Partisan Aberrations

I discovered the other day, the deregulation that allowed for cross-media outlets to coalesce under a single owner was signed under President Bill Clinton, not President George W. Bush as I’ve proclaimed several times in various formats. My sincere apologies for this misleading information. I also discovered it was President Ronald Reagan who got rid of the Fairness Doctrine (FCC rule from 49-87) for radio and broadcast mediums. These two actions are primary contributors to our current partisan divide.

Think of the McLaughlin Report as a Fairness Doctrine representation. A mediator with two peered individuals debating a subject from objective viewpoints, peered being key to the fairness aspect. This allows the audience to hear dissenting positions and format their own opinion.

With the recension of this doctrine right-wing talk-radio arose, and then partisan news in its many formats today. These singular perspectives act as propaganda machines (intentional or not) and inflame our partisan bickering by labeling or alluding to the political opposition as enemy.

President Clinton’s deregulation consolidated competition, limiting the diversity of narratives reaching the public; thereby creating a less informed population. A well-informed citizenry is crucial to the functioning of a representative republic.

Until the masses across the spectrum demand Anti-Trust regulations specific to media ownership and a return to the Fairness Doctrine for radio and broadcast mediums, we as a nation will continue to divide further along partisan lines, until we lose any semblance of what our country once represented.

Anthony J. Gerst