By Congressman Roy Blunt

Earlier today, I had the pleasure of standing alongside a group of colleagues with whom I’ve worked plenty in the past, and for whom I have the deepest respect – not only because of their dedication to principle, but for their deep respect for diverse viewpoints and a full, robust debate.

And so it shouldn’t have come as a surprise that the issue bringing us together was the so-called Fairness Doctrine – a 1970s-era government mandate that achieved precisely the opposite effect of what its authors intended it to do. Instead of greater variety of opinion on the airwaves, we got less. Instead of more voices on the radio, we got fewer. And instead of richer, more genuine debate, we got a stale recitation of talking points – when, that is, stations could even afford to stay on the air long enough to deliver them.

Read on…

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