Can media fairness be mandated?

CAN MEDIA FAIRNESS BE MANDATED?
[SOURCE: The Christian Science Monitor, AUTHOR: Dante Chinni]
[Commentary] This August will mark the 20th anniversary of the end of the Fairness Doctrine. It was dismantled and eventually dumped during the Reagan Administration in part due to the rise of cable TV ­ which didn't use the airwaves and offered audiences more programming options. Twenty years is a long time in the fast-changing media world. And there is suddenly talk of reviving the Fairness Doctrine. Is there an argument for reinstating the Fairness Doctrine? if there was a legitimate argument in 1987 that cable had significantly broadened the spectrum of opinions available to audiences, that argument must be even truer today -- to the point where bringing "fairness" back to broadcast would certainly have less impact than it had 20 years ago. After all, couldn't Limbaugh, Hannity, and other conservatives simply switch to satellite radio or webcasting or podcasting to make their points free of interference? If members of Congress think bringing back the Fairness Doctrine in radio and TV will stop calls from coming in, they may soon find that different platforms would create the same kinds of pressures. And placing rules on those outlets may well run into a bigger obstacle ­ the First Amendment.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0705/p09s01-coop.html

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