um, no. This revisionist history of the "golden age" of broadcast regulation & the Fairness Doctrine ignores the troubling history of FCC speech controls & unintended consequences of regulation. That regime gave us limited, bland choices. We got away from that model for a reason. https://twitter.com/Slate/status/1136952582646185984

for those glorifying the Fairness Doctrine, I encourage them to read the great Nat Hentoff's essay, "The History & Possible Revival of the Fairness Doctrine," about real-world experience of life under the FCC's threatening eye. Read passage below... https://imprimis.hillsdale.edu/the-history-and-possible-revival-of-the-fairness-doctrine/

or go back and review the amazing FCC (and FBI!) investigation of The Kingsmen’s song “Louie Louie,” due to fears about its unintelligible lyrics. https://wtop.com/music/2015/04/inside-the-fbis-obscenity-investigation-of-louie-louie/ That's your "Golden Era" of broadcast regulation for you!

or go back & read former CBS president Fred Friendly’s 1975 book (The Good Guys, the Bad Guys & the First Amendment) re: abuses of the Fairness Doctrine during both Republican & Democratic administrations. This stuff from Kennedy years, which I summarized in old book, is shocking

and then there was the "golden era" of broadcast regulation under Nixon, where regulatory harassment intensified to counter what had happened during Democratic administrations. See this 2007 @notjessewalker essay: https://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/tuning-out-free-speech/ Snipped passage below is amazing.

or read Tom Hazlett on Nixon years & broadcast meddling: "License harassment of stations considered unfriendly to the Administration became a regular item on the agenda at White House policy meetings." And then the Smothers Brothers became victims, too! https://nationalaffairs.com/public_interest/detail/the-fairness-doctrine-and-the-first-amendment

this is how Tom Hazlett perfectly summarized the choice before us regarding whether to let regulatory bureaucracies decide what is "fair" in media. This is exactly the same question we should be asking today when people suggest reviving the old "golden era" media control regime.

importantly, these examples here just involved political meddling under the Fairness Doctrine. Indecency rules, the Financial Interest & Syndication Rules, and other FCC policies gave politicians others levers of exerting influence and control over speech.