Free Republic

The Fairness Doctrine, which forced broadcasters to offer equal time to both sides of controversial issues, was abolished in 1987, paving the way for talk radio to take the opinionated -- and popular -- form it has today. Now, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and such influential Democratic senators as Barbara Boxer and Chuck Schumer are pushing for its return, or something like it. Could the equal-time provisions pull a Don Imus and make a radio comeback? It could, industry insiders say. And the government-mandated programing restrictions that come with it could hobble an already struggling industry. Talk-radio hosts are unlikely...

A new video from Newsbusted. Must watch. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6KmaFU3UbY

Seven out of 10 voters (69%) remain convinced that reporters try to help the candidate they want to win, and this year by a nearly five-to-one margin voters believe they are trying to help Barack Obama. A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 50% of voters think most reporters are trying to help Obama win versus 11% who believe they are trying to help his Republican opponent John McCain. Twenty-six percent (26%) say reporters offer unbiased coverage (demographic crosstabs available for Premium Members). Just last week a Rasmussen Reports survey found that 51% of voters believed reporters...

Oprah Winfrey may have introduced Democrat Barack Obama to the women of America -- but the talkshow queen is not rushing to embrace the first woman on a Republican presidential ticket! Oprah's staff is sharply divided on the merits of booking Sarah Palin, sources tell the DRUDGE REPORT. "Half of her staff really wants Sarah Palin on," an insider explains. "Oprah's website is getting tons of requests to put her on, but Oprah and a couple of her top people are adamantly against it because of Obama." One executive close to Winfrey is warning any Palin ban could ignite a...

Oprah’s endorsement for the Obama campaign slips out from under the “equal time” rules of the FCC because the rules do not apply to news programs, documentaries or interview shows in which a single candidate is the only focus point of the show. Republican lawyers will want to take a closer look at these laws now since Matthew Mosk of the Washington Post reported in Houston’s Chronicle’s online site September 6 2007 that in an audio forum aired recently Oprah said “the Obama’s will be her only political guests.”

Oprah Winfrey may be getting behind Barack Obama's presidential campaign with vigor this year -- she'll raise $3 million for him when she holds a fundraiser at her California estate on Saturday. It means she'll be wading into the political world as never before. In 2000, she had Al Gore and George Bush for guest appearances. And California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has dropped by her couch.... .......................................... This year, she says, Obama will be the lone presidential candidate to grace her studio. "If everybody knows I'm for Barack it would be really disingenuous of me to be sitting up there...

Former Senator Fred D. Thompson of Tennessee segued neatly from Congress back to an acting career in 2002, when he joined the cast of NBC’s long-running crime series “Law & Order.” Now that Mr. Thompson seems poised to re-enter politics as a Republican presidential candidate, his career will take another twist. In May, he asked NBC to release him from further “Law & Order” commitments; more recently, NBC said it was ready to stop showing reruns of the episodes he appears in because of federal equal time regulations for presidential candidates. “If Fred Thompson formally announces his intention to run...

In the interest of your fetish with the poorly named "Fairness Doctrine," I have decided to spend a little "equal time" giving the party of FDR some friendly advice. Free of charge. First and foremost, if you want to get into more power (after all, that’s the goal of every politician, right?), try standing for something. For the last thirty years, I have only heard of what you are opposed to. Opposing your opponent is no longer enough to convince voters what you plan to do with the power bestowed upon you by the "consent of the governed." You have...

In what will surely be one of the largest ever, if not the largest, in-kind contributions to a presidential campaign if Al Gore decides to run, NBC Universal announced late last week that its networks will devote an incredible 75 hours of time on Saturday, July 7 to showing Gore's “Live Earth: The Concerts for a Climate in Crisis.” In addition to the entirety of NBC's prime time that night hosted by Ann Curry of NBC News, CNBC will carry seven hours of coverage from 7pm to 2am EDT; Bravo will show the concerts around the world for 18 hours...

It looks as if Fred Thompson is getting ready to run for president. Friends of the former Tennessee senator turned actor (anonymous to protect their relationship) say he's increasingly tempted to enter the 2008 Republican primaries, fueled in part by new polls that show he's got a serious shot at the White House. A Gallup poll released last week found Thompson ranked No. 3 behind front runners Rudy Giuliani and John McCain with 12 percent support among Republicans—all before he's even formally launched a campaign. Last week Thompson was spotted in Washington lunching with former Senate majority leader Bill Frist,...

Yes, that was Arnold Schwarzenegger on ESPN last night doing commentary from the booth at the Chargers-Raiders game. It was a remarkable bit of free publicity for Schwarzenegger amid his re-election campaign. There is perhaps some synergy here that smoothed the way for the governor's Howard Cosell moment. Schwarzenegger is friendly with Robert Iger, the president and CEO of Disney, which owns ESPN. And he has a long relationship with the giant media company. There is no requirement for ESPN to give Phil Angelides equal time, unlike other broadcast shows. News and public affairs programs (yes, sports is considered news)...

Edward P. Lazear, chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, spoke recently about the U.S. economy. Here are excerpts: Economic growth is the key to increasing living standards. Our economy has been growing strongly. with real gross domestic product increasing at a 5.3 percent annual rate in the first quarter of 2006. Growth means higher productivity, and higher productivity translates directly into higher wages. Productivity has also grown strongly, with the most recent numbers showing 3.5 percent annual growth since the business cycle peaked in the first quarter of 2001. Economic growth and productivity growth are also important...

Ladies and Gentlemen and legal-minded Freepers, I need your help: One of my friends has a local radio show (which I've previously chronicled) devoted to hunting and fishing. Recently, he secured the Republican candidate for county executive as a guest on the show, to talk about his thoughts and opinions on hunting and fishing. My friend has spent some time and money promoting the interview thus far. Unfortunately, recently the radio station has intervened and put a stop to the interview, saying that they would have legal problems on their hands if they let it continue, problems going back to...

Nothing's worse than seeing a major news development, especially one having such a huge potential impact on conservative activism, getting buried by holiday distractions. Especially ironic: a judicial assault on free speech, just before Independence Day. Since a Thurston County, Washington, judge ruled late last Friday that comments by Seattle talk hosts are considered in-kind campaign contributions, subject to reporting under state disclosure laws, it's been an uphill battle getting conservatives to understand its ramifications.

June 16, 2004 Gun Group's Radio Show Tests Limits on AdvocacyBy JAMES DAO ASHINGTON, June 15 - In a direct challenge to federal limits on political advocacy, the National Rifle Association plans to begin broadcasting a daily radio program on Thursday to provide news and pro-gun commentary to 400,000 listeners.The group says its jump into broadcasting with its program, "NRANews," means that it should be viewed as a media organization that does not have to abide by provisions of a sweeping campaign finance law from 2002. That law stops organizations from using unregulated "soft" money to buy political advertising that...

Why am I running for governor of Texas in 2006? Why the hell not? I already have several good campaign slogans, starting with "How hard could it be?" Compared with the daunting financial crunch that Arnold Schwarzenegger inherited when he became governor of California, being governor of Texas is a notoriously easy gig. It's rather like being the judge of a giant chili cook-off. Consider that in the past a series of wealthy Texas oilmen have ascended to the office, some of them rarely bothering to leave their ranches to go to Austin unless there was a football game. And...

Red, white and blue colors cover the screen on MTV's website as the words appear, "The last election was decided by 500,000 votes nationwide. In some states it was decided by 50,000 or 5,000 or 500. In the last election, 18 million young people voted. What if that were 20 million? Who's swing voting now?" The same network that has given us "The Osbournes," "Punk'd," and "Total Request Live" also contributes to the seriousness of politics by delivering "Choose or Lose," the current MTV campaign to mobilize 20 million young voters in November. "Choose or Lose," launched in 1992, brought...

Choose or Lose: 20 Million Questions for John Kerry Special MTV - Music Television Airing Time: Tue 3/30, 10:30PM (30 minutes) Categories: News, Special, News/Public Affairs, Special/Other Future airings of Choose or Lose: John Kerry Special: • Wed 3/31 11:00 AM MTV - Music Television Wed 3/31 8:30 PM  MTV - Music Television (Satellite) Fri 4/2 12:30 AM  MTV - Music Television (Satellite) And airing other times. Kerry gets 30 minutes to tell his lies to the youth of America. I wonder if they will also give President Bush his own "Choose or Lose" Special?

Equal time rule nixes Arnold interview NEW YORK, Aug. 22 (UPI) -- Shock jock Howard Stern has had to cancel his interview of Arnold Schwarzenegger because of the Federal Communications Commission's equal-time rule. Stern's lawyers advised him if he interviews Schwarzenegger, he would be obligated to interview all 135 gubernatorial candidates in the California runoff election -- if they requested equal time. Schwarzenegger, a frequent guest on the radio program, told Stern June 24 that if he decided to run for governor, he would come back on the show to talk about it. A phone interview was set for Wednesday...

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - "The Running Man" starring Arnold Schwarzenegger will not be running any time soon on Sci Fi channel. The cable TV network said on Thursday it was pulling an entire night of Schwarzenegger programming featuring three of his films including "Running Man" and "Conan The Destroyer" on Aug. 24, becoming the second cable network in two days to take his movies off air. Schwarzenegger is one of 135 candidates running for governor of California in a recall election scheduled for Oct. 7. Sci Fi, owned by Vivendi Universal, will instead offer viewers a slate of California-themed disaster...