The Fairness Doctrine - Things You Can't Say on Radio
From Saturday Night Live to the U.S. Senate.
Sounds like a plan.
Al Franken was a funny writer on Saturday Night Live. He even did a few skits
that worked well. Somehow he left New York with a passion for politics of the
strongest left persuasion.
After a brief stint with Air America,
Mr. Franken now plans to run for the U.S. Senate. Of course, Mr. Franken has
the right to run for office and the right to say just about anything he wants in
public. Thank God for the Constitution
and the Bill of Rights.
But some members of Congress want to silence free speech on the radio. They want
to bring back an old law that was misnamed “the Fairness Doctrine”. The idea
was to force media outlets to balance all political content between parties that
disagree.
The law was dropped because it was impossible to
enforce fairly. It was just a dumb idea, no matter how catchy the
name. Now, with the emergence of successful conservative talk
programming some lawmakers want to bring back the “Fairness Doctrine” to
shut down talk radio.
There is an article from Newsweek on this
plan. Please don’t take our word for it, read the article
for yourself. Here is one quote you might find interesting from comedian Al
Franken:
"The Democrats just want to sound some alarms
themselves. Former talk show host Al Franken, now running for the U.S. Senate in
his home state of Minnesota, has his own suggestion for reform. “You shouldn’t
be able to lie on the air,” he told me. “You can’t utter obscenities in a
broadcast, so why should you be able to lie? You should be fined for lying.”
That's an interesting proposal isn't it?
Especially if lying is in the eyes of the beholder.
The Fairness Doctrine - Things You Can't Say on Radio - August 21, 2008
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