We live in a great country, but it is imperfect. However, we as Americans are free to air our grievances about what we find to be wrong with it. In these days, if you have a sharp tongue and a blog, then you can have an audience to voice your opinion on whatever you wish to talk about. However, the average American may want a more fair and balanced source of their news, and sadly they will not get it. Some networks may claim to offer that, but they most often lean more liberal or conservative. Wherever your politics may lie is up to you, but the way you receive your news is up for scrutiny. Surely we can all agree on the importance of an impartial news source.
Current news programs and publications tend to lean too far to the left or the right, and its readers/viewers may not be getting the whole story. When paying that monthly cable bill many wonder why choose Comcast for cable, or any other cable provider, when all you are paying for is opinionated news instead of factual news. There are news stations that claim to be fair and balanced, but their programs add a spin to stories that only serve to enforce the views of the station and its affiliates. It is certainly alright to have an opinion, but it is somewhat unprofessional to express it in the manner they do when they make claims of fair and balanced news. This lack of journalistic integrity is why many yearn for the return of the fairness doctrine.
Back in 1939, congress passed the Fairness Doctrine. Under the this doctrine, news outlets had to remain impartial when it came to controversial topics. This doctrine remained in place for over forty years until Ronald Raegan deregulated it, and has resulted in the kind of biased reporting we have today. This kind of reporting can be dangerous, because it may not tell the full story, and any given report of the news may be one sided.
That may explain why our nation has become so divided. Depending on where we get our news, we may be receiving only half of a given story, while others get the other half. In this case, the halves do not make a whole. Rather than sharing information with one another in a dignified manner, the two sides will argue their points on who is right. With all of the information, they may be able to form a well informed opinion, and in the end, they may not disagree after all. With the Fairness Doctrine back in place, that could possibly happen.
Everyone has their own opinion, and that’s okay. Even with fair and balanced news reporting, there would still be people who disagree on current events. However, they would have an easier time reading the news and forming their own opinion, rather than being told what to think. To me, that is the true definition of fair and balanced.
