FCC Commissioner: Return of Fairness Doctrine Could Control Web Content

Business and Media Institute ^ | August 12, 2008 | Jeff Poor

[Bushwacker777]

""There’s a huge concern among conservative talk radio hosts that reinstatement of the Fairness Doctrine would all-but destroy the industry due to equal time constraints. But speech limits might not stop at radio. They could even be extended to include the Internet and “government dictating content policy.”

FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell raised that as a possibility after talking with bloggers at the Heritage Foundation in Washington, D.C. McDowell spoke about a recent FCC vote to bar Comcast from engaging in certain Internet practices – expanding the federal agency’s oversight of Internet networks. "

[Bushwacker777]

Yet another reason we need McCain to win this election and not a leftist controlled by George Soros who likely would appoint people to courts and administrative posts who would try to make our laws look more like Europe's and Canada's. Many people consider conservative sites like FreeRepublic to be "hate sites" and you'd better believe FR would be up there on the list to try out such laws. Of course, I am sure the laws would be written to make sure places like Democratic Underground were safe from government oversight.

[Tarpon]

I note when discussing the public airwaves they never talk about the TV channels, do they?

google is up to their eyeballs in the ‘whitespace’ push, so they surly need to be regulated.

[Mr. K]

If the ‘fairness’ doctrine ever sees the light of day I suggest we BOMBARD them with examples of the 90% liberal leftist media in hollywood, TV, Movies, newspaper, Magazines, and DEMAND ‘fairness’ for conservative viewpoints.

This could backfire big-time if played right. there was no coservative voice ANYwhere the last time, but now there is enough to make this happen.

Look at how we defeated shamnesty

[Red Badger]

DU/KOS and the others cannot be exempted while FR and others would not. ...................

[SECURE AMERICA]

Control.
Exactly what the Socialist Democrat Party Machine has in mind.
1. Taxes to control our access to money
2. Laws to restrict our access to weapons
3. Laws to restrict our access to speak out and free speech.

Sounds like the method Hilter used to take over Germany and how the Communists control teir peoples...

[exile]

“DU/KOS and the others cannot be exempted while FR and others would not.”

BS. Libs are hypocrites. They’ll find a way to reward their commie buddies while patriots will be hauled into gulags. And if anyone criticizes it, they will be branded a racist.

[fightinbluhen51]

Exactly!

All the more while we need every Congressman to sign Mike Pence’s discharge petition!

[parisa]

“Fairness Doctrine” is the biggest oxymoron in a FREE democratic country that I have ever heard of.

[penowa]

"Yet another reason we need McCain to win this election and not a leftist controlled by George Soros..."

Too late for that. You haven't done your homework, or you'd know that McCain is Soros' back-up in case the voters don't elect Obama. Doesn't matter if we elect a "leftist controlled by George Soros" or a fake rightist controlled by him. We're already SCREWED!

[Quix]

imho.

We NEEEEEED to make a much bigger fuss over this than even the very warranted Nancy Fancy Puhlousey thing.

[madison10]

Don’t believe you.

[penowa]

"Don’t believe you."

In that case, you don't spend much time reading on FR and even less time on google. Try googling Soros McCain and then tell me you don't believe me. Some industrious FReeper has a list of at least 20 links to McCain carrying water for Soros that has been posted MANY times on MANY McCain threads. Why do you think he sponsored McCain-Feingold? Why do you think he was well paid for that by Soros until the press caught on to what he was up to? Why do you think he was the main speaker at Soros own politicial convention? Tell me you don't believe me after you do ANY research, but I suspect you much prefer to remain ignorant and a big McCainiac because you'd vote for anything, even Soros himself, if he ran as a Republican.

[mainestategop]

We don't need the FCC and the fairness doctrine to promote net neutrality. It will do the exact opposite. Conservatives believe that net neutrality can be achieved by preventing corporations from monopolizing ISPs as well as through incentive and profit. When the left thinks of net neutrality, they want to put a choke hold on the world wide web and exclude content they don't agree with. This has nothing to do with fairness, this is about putting their dirty fingers on the scale of Democracy and liberty and silence conservative voices.

[ichabod1]

It’s like Affirmative Action.

[meyer]

This has nothing to do with fairness, this is about putting their dirty fingers on the scale of Democracy and liberty and silence conservative voices.

Precisely, which is why this should never see the light of day. The left hates when individuals think for themselves. Remember, it isn't news unless THEY say it is.

[bluegirl]

I suggest we BOMBARD them with examples of the 90% liberal leftist media in hollywood, TV, Movies, newspaper, Magazines, and DEMAND ‘fairness’ for conservative viewpoints. This could backfire big-time if played right.

I agree. We could file complaint after complaint about NPR, CNN, MSNBC, etc. And we should let the proponents of the Fairness Doctrine know that we intend to do so. We will not sit back and let them get away with dominating the airwaves again.

[Boucheau]

If we don’t fight this Tooth-and-Nail and beat it down we won’t deserve freedom.

I see lots of clever and funny comments about this but there is nothing at all funny about censorship.

Expect them to repackage the “fairnes doctrine” and push for it hard and fast.

We have to resist this early, fight it if it has a chance of passing and revolt against it if it does become law.

Most of you don’t see it coming but things are going to change. You will have to really fight in the coming years to preserve your freedom and your way of life. The powers that be do not have your best interests at heart, or in their minds.

If you think you can just do what you’ve been doing in recent years, or what your parents and grandparents did, and everything will work itself out you are sadly in denial or suffering from ignorance.

Mark my words.