Go ahead, kiss my tote bag!
Posted on 12/17/2008 7:52:33 PM PST by T.L.Sink
Well, now it's out in the open: Rep. Anna Eschoo (D-CA - is that any surprise?) is calling for a return of the "fairness doctrine." And not just the old one, that covered radio and television: she wants it to apply to cable and satellite programming, as well. For all the high-minded rhetoric behind the Fairness Doctrine, the goal is the same: to reign in talk radio. Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Michael Savage, and others are successful. Conversely, liberals on talk radio have been utter failures. Air America still barely limps along but at some points, it had to resort to shady (if not downright illegal) practices to stay solvent. So, under a revived Fairness Doctrine, a station that aired Rush Limbaugh's entire three-hour show would be obligated to air three hours of counterpoint. Fair is fair, right? WRONG. The stations that air Limbaugh do so because it's profitable for them. The advertisers are willing to sponsor Limbaugh's show: that's how it gets on the air. It's entirely possible that not enough sponsors will cover the expenses of the anti-Rush show. So the station will have to decide whether or not they will wish to continue to subsidize the anti-Rush show. But should they cut back (or cut out) the anti-Rush show, then they will have to cut back (or cut out) Limbaugh as well. No, it's not the stated goal, but this will cripple talk radio. Given the potential headaches, most stations will simply get rid of political talk entirely. Liberal talk radio has just as much of a chance to succeed as conservative talk radio, and conservative broadcasters shouldn't be punished for simply being more popular. In the name of "fairness" one of the strongest forces for conservatism will be crippled, and broadcasters across the nation devastated.
(Excerpt) Read more at commentarymagazine.com ...
Hell they already have NPR - and we pay for it! Try listening to an hour of that garbage. Just try!
Well, Fox News can prove that it hires people on the left to discuss issues. MSNBC & CNN simply can't.
Put Rush on NPR then. The Fairness Doctrine will ‘require’ it.
“Hell they already have NPR - and we pay for it! Try listening to an hour of that garbage. Just try!”
Congress people? We then boycott companies in their district. I think one pushing this was in Palo Alto which is home of Hewlett Packard. Big employers do not want this kind of headache.
This is something the UAW needs to think hard about. If they piss off the public then Ford, GM and Chrysler are gone for good. Conservatives buy American. Most Libs do not.
Good grief! Next will be the shutdown of the Internet where free speech is truly exercised.
It’s damn well time NPR was de-funded!
Go ahead, kiss my tote bag!
MSNBC & CNN don’t hire people on the left?
Thank you for posting the article.
Well, let ‘the people’ have this ‘Fairness Doctrine’.
However, it should apply to the entire broadcast portfolio of each station.
For instance, Hard Rock stations should have to play Beethoven for half of their listening hours.
C&W stations must play Hip Hop and Teenie Pop.
Rap stations must play Mormon Church music.
You get the idea.
Let’s see what happens then.
Prediction: the bad guys will also attempt to regulate sites like FReerepublic out of existence within the next 4 years.
Ha!
Bring back Fidonet!
How could they regulate FR and others like us? We need to get educated on this so we can fight back.
How?
As part of a scheme to regulate the internet completely. Globally.
So obviously just an attempt to limit free speech, and unconstitutional to boot. The idea with the original fairness doctrine was that there was only a limited range of frequencies that could be used for radio broadcasts - and as a limited public resource, they could be regulated. To go after cable is to not even hide their real intentions.
Ok, be fair - let the market decide. Oh, that’s right, it already has. No-one wants to hear a bunch of out-of-touch liberals whining about this or that idealistic tripe. Conservative talk radio sells, tough luck ‘rats.
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