Posted on 02/16/2009 4:34:42 PM PST by Jim Robinson
An Obama senior advisor has indicated that the administration is mulling whether the controversial Fairness Doctrine will get a new lease on life, according to a report in Broadcasting and Cable.
The now defunct Fairness Doctrine, if revived, could be used by a liberal administration to silence Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and other radio talk show hosts – as well as much of the new alternative media. The doctrine required broadcasters to report both sides of controversial issues. It was dropped in 1987 by the Federal Communications Commission.
Asked by Chris Wallace on Fox News Sunday whether he would rule out re-imposing the doctrine, White House senior adviser David Axelrod responded: “I’m going to leave that issue to Julius Genachowski, our new head of the FCC, and the president to discuss, so I don’t have an answer for you now.”
This soft position is a departure from a much more definitive posture on the doctrine touted during the Obama campaign in June 2008:
“Senator Obama does not support re-imposing the Fairness Doctrine on broadcasters,” said press secretary Michael Ortiz in an e-mail to Broadcasting and Cable at that time.
“He considers this debate to be a distraction from the conversation we should be having about opening up the airwaves and modern communications to as many diverse viewpoints as possible,” said Ortiz. The specter of a return to the doctrine has enjoyed renewed visibility over the last couple of weeks as leading Democrats have been discussing it more and more.
(Excerpt) Read more at newsmax.com ...
And Satellite radio is about to go BK - so that won’t be an option either. We live in interesting times..
Get ready to make your voices heard, everyone!
Let the firestorm begin.
Does the “Fairness Doctrine” mean that “THE VIEW” will go off the air?
How about all the sit-coms with a gay message?? Or the message of believing Global Warming?
How about some of the Sat AM Cartoons?
Ever watch them closely???
The commies are making their move.
Talk radio is standing in the way of the creation of their socialist utopia.
It must be crushed out.
Quel suprise. They certainly are moving fast. Rush should have something on this tomorrow?
By diversity Obama means Socialist, Communist, Totalitarian. Not that there is a nickel’s worth of difference in them IMHO
The left is getting bolder and bolder and bolder by the day.
As a previous article stated, nothing is going to unite conservatives more than the libs trying to re-establish the “Fairness” Doctrine.
Even your average public school educated dolt will understand that this is nothing more than a blatant attempt to silence conservative talk radio. These liberal thugs think they’re going to get away with it but they’re in for a big surprise.
It is time for the Americans who are still left in this country to remind OUR GOVERNMENT exactly what the Bill of Rights means. The First Amendment prohibits the Government from telling us to shut up! Sorry Bari the Kenyan, your “fairness doctrine” violates the First Amendment!
Oh God I hope so!
I’m not sure this could pass muster this time around without court challenges. I remember judge Napalitano saying there have been court rulings and precidents in recent times that might make this impossible to implement. I hope he’s right.
best thing they could do is go ahead with this...BEST thing considering in three short weeks most Americans realize what we’ve all known from the beginning- dear leader is full of BS and an American hating leftist....
ping
I was called a “Rush Freak” by a lib at work.
I wish to sue my local NPR and PBS stations so that they carry Glenn Beck. He could follow Some Things Considered.
Not just conservatives. I know libs who are against the “Fairness Doctrine” because they are generally opposed to government control of information.
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