Monday, November 17, 2008
6 comments:
Your First Amendment right to free speech is a privilege and comes with a measure of responsibility. You have the right to exercise that responsibility here but we reserve the right to inform you when you've used that right irresponsibly.
We are benevolent dictators in this regard. Enjoy.
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Let me get this straight. First, it was a resurrection of the Fairness Doctrine. When everyone who actually knew something pointed out that no one was actually proposing such a miracle, it is now "Alinksy jujitsu", in the form of FCC regulations.
ReplyDeleteI might point out that the article linked is at least honest enough to point out that this is only a possibility should Obama pursue it with the assistance of the FCC. There is no indication he plans to do so. As an opponent of the Fairness Doctrine myself, I would find such a backdoor effort disingenuous, to say the least. Yet, like all the howling about the Fairness Doctrine, which was as phony as Confederate money, I think this, too, is just a bunch of hokum to keep folks like all of you stirred up.
Obama has stated quite clearly all the things he plans to do, from bailing out Big Auto (Boo!) to closing Guantanamo Bay prison (Yea!). I have yet to hear even a whisper of any attempt to muzzle right-wing radio. Indeed, as it is increasingly irrelevant, I think there is no reason in the world why it should be muzzled. Let Rush and Hannity and the Wiener-Savage and the rest of them howl at the moon all they want. I daresay their audience will continue to be loyal and their ratings high enough to warrant their continued presence on the airwaves. Bully for them.
I'm sorry why are localism rules only applicable for liberals fighting republican thought on radio? ... Oh wait! I know! It's because conservative voices are so completely dominant on talk radio.
ReplyDeleteIt's amazing how even in places where the populace and voters are amazingly liberal conservatives are the only ones on talk radio. Hhmm...
While I will admit to not being as passionately against a fairness doctrine than the Conservative talk radio hosts I enjoy listening to, (after all, I have no feduciary stake in it one way or the other)I dread the possibility of "localism" coming to pass here in Fredericksburg.
ReplyDeleteMy local station does a daily program that pre-empts the first hour of Glenn Beck, and the local program is, in fact, BORING!
If that was all the good citizens of Fredericksburg had to listen to, I'm quite sure the radio station would go out of business in a matter of days. That, or go back to a music only format.
And that, I believe, is the danger of the Fairness Doctrine... Liberal Talk Radio enjoys abysmal ratings, while Conservative Talk does very well, in just about every market it airs. Force local stations to air Liberal Radio and ratings will plummet, then stations drop the Talk Format and go with all-music. Nothing fair in it at all. Why not let the free market of ideas decide? It has, in fact, already made up its mind. Talk Radio is a financial hit. Liberals don't like it because it informs the Conservative base on the issues most important to Conservatives. It gets rather hard to trick the public if there's someone out there keeping the public informed.
ReplyDeleteDemocrats hate an informed public.
Apparently, Eric, you missed the part where I said that I am not in favor of the Fairness Doctrine; you also might have missed the little bit where I noted that no one is actually proposing to do anything at all about talk radio. The linked article even states it is a possibility that Obama could pursue if he wished to do so. He has not indicated a desire to do this, let alone resurrect the Fairness Doctrine.
ReplyDeleteAs for the whole "local programming" thing, I would tend to agree with Mark (horror of horrors!). Local radio programming tends to be dull as dirt. That's why it has been driven off the air by far more successful and lucrative syndicated programming. This is one area where I think the Constitution, the free market of ideas, and any sane consideration of the matter converge.
Once again, Pelosi has expressed the desire. Can't say "No one". Obama has shown a marked desire to rid himself of that which might not show him in the best light. He dispensed with Wright, he's dumped journalists who opposed him from flying with his campaign, and he's constantly dropped troublesome items from his website. I've littel doubt that if he can find a way to squelch opposing points of view, he'll do it.
ReplyDelete