Reply #22: I'm only uncomfortable with the fact that it's not in force NOW! [View All]

[Merlin]

It is ESSENTIAL to democracy.

Complain all you want about how cumbersome it is. That's just too bad for the broadcasting industry.

The fact is that nothing has the impact on voters that broadcasting has.

As far as freedom of the press goes, as we all know the only people who enjoy freedom of the press are those who own a press, or a radio station or a tv station. That is not tolerable.

If the public does not have access either to factual news or to balanced debate, then it cannot get the information it needs to make decisions.

It would be entirely different if the entry barriers and limitations on the number of broadcasting entities weren't so severe. But there is no way for people without megabucks to own them, and they represent a different political point of view.

I see no reason why the doctrine can't be modified to say that a program can be wholly imbalanced provided it is balanced by another program in the same time slot that is imbalanced in the opposite political direction.