The best defense, the saying goes, is a good offense. TV time costs big money, so candidates spend their precious campaign funds on 30-second attack ads. Public opinion says that money is destroying democracy in America, so TV execs agree to unlock the airwaves - in an election year.
Despite grumbling about lost profits, the networks promised last spring to provide free air time to presidential candidates in the closing days of the campaign. Yet free TV has raised regulatory questions. Will the networks, for example, be forced to provide equal time to "minor-party" candidates? Senate testimony this summer seemed to suggest not - yet.
Self-regulation clearly beats the alternative. Rather than wait for more pressure, the networks should take the next logical step: refuse paid political advertising. Misinformation wants to be free.
