Thread: Coalition Stands Strong Against the 'Fairness Doctrine'

Coalition Stands Strong Against the 'Fairness Doctrine'
Posted by Bobby Eberle
November 14, 2007 at 5:34 am

There are many bills in Congress with fancy, "happy-sounding" names. When one of these pops up, you can usually bet that it's a bad bill. Take the immigration bill known as the DREAM Act. It turns out that the DREAM Act was more of a nightmare than good legislation, and it went down in flames thanks to grassroots activism. However, one of the most misleading bills out there is the "Fairness Doctrine," and a coalition of Republican legislators is working to ensure that it never sees the light of day again.

Earlier this year, during a legislative battle over the "Fairness Doctrine," opponents of the measure where able to defeat it through an amendment to an FCC appropriations bill which banned the agency from using any funds to adopt a fairness rule. However, the issue is not completely dead as the possibility still exists that a future president may take executive action to force the media to adopt "Fairness Doctrine" policies. And that's where we now see the conservative coalition in action.

For those unfamiliar with the "Fairness Doctrine," the Heritage Foundation put together the following summary:

In 1949, the Federal Communications Commission established the Fairness Doctrine requiring broadcasters to provide fair and balanced public affairs related programming. By 1985, it was clear that the Fairness Doctrine was no longer necessary due to the emergence of a "multiplicity of voices in the marketplace." Following a Federal Court's ruling that the FCC was not statutorily bound to enforce the Fairness Doctrine, the FCC abolished the Fairness Doctrine in 1987. That same year President Reagan vetoed Fairness Doctrine legislation.

Nevertheless, in recent weeks several prominent politicians have been voicing a desire to reinstitute the misleadingly-named Fairness Doctrine -- thus threatening our constitutional right to free speech and fundamentally undermining the workings of our free market democracy.

With government restrictions off the airwaves, the market began to take over. The winner was conservative talk radio. In contrast, the Left was not shutout by some conspiracy. Many left-wing talk shows have tried to make it, and almost all have fallen. Driven by the free market and capitalism, those shows which deliver an audience survive and those which only result in a symphony of crickets fail.

As noted in another Heritage Foundation piece, the success of talk radio has been a "thorn in the side of the left."

Not surprising, then, that almost immediately after liberals regained power in Congress, Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D., Ohio) called for restoring the long-dead Fairness Doctrine. The "idea of uninhibited exchange of ideas in the marketplace" he said, "needs to be looked at in the era of media consolidation".

Kucinich's call attracted much media attention, and more than a little criticism, but little was actually done to advance the idea legislatively. It probably would still be on the back burner were it not for -- of all things -- illegal immigration. During the acrimonious debate over immigration reform, "AM armies" roused by conservative talk-show hosts proved to be a powerful -- and to many legislators, unwelcome -- force.

Angered by this, a number of amnesty opponents -- from both sides of the aisle lashed out against talk radio. Liberal leaders seized the moment to call for the Fairness Doctrine's return.

As mentioned earlier, the push during the summer to reinstate the "Fairness Doctrine" failed, but the issue is not over. As reported in The Hill, Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN) has put together a coalition of nearly every Republican House member which supports legislation that would ban the "Fairness Doctrine." The coalition has signed a discharge petition which would force a floor vote on the measure.

One hundred ninety-four out of 200 House Republicans are backing the effort to block the anticipated revival of the Fairness Doctrine, which they believe is a tool Democrats will use to cut down on the number of conservative radio talk shows. The Fairness Doctrine was discarded by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) during the Reagan administration in 1985. Not one Democrat has signed the petition, which requires 218 signatures to trigger a vote.

Even though Pence's appropriations amendment aimed at restricting federal funding for the Fairness Doctrine passed 309-115 in June, it is unclear if that provision will be included in the final bill. Regardless, conservatives are seeking a permanent policy on the Fairness Doctrine.

The Hill notes that Pence's current actions are different than the efforts he made during the summer with his appropriations amendment. With implementation stifled in the Congress, Pence and others see the potential issue arising if a left-wing president (Hillary) comes to power. "The bill that Pence is seeking a vote on is different than the amendment that passed this summer. It would prohibit future implementation of the Fairness Doctrine by the executive branch without an act of Congress."

Debate is not just limited to the U.S. House. Liberal senators are echoing Dennis Kucinich's comments and are starting to make waves about "fairness" -- forcing radio stations to air content that the audience does not want is not my idea of fairness, but then again, my last name isn't Durbin or Feinstein.

Accuracy in Media (AIM) issued a press release last week calling attention to the actions in the Senate. AIM editor Cliff Kincaid noted that "Senators Barbara Boxer and John Kerry, two prominent members of the committee, have been quoted as saying they favor governmental action through a vehicle such as the so-called Fairness Doctrine to regulate and restrict conservative talk radio."

The hearing is titled "Localism, Diversity, and Media Ownership." But Kincaid charged that it was "a transparent attempt to justify Congressional interference in decisions that should be above partisan politics." He explained, "Nobody, including AIM, favors giving the Big Media even more power. But if Congress can determine who owns the media, based on political considerations and under pressure from groups like the George Soros-funded Free Press, then using the Fairness Doctrine to monitor and regulate political speech over the air won't be far behind."

We need less government, not more... and politically motivated efforts by left-wing politicians to force the media to carry programs that fit their agenda is about as un-American as it gets. The government should stay out of the free speech business. The American people are the ultimate judges of what succeeds and what fails on the airwaves.

http://www.gopusa.com/theloft/?p=603

Boxer and Kerry, well that says it all, I'm sure there were more left wing nuts who would love to see this to shut us up! I want to see these kind of people taken down off their high horses so bad! Just what country do they think they live in?


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