This has been on my mind for years now:
Why do most radio stations insist on playing the same selection of songs over and over?
I imagine it must be a copyrights thing? Pay for usage of this particular catalogue for a year?
Donβt those DJs get absolutely sick of it after a while?
This rule was was the Fairness Doctrine, and it was in effect from 1949 to 1987. So it's fair to say that Reagan got rid of it.
This is a different rule called the Equal Time Rule, and it's still in effect today.
Recently this rule was in the news when Stephen Colbert interviewed Senate candidate James Talarico on his (now concluded) show, without offering the same interview time to Talarico's primary opponent Jasmine Crockett. I believe in the end the interview was cut from the over-the-air broadcast to comply with the rule. (The interview segment was published on YouTube, which is not subject to the rule.)
https://bookshop.org/beta-search
Ross Thomas was a Washington reporter turned crime novelist. All his stories have a political slant.
The Fools In Town Are On Our Side is about an ex-CIA agent who is trying to make a small Southern city 'so corrupt the pimps will vote for reform.'
Anyone who knows the difference between the Fairness Doctrine and the Equal Time Rule will probably enjoy his work