Thursday, Nov 20, 2008 6:55 PM UTC
The right’s bogus Fairness Doctrine fears
Conservatives have been warning for almost two years that Democrats intend to censor talk radio, but the conspiracy they see is only imaginary.
Topics: War Room, Politics News
Shortly after Democrats retook Congress in 2006, conservatives began sounding the warning bell — the left was salivating over the prospect of bringing back the Fairness Doctrine, and its restoration was surely imminent. And if the democrats had their way, conservative talk radio as we know it would soon be a thing of the past.
But, as I wrote in an article way back in April of 2007, there’s a distinct lack of evidence to support the right’s concerns. At the time, when I contacted spokesmen for two Democratic members of Congress who’d have to play a key role in any restoration of the Fairness Doctrine, weren’t even really sure what I was talking about. “I’m not aware that there’s any kind of debate about the Fairness Doctrine,” Jim Manley, a spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, said. “To be honest, I barely even know what it is … [Sen. Reid] is not contemplating anything like that. It truly is not on his radar screen.” (For the record, the Fairness Doctrine is an old FCC rule that said broadcasters had to provide balance in any opinion broadcasting; it was scrapped during the Reagan administration.)
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