Media Research Center Director of Communications and NewsBusters.org Contributing Editor Seton Motley appeared on today's Your World with Neil Cavuto on the Fox News Channel to discuss radical leftist Henry Rivera, President-elect Barack Obama's appointee to oversee the Administration's Federal Communications Commission (FCC) transition process, and its implications for the future of free speech in America.
Many members of the Democratic Party, including Speaker Nancy Pelosi, have stated their desire for a return of the so-called Fairness Doctrine, more rightly called the Censorship Doctrine for it would force conservative talk radio hosts off the air.
But no Congressional action is required to bring back the Fairness Doctrine. All the Obama Administration has to do is make one appointment to the FCC, turning a 3-2 Republican FCC majority into a 3-2 Democratic one, and it can again be reinstated. Republican Robert McDowell's term ends in June 2009.
Rivera is a former FCC Commissioner; he resigned in 1985. Then President Ronald Reagan replaced him with Commissioner Patricia Diaz Dennis, who in 1987 voted with the 3-2 FCC majority to rescind the so-called Fairness Doctrine. Since then, conservative talk radio has flourished and many attempts by the Left to compete in the arena have failed miserably (Air Amerca, anyone)?
So the Left has decided if you can't beat them, censor them. Hence their desire to bring back the Doctrine.
—Seton Motley is Director of Communications for the Media Research Center and Contributing Editor for NewsBusters.org.
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Oh isn't this just
November 7, 2008 - 19:39 ET by bigtimerOh isn't this just precious...The One, meaning Soros/Rahm and crew decide to bring back the dead for the revenge they all want...
Talk radio....Satellite here you come!
"America isn't the problem...America is the solution." ~ Rush Limbaugh
amen bigtimer!!
November 7, 2008 - 20:17 ET by porpoiseboyi have alway avoided paying for radio...i dunno, i guess i must be old. but should the fairness doctrine pass....it would be a great boon to satellite radio.....'cause xm/sirius here i come!
ps...i do tend to rent vehicles with sat when i travel and i must say, the offering is a great argument for private vs public airwaves.
Ecclesiastes 10:2 The heart of the wise inclines to the right, but the heart of the fool to the left.
Animal Farm -- the Sequel
November 10, 2008 - 08:23 ET by AJBWho can be surprised at this? Just as in Animal Farm that Orwell warned us about 70 years ago, they will rename their programs to disguise their intent. Fairness Doctrine vs Censorship Doctrine. Which would you be able to sell the stupid masses?
...and he loved Big Brother.
This is outright
November 7, 2008 - 19:46 ET by 10ksnookerStalinism ... We must fight. The leftists cannot do their dirty work if free speech exists. Did you notice how FNC didn't get to ask a question of The Thug today? A tad vindictive.
Reject Obamunism.
Keep your powder dry. The
November 7, 2008 - 19:57 ET by BlazerKeep your powder dry.
The sound of our voices will no longer trouble them when they are deafened by the sound of our cannon.
-Blazer
"You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. We must be cautious. "
- Ben Kenobi on Liberals, and the MSM.
" The Cake is a lie."
ALERT!!! Rick Davis on Palin on H&C NOW!!!
November 7, 2008 - 21:05 ET by TheSterLOOK!!!
Ster.
Listen, strange women lyin' in ponds distributin' swords is no basis for a system of government.
»→ Thanks, Ster
November 7, 2008 - 21:24 ET by Cool ArrowI watched it. Maybe we will see the camp traitors flushed out into the open.
Probably some weasely Scott McClellan type looking for the sweetheart book deal.
»→ Delete
November 7, 2008 - 21:25 ET by Cool ArrowDouble post. Not worth a second read.
Fairness Doctrine
November 7, 2008 - 21:14 ET by ParrotParrot
Would it be possible for talk radio supporters to file a class action lawsuit against the FCC to abolish this doctrine now or some time before the Supreme court falls to BHOism?
On October 22, 2008,
November 7, 2008 - 21:55 ET by randyhayesOn October 22, 2008, Senator Jeff Bingaman, Democrat of New Mexico, told a conservative talk radio host in Albuquerque, NM that "I would want this station and all stations to have to present a balanced perspective and different points of view," and "All I’m saying is that for many, many years we operated under a Fairness Doctrine in this country, and I think the country was well-served. I think the public discussion was at a higher level and more intelligent in those days than it has become since."
Yep..It would have been nice if there was an opposing view point to counter all of Rush's lies for almost 20 years!
Well Served equals No Free Speech
November 8, 2008 - 08:58 ET by gordonLets see now, the opposing viewpoints to talk radio are NBC, MSNBC, CBS, ABC, PBS, NPR, AP, Reuters, NYT, shall I go on? The liberals want opposition viewpoints crushed, pure and simple. They tried Air America and it's miserable failure made it breathtakingly obvious that the liberals cannot compete on a level playing field. So what to do? Like all liberals, what they cannot accomplish in the marketplace of ideas, they accomplish by government mandate. If the Fairness Doctrine were really fair, it would be applied to radio, television, and the print media. Since they control two out of those three, the Democrats will never do that. Just like the television media, all pretense will eventually slip away as their power grows. "Do as I say or I'll throw you in prison!" Most Americans don't know what the Fairness Doctrine was like, so they will never see the danger to free speech until it is too late. Heck, its probably already too late.
Contact your congressmen and
November 8, 2008 - 10:59 ET by candidcameracatContact your congressmen and senators immediately!
First Amentment Rights
November 8, 2008 - 14:24 ET by JDWThe libs are walking a fine line. Although I do not have a legal background, it is obvious that such a change would be an infringement upon First Amendment Rights.
JDW
DAILY WAVE
Applies to TV?
November 9, 2008 - 10:46 ET by BayshoremanAre there any attorneys out there who can explain how the FCC can impose a "fairness" doctrine on just one one public airways media and not others, e.g. television? I would think that if such a doctrine were to be forced upon "talk" radio, it would also have to apply equally to "talk" TV. For every minute MSNBC's Chris Mathews is on the air, would not MSNBC also have to have an equal time allocation for a counterpoint view? For every "news" report that CBS does, e.g. the CBS Evening News with Katie Curic, would not CBS also have to allocate (in prime time) an equal amount of time to a different view of what and how the "news" of the day is reported?
You would thinks so Bayshore - but no
November 9, 2008 - 10:52 ET by Dee Bunkthey implemented it before for just radio.
We have to be extremely loud and vocal about this. The best way to kill it is to require that it be applied for TV as well. We need to fight for that. If TV is included then the liberals would never let it pass.
FCC and perspective
November 9, 2008 - 11:04 ET by AgnosticRemember it will be liberals who decide what is left-center-right and that means a Katie Couric will have to be balanced with a Keith Olbermann in their world. What is even worse is that even if Congress fails to push this through, which I believe they will, I think the FCC can enforce this doctrine with just a small change in leadership.
You are so right Agnostic
November 9, 2008 - 11:15 ET by Dee Bunkit's all pretty bleak.