Outlawing “Fairness”

Among the many aspects of the Watergate affray that allegedly horrified right-thinking people was the reported effort of the Nixon Administration to manipulate the national media.

Such, at any event, was the general thrust of a memorandum written by Nixon campaign aide Jeb Magruder, spelling out the steps that might be taken to bring unfriendly media types into line with the official Nixon outlook. Included in Magruder’s list of proposals were suggestions that the antitrust laws be brought to bear against the TV networks; that the Internal Revenue Service take a careful look at certain tax returns; and that the Federal Communications Commission and its “fairness doctrine” be utilized against broadcasters seen as being negative toward the Nixon program.

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M. Stanton Evans

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Among the many aspects of the Watergate affray that allegedly horrified right-thinking people was the reported effort of the Nixon Administration to manipulate the national media.

Such, at any event, was the general thrust of a memorandum written by Nixon campaign aide Jeb Magruder, spelling out the steps that might be taken to bring unfriendly media types into line with the official Nixon outlook. Included in Magruder’s list of proposals were suggestions that the antitrust laws be brought to bear against the TV networks; that the Internal Revenue Service take a careful look at certain tax returns; and that the Federal Communications Commission and its “fairness doctrine” be utilized against broadcasters seen as being negative toward the Nixon program.