The following is a KSCO commentary. Here is Kay Zwerling:
The following encore commentary about the Fairness Doctrine is in my new book about to be published shortly. It was broadcast on 7-27-2007, very timely then, and still timely, because the Obama administration will try to repeat it if the new Congress remains Democratic. Here it is. It is called: Why the Fairness Doctrine is Anything but Fair.
Legislation currently is before Congress that would reinstate an FCC Policy known outright as the “Fairness Doctrine”. It is being sponsored in both the Senate and the House by the Democrats who are determined to resurrect this foolish and unfair law.
It would codify a 1949 FCC regulation that once required broadcasters to afford reasonable opportunity for the discussion of conflicting views of public importance.
The Fairness Doctrine was overturned by the FCC in 1987. The FCC discarded the rule because, contrary to its purpose, it failed to encourage the discussion of more controversial issues.
The American Left is totally comfortable with the current unbalanced liberal media, that is, the print media and much of the radio and TV media excepting for Fox news. Newspapers, magazines, and TV like ABC, NBC, CBS, and CNN deal primarily with concerns and opinions of the Democrats and omit opinions and issues of concern to the Republicans.
The Democrats are uncomfortable with successful radio news talk programs, like Rush Limbaugh’s, and those of numerous other conservative radio talk hosts, and radio is primarily the one media outlet which the conservatives have. The liberals failed in radio because they whined and complained about everything, and never presented solutions. Their conversation was toxic.
The only way the Fairness Doctrine could be fair would be if the conservatives would also be given the right to respond in print to newspaper stories, and give radio and TV responses to liberal news interpretations. But that will never happen.
Clearly, the Democrats want to reinstate the Fairness Doctrine so that they can control any opposition from the conservatives, by receiving equal time on all conservative programs.
One wonders why the liberals are always threatened by different points of view. Can it be that their opinions are often impractical, illogical, or unable to withstand scrutiny?
It is rightfully argued that the Fairness Doctrine can interfere with the First Amendment. And, my hope is that despite the Democrat’s desire to reinstate the Fairness Doctrine, this one-sided politically conceived law will be voted down because it is unfair.
For KSCO, this is Kay Zwerling.
© copyright 2010
