alternative approaches, from blogs to citizen action to film and popular art. Need I even mention the phenomenon that is the Daily Show?

Need I mention rightwing talk radio??? You'd be right at home there with this line of argument. And it's got a gazzillion openings, compared to the Daily Show's one.

So many truly exciting alternatives to centralized control and imposition of rules on the media.

The electronic media could not possibly exist without centralized control and imposition of rules. Don't believe me? Just try broadcasting on your local TV Channel 2. See how long that lasts! You're just mindlessly repeating rightwing memes that make no sense at all if you'd just stop and think about them for a minute. You've been thoroughly brainwashed.