Air America and the Fairness Doctrine

You have to hand it to Air America. Now on its third or fourth owner, the scrappy little liberal network has refused to die, in spite of being at odds with prevailing political thought since its inception.

Now, with the tide turning, it’s possible that Air America will fall victim to the more supportive climate. Instead of being buffeted by conservative talk radio, which now has problems of its own, the network is being dismantled by the defection of its stars to weightier distributors, most notably Dial Global (see story, Page 2).

It’s a familiar story: a pioneer creates and popularizes a franchise, only to see that franchise coopted by one or more more powerful competitors. I certainly don’t think ill of the coopters. . .but Air America deserves a little appreciation its pioneering.

I for one welcome a more balanced radio dial—if you can call extreme points of view from both the far left and the far right “balanced”—if for no other reason than it renders the Fairness Doctrine irrelevant.