A New Fairness Doctrine?

Lots of talk in the past few weeks about reintroducing the Fairness Doctrine to broadcasting.  Originally brought about in 1949, Ronald Reagan's administration abolished the policy in the Federal Communications Commission in 1987.  Essentially the policy forced broadcasters to provide both sides of any controversial issue, and in the near-quarter-century since its abolition, it seems broadcasting could not be farther from this idea.  But now there is quite a stir in the media that a new fairness doctrine could emerge from the FCC, and two Congressmen (also former broadcasters) have proposed a bill that would, in fact, stop the FCC from ever enforcing such a rule again.

I don't understand this.  I can certainly understand that broadcasters would want to simply broadcast their own opinions, that's human nature.  But the fear that this fairness doctrine will return seems completely unwarranted.  Neither President Obama nor FCC chair Julius Genawchowski support such a policy.  Freedom of the press is important, but I think it is far more likely that the press will come under influence if there is no limits on what is to be presented on air.  Not to mention the fact that many of the most influential people in this country are media conglomerate owners.  In the current state of the media, those holding opposing viewpoints seem to be at war with one another, constantly bad-mouthing "the liberal media," or anyone else really.  This sort of mindset does not brew healthy competition, instead making media groups look for any opportunity to put their opponent in a bad light.  I think that the media today could stand to bring back the fairness doctrine, and the fearful fight to keep it away is far more disconcerting than any other prospect.  Be careful Congress, I worry that our media could be descending even further.