What I do NOT suggest for the press is a "Fairness Doctrine."
1. I suggest shaming the press into hiring journalists who have different points of view — in other words, diversity, something that news organizations have given lipservice to for at least a decade.
2. If I were at CBS or NBC, I would call James Taranto and ask for names (or hire him).
3. MEDIA WATCH. If I were at any of the networks, I would start an hour-long news media show — Media Watch. I would hire two staffs, one mostly (though not exclusively) Republican and one mostly (though not exclusively) Democratic. Each one would critique media bias stories each week, followed by a panel discussion including both staffs and outside reporters who covered the story. There might even be a five minute segment for each side to critique the other side's report from the prior week. I think it would get relatively good ratings for a news show and would be great fun with the right people. To head up the Republican team, I would try to hire Tim Blair or Mark Steyn, someone with a sense of humor.
4. Last, if I were a billionaire, I would try to buy CBS, NBC, or ABC. I would point out to the news division that such strongly biased reporting is, at bottom, BAD journalism. No matter how competent the staff may be, the ORGANIZATION can't do a good job of political reporting in an atmosphere of political uniformity — even if the individuals try to be fair, which most of them do most of the time. I would encourage them to do what any news organization should do anyways: hire staff who would improve the overall quality of the reporting. That means that, if I were heading up Fox News, I would hire more Democrats.
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