Democracy hurt by demise of Fairness Doctrine

There is no dialectic today as there was in the days of Jefferson when the monarchists and the republicans vied for control of the government. Ever since President Reagan did away with the Fairness Doctrine there has been no real examining of opinions or ideas logically so as to determine their validity.

What would people think if 80 percent of the media was controlled by the bigger national unions (the smaller local unions controlled the other 20 percent). And they determined what the news was and under/over reported the news to suit their agenda?

What would they think if 91 percent of 1,500 radio talk show hosts were liberal or progressive. (This is the situation now with the corporate-owned media and conservative radio talk show hosts and has led to what a 20-year joint study by Princeton and Northwestern Universities have found - that we don't have a democracy in America anymore but an oligarchy).

The mildest reaction would be that it wasn't fair, but many would cry that "socialism or communism was taking over the country."

Let's get the Fairness Doctrine back and have what Jefferson said was necessary for an informed citizenry.

Jim Crane

Arlington Heights