Say Anything Blog

Why the end?

Wasn’t there conservative talk show radio when the Fairness Doctrine was in effect.

If enforced, the doctrine would spell the end of conservative talk-radio.

How many conservative shows are on NPR and PBS?

There were no conservative talk-shows during the reign of the Fairness Doctrine.

"Here lies, in honored glory, an American soldier, known but to God.”

“Glory is not a conceit. It is not a decoration for valor. Glory belongs to the act of being constant to something greater than yourself, to a cause, to your principles, to the people on whom you rely, and who rely on you in return.”
Senator John McCain, Faith of Our fathers

, not one Fairness Doctrine decision issued by the FCC had ever concerned itself with talkshows. Indeed, the talkshow format was born and flourished while the doctrine was in operation. Before the doctrine was repealed, right-wing hosts frequently dominated talkshow schedules, even in liberal cities, but none was ever muzzled (The Way Things Aren’t, Rendall et al., 1995). The Fairness Doctrine simply prohibited stations from broadcasting from a single perspective, day after day, without presenting opposing views.

There is nothing in the First Amendment which prevents the Government from requiring a licensee to share his frequency with others.... It is the right of the viewers and listeners, not the right of the broadcasters, which is paramount.

Stop defending the indefensible. Broadcaster will drop conservative talk shows, because they cannot afford to waste equal airtime on liberal talk shows which are colossal failures… ala Air America.

If you are keeping up with the dems, they are insisting on a renewed Fairness Docterine aimed specifically at conservative talk shows… and there was not one nationally syndicated conservative show during the fairness doctrine years.

"Here lies, in honored glory, an American soldier, known but to God.”

“Glory is not a conceit. It is not a decoration for valor. Glory belongs to the act of being constant to something greater than yourself, to a cause, to your principles, to the people on whom you rely, and who rely on you in return.”
Senator John McCain, Faith of Our fathers

Where’s the equal part?

There are many misconceptions about the Fairness Doctrine. For instance, it did not require that each program be internally balanced, nor did it mandate equal time for opposing points of view. And it didn’t require that the balance of a station’s program lineup be anything like 50/50.