Bring back the fairness doctrine

The best way to honor Charlie Kirk’s memory is to bring back the fairness doctrine, a requirement for broadcasters to feature politically balanced programming as a condition of holding a broadcasting license. It was first imposed in 1949 and enforced by the Federal Communications Commission .

At the time, three major broadcasters — ABC, CBS, and NBC — dominated television audiences. To prevent the trio from using their effective monopoly for one-sided coverage of controversial issues, the doctrine required producers to create content that included opposing viewpoints. Failure to do so could and sometimes did result in the revocation of a broadcasting license. For 38 years, the doctrine was the rule of the road for television and radio. It was still in force when I first began working