DePetro fired...

[Donna Halper]

>Bob wrote--
>
>If the FD comes back, talk stations won't want to be
>running anything "controversial" for fear that they'll have to "give
>the other side"

That is, excuse me for saying so, total nonsense.  Even during the 
days of the FD, it never said you had to immediately give the other 
side.  It just said you couldn't attack somebody viciously (as 
Michael Savage is wont to do) without providing them with the 
opportunity to come on the air and respond.  There were plenty of 
interesting and often controversial talk show hosts who functioned 
just fine under the Fairness Doctrine.  The late great Jerry Williams 
certainly was not bland or boring, and he still managed to stay on 
the right side of the Doctrine.  It just made everybody a little more 
responsible and a little less nasty.  I don't think that's 
necessarily a bad thing.