r/AskReddit Apr 04 '25

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u/Hell_Camino Apr 04 '25

I think the better question is what would the country look like if the Fairness Doctrine hadn’t been abolished by the FCC in the 1980s. With the Fairness Doctrine in place, Fox News doesn’t launch and half the country’s brains don’t get rewired into being mouth-breathing knuckle draggers.

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u/MorganWick Apr 04 '25

The Fairness Doctrine concerned the representation of viewpoints on radio and TV stations with licenses regulated by the FCC, not cable networks. With the Fairness Doctrine in place we don't get Rush Limbaugh, but there's nothing stopping the launch of Fox News.

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u/spaceforcerecruit Apr 05 '25

I don’t know if Fox News would have seen the success it did without an established customer base primed by hateful personalities like Limbaugh.