The Fairness Doctrine

[Norbert]

One of the symptoms of the problems John Kerry had was he had an uphill battle debunking things that spewed out of talk radio. Half truths and lies poured out of the radio then went on becoming common knowledge to the people listening to them. The other day part of a conversation I was having with a few people eventually centered around the looting at al Qaqaa. One of the people taking part in the conversation was quick to point out that the media got it all wrong and that he was hearing that only three tons of explosives are actually missing from the site. Of course, the source of his information, Rush Limbaugh. Later on I turn on to Hannity for the first time in a month. His take on the al Qaqaa controversy, 380 tons of explosives is NOTHING because our armed forces destroyed hundreds of thousands of explosives. 380 tons nothing. Okay lets set 380 tons off in his back yard and see.

Anyway the point I am making is the get a half truth or lie from Drudge or Newsmax, bark it out on the airwaves and then it becomes a problem. You debunk it but the fact remains people will still believe the original story. How many people still believe Al Gore said he invented the internet? This is my point.

The Fairness Doctrine kept these people in check. When they made a claim they were forced to quantify and verify what they actually say is true. If they didn't they were quick to get shot down by a differing point of view. It's no coincidence that in 1988, when the Fairness Doctrine was killed once and for all, that Rush Limbaugh became the biggest name in talk radio. There was a movement to reinstate the Fairness Doctrine around 1993 or 1994 but Rush help to shoot this down saying they were out to get him and the movement died.

What Rush and Hannity won't tell you about the Fairness Doctrine is that this won't take them off the air. They can still continue to do their shows as always. The difference is the station would be required to have differing viewpoints. For every Rush show a station would need to air Al Frankin, for every Hannity show Ms. Garafolo and her show would air. The problem Rush, Hannity and others face with the Fairness Doctrine is that their arguments would need to be sharpened, lies and distortions would possibly have to be thrown out.

The major problem I see with the Fairness Doctrine reinstatement is it would be link putting toothpaste back in the tube. It is not 1987 anymore and media giants like ClearChannel have grown into adulthood. Rush, Hennity, Beck and ClearChannel are not going to just step aside and let this come back into effect. With the exponential growth of the internet in recent years how effective the Fairness Doctrine could be is antibody's guess. I, for one, would like to see the Fairness Doctrine come into effect. It won't be easy, in fact with the opposition it could be nearly impossible, but with enough people power who knows?

I would suggest checking into MediaMatters and other website like this . Google "Fairness Doctrine" for more information because what I've told you in the post is about all I know in the subject.

Stop crying about Tuesday and put that energy to good and positive use. 2008 starts today. Reinstate the Fairness Doctrine.

[Norbert]

1. kick

[novadem]

2. Air America is the right approach

We just need to come up with more talk show radio shows and hosts that are successful. We don't need "affirmative action" for our shows, just make them appealing and they will get air time and sponsors.

Then our message will get out. Guys like Al Franken, Bill Maher and George Carlin carry our message well and are entertaining and funny.

[Rhiannon12866]

4. Did you know that George Carlin doesn't vote?

I swear that I heard him say this on Keith Olbermann's show, just before the election. He said that he didn't think that it mattered.:shrug:

[RafterMan]

3. I disagree with the Fairness Doctrine

I think it should be clear enough today that nobody can really draw the line between a documentary and a propaganda piece. And how would you quantify CNN's lazy repetition of administration talking points? It's *technically* reporting. Plus, I don't think it ever applied to cable (not public airwaves) and certainly not the net.

I used to support campaign finance reform, but we've seen what a joke that is, too. Both projects mean well, but the gray areas are just too big.

I'm afraid duelling partisans is the best we'll get.

[Bleacher Creature]

5. Great idea -- but good luck with that!

There's NO CHANCE that this happens with the GOP in control of the House. Period.