The So-Called Fairness Doctrine
by Matt Margolis, January 22nd, 2007 at 01:12pm
As bad as the situation with WRKO is, the fight to save WRKO is only one front in a much larger war against conservative talk radio. Back in the majority, congressional Democrats are pushing for legislation that would further silence conservative talk radio. They want to bring back the so-called “Fairness Doctrine.” They claim is that it would bring more balance to the media, but since talk radio is likely to be the most affected by it, it’s clearly another attempt to silence conservative voices in the media.
Bringing back the regulation will ensure more even-handed coverage of political issues, said Jeff Lieberson, spokesman for Rep. Maurice Hinchey (D-N.Y.), who has proposed the “Media Ownership Reform Act.”“The political interests of media owners can have a direct and indirect effect on the way news is presented to the public, so it’s important that all sides are heard,” Lieberson told Cybercast News Service Tuesday.
The “Fairness” Doctrine is a key component of Hinchey’s bill, which also sets tighter limits on media ownership. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) has proposed a companion bill in the Senate.
“This is not an attempt to muzzle them at all,” Lieberson said of conservative talk show hosts who are opposed to the Fairness Doctrine. “They will still be heard. This will ensure that different views that are not theirs will also be heard.”
But muzzling is exactly what such a law would do, charged Cliff Kincaid of Accuracy in the Media, a conservative media watchdog group.
“Make no bones about it, they want to force the conservative media to hand over air time to liberals,” Kincaid said in an interview. “When federal bureaucrats dictate the content of radio and TV shows, it’s muzzling to tell them what to say and how to say it.”
Anyone who listens to talk radio knows that both sides are presented. Conservative talk show hosts regularly have guests who have alternate viewpoints on with them. Callers also have a range of views and not denied a chance to speak if they have a different point of view.
Such legislation, if passed, would be disastrous to radio stations. The fact is liberal talk radio has consistently failed. Alan Colmes’s radio show was briefly syndicated on WRKO a few years ago, and it didn’t last long. Air America has been a complete failure, and only survived financially as long as it did because of rich liberal donors.
The “Fairness” Doctrine is actually scarier than what is happening at WRKO. The management at WRKO has the right to do whatever it wants, even if they choose to deliberately ignore what the market wants. The “Fairness” Doctrine threatens all talk radio everywhere.
Entry Filed under: General
4 Comments
1. Buck | January 22nd, 2007 at 9:54 pm
It is an attempt to silence all voices, and overtly conquer the internet. This is a totally insane thing they are trying to pull here. I am aghast. Truly.
But - even though I too am a conservative (not a neo-con commie Sean Hannity “all children need chipped” Antichrist type - a real conservative), we need to make this a bi-partisan issue, as it is not “democrats trying to silence conservatives”, it is the government trying to silence the people, and put everyone in prison who refuses to be silenced.
This is too important to risk loosing to bi-partisan politics - and when we discuss it, we need to make a point that it is to silence anyone who disagrees with the government - not just conservatives.
Good on you saying it’s a threat to all radio.
Very, very serious.
Here:
Bloggers Who Criticize Government May Face Prison:
http://www.outlawjournalism.com/news/?p=2426
US government wants bloggers to register:
http://www.outlawjournalism.com/news/?p=2427
Obviously, they can’t do stuff like this without giving some explanation of “why it’s good for the people.” Get informed, because we cannot afford to loose all freedom on the net.
2. Murphy | January 23rd, 2007 at 6:38 pm
This legislation is frightening, and should be to anyone on either side of the political aisles with their eyes open. If you think it might be hard to sell your democrat representative on nixing this; caution them to think what it might be like when(if) the republicans retake the congress and senate.
Rather than talk radio getting the gag, paint them a picture of how the same legislation might be applied to Hollywood.
3. Chris | January 25th, 2007 at 3:52 pm
This is the most blatant example of ‘If you can’t join ‘em, beat ‘em.’ And why isn’t the fairness doctrine being applied to TV and print journalism? Because those guys are already aligned with the Liberals.
There needs to be a Republican president in 2008 so this does not happen.
4. MJW | June 28th, 2007 at 10:13 pm
For all those afraid of the fairness doctrine, why can’t Michael Savage and all the others pick up a guitar, get a band and sing their ideas just like the liberals do on radio (Bono, Sting, etc.) Sounds like a plan to me.
M