I think you are overly optimistic in your assumption that the Fairness Doctrine would have prevented the rise of alternative media. Enforcement of the Fairness Doctrine was, in my opinion, not all that great even before Reagan. People seek out the news they want to hear. They hear the words they choose to hear and draw the conclusions that fit their established mental paradigm encourages them to draw. If they could not get a Fox News on TV, they would most assuredly gotten a Fox News on the web.