Thursday, July 05, 2007
The FCC, Right-Wing Talk Radio, and the Fairness Doctrine
Let me say from the outset that I'm against the fairness doctrine, for the same reason that I'm against campaign finance "reform": I think both infringe on the freedom of speech. If somebody wants to contribute their money to a candidate or political cause, they ought to be free give an unlimited amount, as long as the contribution is publicly disclosed.
The fairness doctrine was necessary back in the days when there were only a few networks. Today, there are many media outlets and it is not necessary. The FCC and other government agencies should concentrate on preventing the oligopolistic concentration of ownership of broadcast media by outlets like Clear Channel and News Corp, and forget about regulating the content.
Here's a question for conservatives who maintain that radio should be driven by consumer preferences and market forces: Are you also against content restrictions on profane and "indecent" language? I'm consistent. I'm against 'em. But I'll bet the conservatives won't be consistent. I'm betting that they have no problem with the FCC keeping this kind of material off the air.
# posted by Neo-Malthus @ 10:58 AM 
