Democrat's 'Fairness Doctrine' is Far from Fair Leading members of the Democratic congressional majority are attempting to silence talk radio by resurrecting the so-called “Fairness Doctrine.” Contrary to its name, this arcane regulation would limit free speech by injecting government control over programming on our airways. Freedom of speech, one of the rights guaranteed by the First Amendment, is part of the foundation our country was built upon. Our government does not, nor should it ever, have the responsibility to modify that right and thus regulate content of speech. The Fairness Doctrine was a Federal Communications Commission rule that was first put into effect in 1949. Its intent was to mandate “fairness” over the airways by requiring broadcasters to provide equal airtime for opposing points of view on controversial topics. In short, the federal government mandated that a conservative viewpoint was countered by a liberal viewpoint (and vice versa) in an attempt to be “fair.” The justification for the rule was the “scarcity” of broadcast channels in the 1940s and the perceived need for the government to ensure broadcast fairness. At the time the Fairness Doctrine was put in place, television was in its infancy and there were only a limited number of AM radio stations. As time went on, the advent of FM radio and cable television drastically increased the number of channels available to consumers, making the scarcity argument less and less defensible. The rule, which was in place for nearly four decades, was finally repealed by the Reagan Administration in 1987.,.................Read More
By: Sen. Roger Wicker Filed 12/26/08 GCN
ANYTHING BUT FAIR
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