bring back the Fairness Doctrine
Have we had this before? I don’t quite understand the problem with this. First of all. We will make out like bandits if this passes. The news is liberal all the time and conservative none of the time. I would think most here would love to have a 50-50 split of equal news. I know some worry about the radio programs. What? We have five conservative radio shows. Let them have their five and we will be done. Do you believe Rush will be overtaken by five new liberal radio shows? I don’t. He has a few following and competition is not going to change this. I must be missing something big time!
few = huge
Your definition of "conservative" and "liberal" is not the same as the "controlling legal authority" that will oversee the Fairness Doctrine.
The Supreme Court can't define pornography, but it will damn sure be able to define "conservative" and "liberal."
"Oh yes, we'll look into it" snicker, snicker. Nope, nothing there, nothing to see, just move along.
Mark
You don't? Look who gets to decide what's "fair". We would have a communist President, extremely liberal house and Senate. Where do you think they'd draw the line between "left" and "right"?
Remember, these are the same morons that call Bush a Nazi. They've been trying for years to silence Rush, et. al. They will use this as a hammer to silence opposition, just as they had done in the past. And yes, I DO remember when the fairness doctrine was in effect.
Second, a new Fairness Doctrine would drive political talk radio off the dial. If a station ran a big-audience conservative program like, say, Laura Ingraham's, it would also have to run a left-leaning alternative. But liberals don't do well on talk radio, as the failure of Air America and indeed all other liberal efforts in the medium to date show. Stations would likely trim back conservative shows so as to avoid airing unsuccessful liberal ones.
Then there's all the lawyers you'd have to hire to respond to the regulators measuring how much time you devoted to this topic or that. Too much risk and hassle, many radio executives would conclude. Why not switch formats to something less charged - like entertainment or sports coverage?
Yes you are missing something big time mainly that it won’t be liberal radio shows it will be folks calling in to your local radio show & demanding air time to “refute & disprove” what Rush said on the air & if the station has to give them air time that would otherwise be sold as advertising time they lose money . Also you will have all sorts of crackpots calling & demanding that they get to “refute & disprove “ what the other callers claimed & they also will be required by law to be put on the air .
In no time at all station management will decide that Rush has got to go just so the station as a bussiness can survive & you will have elavator muzik & cooking showson the air & thats it.