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As reported by Newsweek:
Why Howard Dean wants to re-regulate the media
Fraudulent 'Fairness'
Conservatives dominate talk radio—but no more thoroughly than liberals dominate Hollywood, academia and much of the mainstream media.
By George F. Will
Newsweek
May 7, 2007 issue - Some illiberal liberals are trying to restore the luridly misnamed Fairness Doctrine, which until 1987 required broadcasters to devote a reasonable amount of time to presenting fairly each side of a controversial issue. The government was empowered to decide how many sides there were, how much time was reasonable and what was fair.
By trying to again empower the government to regulate broadcasting, illiberals reveal their lack of confidence in their ability to compete in the marketplace of ideas, and their disdain for consumer sovereignty—and hence for the public.
The illiberals' transparent, and often proclaimed, objective is to silence talk radio. Liberals strenuously and unsuccessfully attempted to compete in that medium—witness the anemia of their Air America. Talk radio barely existed in 1980, when there were fewer than 100 talk shows nationwide. The Fairness Doctrine was scrapped in 1987, and today more than 1,400 stations are entirely devoted to talk formats. Conservatives dominate talk radio—although no more thoroughly than liberals dominate Hollywood, academia and much of the mainstream media.
Beginning in 1927, the government, concerned about the scarcity of radio-spectrum access, began regulating the content of broadcasts. In 1928, it decided that the programming of New York's WEVD, which was owned by the Socialist Party, was not in the public interest. The station's license was renewed after a warning to show "due regard for the opinions of others." What was "due"? Who knew?
In 1929, the government refused the Chicago Federation of Labor's attempt to buy a station because, spectrum space being limited, all stations "should cater to the general public." A decade later, the government conditioned the renewal of a station's license on the station's promise to broadcast no more anti-FDR editorials.
In 1969, the Supreme Court rejected the argument that the Fairness Doctrine violated the First Amendment protection of free speech, saying the doctrine enhanced free speech. The court did not know how the Kennedy administration, anticipating a 1964 race against Barry Goldwater, had wielded the doctrine against stations broadcasting conservative programming. The Democratic Party paid people to monitor conservative broadcasts and coached liberals in how to demand equal time. This campaign burdened stations with litigation costs and won 1,678 hours of free air time...
The full article can be found at; http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18366765/site/newsweek/
- Janq does not listen to talk radio at all
Why Howard Dean wants to re-regulate the media
Fraudulent 'Fairness'
Conservatives dominate talk radio—but no more thoroughly than liberals dominate Hollywood, academia and much of the mainstream media.
By George F. Will
Newsweek
May 7, 2007 issue - Some illiberal liberals are trying to restore the luridly misnamed Fairness Doctrine, which until 1987 required broadcasters to devote a reasonable amount of time to presenting fairly each side of a controversial issue. The government was empowered to decide how many sides there were, how much time was reasonable and what was fair.
By trying to again empower the government to regulate broadcasting, illiberals reveal their lack of confidence in their ability to compete in the marketplace of ideas, and their disdain for consumer sovereignty—and hence for the public.
The illiberals' transparent, and often proclaimed, objective is to silence talk radio. Liberals strenuously and unsuccessfully attempted to compete in that medium—witness the anemia of their Air America. Talk radio barely existed in 1980, when there were fewer than 100 talk shows nationwide. The Fairness Doctrine was scrapped in 1987, and today more than 1,400 stations are entirely devoted to talk formats. Conservatives dominate talk radio—although no more thoroughly than liberals dominate Hollywood, academia and much of the mainstream media.
Beginning in 1927, the government, concerned about the scarcity of radio-spectrum access, began regulating the content of broadcasts. In 1928, it decided that the programming of New York's WEVD, which was owned by the Socialist Party, was not in the public interest. The station's license was renewed after a warning to show "due regard for the opinions of others." What was "due"? Who knew?
In 1929, the government refused the Chicago Federation of Labor's attempt to buy a station because, spectrum space being limited, all stations "should cater to the general public." A decade later, the government conditioned the renewal of a station's license on the station's promise to broadcast no more anti-FDR editorials.
In 1969, the Supreme Court rejected the argument that the Fairness Doctrine violated the First Amendment protection of free speech, saying the doctrine enhanced free speech. The court did not know how the Kennedy administration, anticipating a 1964 race against Barry Goldwater, had wielded the doctrine against stations broadcasting conservative programming. The Democratic Party paid people to monitor conservative broadcasts and coached liberals in how to demand equal time. This campaign burdened stations with litigation costs and won 1,678 hours of free air time...
The full article can be found at; http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18366765/site/newsweek/
- Janq does not listen to talk radio at all
