Can somebody give me some information about the "Fairness Doctrine"?

[tmyers09]

My dad (right winger, but considerably less crazy) said something yesterday about the Fairness Doctrine going against free speech. Since it was repealed before I was born, and it's not widely discussed, I figured you guys could maybe give me some possible counter arguments?

[PSPS]

1. It simply required giving time to an opposing viewpoint

It is frequently misrepresented as requiring "equal time," but that's not the case. It only required "offering time for an opposing viewpoint." This "time" could be anywhere in the broadcast schedule and never had to be an equal amount.

Its detractors, virtually everyone both left and right in the political spectrum who make money in the talk show business, oppose it (or its reinstatement) merely for selfish reasons -- it threatens their livelihood. But the loss of the fairness doctrine is what's responsible for the 24/7 non-stop hate radio industry.

[michreject]

2. And only on public (free) airways

Pay services were not included.

[Ozymanithrax]

3. Read this...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairness_Doctrine
If you don't like Wikipedia, go to the bottom of the article and click on their sources.

[paulsby]

4. a classic example of prejudice

you are asking for counter arguments and admitting you don't know much about it.

iow, you are prejudging that you MUST be for it, (maybe because your rightwing dad is against it) WITHOUT knowing the facts.

you are asking ONLY for counterarguments. iow, you don't want to make up your mind about it after dealing with data, you just want arguments to use against somebody on something you admit you don't understand.

this is all too common on both the left and the right.

if you don't understand the issue, you should want to understand it BEFORE deciding if you are for or against it, instead of just deciding to kneejerk and darnit if the left is for it and the right is against it, it must be good.

that is CLASSIC example of prejudice.

can't get any more blatant.

[tmyers09]

5. Dude, I knew the basic tenets.

I was asking how to refute his argument that it violated free speech. Maybe I didn't make that clear in the original post.

[Kingofalldems]

6. Disruptors call it censorship

[Lars39]

7. Might be something in these links I had bookmarked:

I believe Bork and Scalia were the two U.S. Appeals Court judges who helped kill the Fairness Doctrine.


http://www.museum.tv/eotvsection.php?entrycode=fairnessdoct


http://www.twf.org/News/Y1997/Fairness.html