Hush Rush?
While much of the world lives in dread of further horrors in Iraq, Darfur and the specter of no more Harry Potter books, Bill Buckley’s National Review worries that government just might shut up right-wing talking heads that rail on radio. On a recent cover is a photo of Rush Limbaugh, his mouth pasted over by duct tape. Inside is a heart-wrenching article deploring Democratic Party attempts to bring back the hated Fairness Doctrine.
For those of you too young to remember, from the earliest years of radio, there was a Fairness Doctrine.
Then came the Reagan era and it, along with labor’s right to organize and other democratic landmarks, was repealed.
Soon the airwaves were dominated by the outraged cries of Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham and Bill Bennett. Later, cable gave us a whole television network of such ‘fair and balanced’ nonsense.
The question is what part of ‘fairness’ do conservatives not understand? How onerous was the doctrine’s demand that listeners should hear both sides of a controversial issue?
Illinois Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin said recently “it’s time to reinstate the Fairness Doctrine.” California Sen. Dianne Feinstein, chairman of the Senate rules committee, agrees. “There ought to be an opportunity to present the other side. Talk radio is overwhelmingly one-way.”
Indiana Republican Rep. Mike Pence, a former radio talk-show host himself and a real “ditto” head, is sponsoring the Broadcaster Freedom Act which would permanently take away from the FCC the authority to re-impose the Fairness Doctrine. Pence said he had a terrible vision of the future that guided his action: “The American people need to know that a future Democrat president could appoint members to the FCC and issue executive orders that could bring back the Fairness Doctrine.”
The horrors of that are too disturbing for conservatives to even contemplate.
By the way -- the National Review cover story on “fairness” (or the lack of it) was penned by Byron York, a frequent right-wing TV pundit best known for a fabulous head of lacquered hair that wouldn’t dream of allowing John Edwards’ $400 barber to touch it.
For those of you too young to remember, from the earliest years of radio, there was a Fairness Doctrine.
Then came the Reagan era and it, along with labor’s right to organize and other democratic landmarks, was repealed.
Soon the airwaves were dominated by the outraged cries of Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham and Bill Bennett. Later, cable gave us a whole television network of such ‘fair and balanced’ nonsense.
The question is what part of ‘fairness’ do conservatives not understand? How onerous was the doctrine’s demand that listeners should hear both sides of a controversial issue?
Illinois Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin said recently “it’s time to reinstate the Fairness Doctrine.” California Sen. Dianne Feinstein, chairman of the Senate rules committee, agrees. “There ought to be an opportunity to present the other side. Talk radio is overwhelmingly one-way.”
Indiana Republican Rep. Mike Pence, a former radio talk-show host himself and a real “ditto” head, is sponsoring the Broadcaster Freedom Act which would permanently take away from the FCC the authority to re-impose the Fairness Doctrine. Pence said he had a terrible vision of the future that guided his action: “The American people need to know that a future Democrat president could appoint members to the FCC and issue executive orders that could bring back the Fairness Doctrine.”
The horrors of that are too disturbing for conservatives to even contemplate.
By the way -- the National Review cover story on “fairness” (or the lack of it) was penned by Byron York, a frequent right-wing TV pundit best known for a fabulous head of lacquered hair that wouldn’t dream of allowing John Edwards’ $400 barber to touch it.
posted by Victor Kamber | 9:00 AM
1 Comments:
Sir,
We are constantly being bombarded by the opinions of the other side!For example:CBS,NBC,ABC,CNN,PBS and the list goes on!There has always been a liberal slant to all of the aforementioned broadcasters!The Fairness Doctrine has,in a sense,been instituted by people such as Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity!Why is that so hard,for people on the "left",to see?Let's take a look,for a moment,at the failed attempt of Air America Radio:That was a prime example of the "left" failing to bring forth any new or substantive ideas!It was only a rehashing of the same old,same old,that we've been getting from the major networks for years!Shows like that of Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity have been a breath of fresh "air" for us on the "right"!When I say "right",I don't mean a political affiliation;I mean that which is right and fair!The reason that these shows have succeeded,is that people have access to more information than ever before in the history of this great country of ours.There will be no more of the "pulling the wool" over our eyes,which the major networks have done for years!There is another thought!
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