Fairness Doctrine

There has been a lot of talk recently about the federal government and/or the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) re-instituting something called the fairness doctrine.

What this basically says is that radio, TV and other media outlets have to provide a both sides of an issue equal time during interviews and debate over these issues.

No at first look that seems enticing to me. That would make all the liberal leaning media provide a more fair and balanced approach to the news. May be we could get away from the slanted news all news outlets seem to use.

But at the same time, this idea flies in the face of one of the most basic freedoms in our Constitution, that of free speech.

I must admit that on the surface a fairness doctrine for all the news outlets looks pretty good. Then all the news outlets from Fox news to CNN have to give both sides of an issue a chance to have equal time. That would mean that WE THE PEOPLE would get a more balanced product from the news.

But as you did into it you come to realize that this would be a huge intrusion into the free speech rights of all Americans.

Now I may not like the way a news outlet presents its news. I may not like the way the news is skewed to one political side or the other. But you the listener always have the option of changing the channel or turning the TV or radio off. I have news outlets I never watch due to the obvious slant they put on their news. That is my right. That news outlet has just as much right to present the news in any manner they chose consistent with journalistic ethics.

Ultimately whether a news outlet continues to present the news with a certain political slant depends upon how many viewers they get. The number of viewers determines the advertising rates and thus income to the company.

If you don’t like CNN…don’t watch. If you don’t like Rush Limbaugh…don’t listen. But I don’t need the federal government telling me, a private citizen, what kind of news I am allowed to watch and/or how fair they have to be. If I don’t like it…I won’t watch/listen to it. The decision is mine not Uncle Sam’s.

Not to mention now there is a move within the legislature and the FCC to apply this fairness doctrine to the internet. I always thought that www stood for the “world wide web”. What gives us the right to tell the rest of the world how they have to run their websites and its content?

I want everyone to take notice of who is behind this movement to bring the fairness doctrine back to life. It is the democrat party folks. They are the ones that are trying to silence you and me. If they go through with the plan, then the sites where I post this blog will have to find people to submit content from the opposing view point. Even if there are no people submitting such content.

In short the so called “Fairness Doctrine” is only fair to incumbent politicians. They will be allowed to control to news content and to offset those that may speak against them within the public sphere. The Fairness Doctrine is NOT fair to WE THE PEOPLE.

Keep your eyes open people. They will try and package this thing in a way that tries to hide what they are up to. Make sure your elected officials know that you are opposed to any kind of fairness doctrine in news reporting.