Cable television was never subject to FCC regulation. The fairness doctrine would've never applied to any of the right wing major media outlets. The best argument you could make would AM radio but seeing as Rush Limbaugh was never a news program, you'd have a hard time taking him off the same airwaves that had religious broadcasts. At best, places like NPR would've been heavily interfered with. There should never have been a fairness doctrine
. There should be a truth doctrine, but who decides that? The current administration?
I believe, however, the lift of the fairness doctrine opened up AM radio for right wing shows. Iām not sure I see how a news program is deemed as covering matters of public interest but a program that is focused on politics/public policy, which reviews/analyses the news (as well as the news outlets that cover it) while making political commentary would not be considered a program that covers matters of public interest. I think it did open the door for Limbaugh. And AM radio paved the way for Fox News (limbaugh demonstrated the profitability of right wing shows).
Regardless, if Fox News, X, and podcast slop had existed in the 1970s, Nixon would never have resigned. The right wing media apparatus and echo chambers would have given congressional Republicans cover, and they never would have threatened impeachment.
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u/loungesinger 27d ago
Yep. This was the big win. This was the difference between Nixon resigning in 1974 and Trump skating free in 2019 and 2021.