Fear Not, Righties: Fairness Doctrine Isn't Coming Back

Conservatives are beating their war drums with warnings that the Obama administration will torpedo them by reinstituting the so-called fairness doctrine. If he does—the policy calls for broadcasters to air opposing viewpoints—it could be big trouble for Rush Limbaugh and another denizens of the right-wing talk circuit. But Marin Cogan of the New Republic finds little or no evidence that Obama will do so.

"This is a completely made-up issue," said one Senate staffer. The president-elect himself says he has no intention of restoring the act, and Cogan finds tepid support at best among the Democrats most often cited by conservatives, including Chuck Schumer and Dianne Feinstein. As for a much-quoted Schumer quip to Fox that "we should all try to be fair and balanced," Cogan can only conclude that "he was "just messing with their heads."
(More fairness doctrine stories.)