Right wing radio shows certainly showed signs of concern last week, over fears of the return of the Fairness Doctrine brought about by Obama’s choice of Henry Rivera to lead a team that will choose the next chairman of the Federal Communication Commission. Why are they so concerned about Mr. Rivera? Well, because Mr. Rivera is a former FCC Chairman who has always been a strong supporter of this Doctrine.
However, before you start getting all panicked out there in Radio Land, remember that Obama himself has said publicly that he has no interest in reinstating the Fairness Doctrine.
This is not to say that there are not groups of people pushing for this Doctrines return, and while I don’t blame them (I don’t particularly like the fact that one person can run at the mouth, unchallenged, and deal in mostly fiction), I also don’t support the idea at all. Even if you are correct in your reasons, you are still wrong in the basic right of Freedom of Speech.
For starters, when Rush Limbaugh gets on the air and claims that the birth certificate provided by the Obama campaign is not valid, we can check for ourselves and find that this is false. Although in my opinion, 60-70% of everything that comes out of Limbaugh’s mouth is misleading, but this is what he gets paid for after all, so I can’t say I necessarily blame him. Yet we don’t need the Fairness Doctrine to prevent this (it wouldn’t anyway), because we are all able to stand up and prove allegations like these false. Not that any of that has changed Limbaugh’s habits over the last decades, but we can.
We can not rightfully take any action that would limit the Free Speech of any radio or TV host, or that would make them have to pause to allow for another opinion to be inserted. If you don’t like what they are saying, you have options… Either change the channel, or call in to attempt to state your opinion (if you can manage to not get muted long enough). To me, anything aside from that would be censorship and/or a clear violation of Free Speech.
This is not to say by any means that everything that is said is ok. If I was running for office, and you spent twenty-one months calling me a terrorist, a Muslim (because religion is bad?), a socialist, a non-American, and every other negative thing you could think of… It would certainly be within my rights to take action against. Like say, a law suit for Defamation of Character. While Free Speech is great, and should never be taken away, anyone speaking has to keep in mind that if you start dealing in Fairy Tales about other people, you can be sued for Slander.
The Left has tried to break into radio, and loosen the stranglehold that Limbaugh and his colleagues have on some 15 Million plus listeners, and they have widely failed. But now with shows on TV like The Daily Show and The Colbert Report, the Left is claiming their spot in the media in a big way. While these two shows bring in just over 1 million a night each, which shies in comparison to Limbaugh’s 13.5 Million a week, there is an interesting fact that has come to light. A study by the Pew Research Center on April 15, 2007 found that regular viewers of The Daily Show tended to be more knowledgeable about news than audiences of other news sources. Also, The Project for Excellence in Journalism released a content analysis report suggesting that The Daily Show comes close to providing the complete daily news.
Aside from that, one of the reasons conservative radio shows are able to bring in such big numbers is that when these shows are on during the day, and people are at work, there is nothing else to listen to. When I had the luxury of a job that allowed me to listen to the radio, I listened frequently to Limbaugh, Hannity, and others because if nothing else, their rants were entertaining. Now however I work all day at a job that leaves me no time for radio, and so I don’t listen, and I very rarely miss it.
Now don’t think I am saying this is the only reason these shows are popular, not at all. There are millions of dedicated followers who would drink poisoned punch with Limbaugh and others if they had “good” reasons. There are also people on the Left who would do the same for Stephen Colbert, so it is nothing against the Right; I assume it is just part of Human Nature.
Once again I will ask us all to use common sense, and anyone who do or would support the Fairness Doctrine, try to remember exactly what it is you are messing with.
You will not agree with everyone all the time, and the Left will not agree with the Right nearly 100% of the time, and vice versa, but this does not mean you should just try to silence either side. It is differing opinions that got our country where it is today, and without them we would very quickly fall out of existence. If everyone always agreed we would all be complacent, and would never attempt to change anything. So for example, we would all still be spending 2 weeks on a boat to Europe, when today we can spend 16 hours on a plane because someone wasn’t satisfied.
If you don’t like what is being said anywhere, voice your opinion, and who knows… it may get you your own show.
To join in on this or any other conversation, simply comment on this blog, or email me at fred@literalamerica.com
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