мебели пловдивколи под наемCongress is just 23 signatures away from a vote that could finally end the archaic Fairness Doctrine and create a permanent free-market system for talk radio. Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.) continues to urge congress members to sign the Broadcaster Freedom Act discharge petition. The petition will “prevent the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) from repromulgating the fairness doctrine,” originally initiated in the 1930s under Franklin Roosevelt.

During its glory days, the Fairness Doctrine was never applied to ensure conservatives’ air time. In fact, conservative voices were shunned while liberal bias seemed to mysteriously remain under the radar of the FCC. The Fairness Doctrine’s attempt at “fairness” created the most imbalanced media atmosphere possible. Or, some journalists simply avoided any coverage of controversial issues in order to avoid the nuisance of finding contrasting viewpoints on every issue raised in a story.

This biased radio and television coverage continued until former President Reagan removed the doctrine in the 80s. Conservative talk radio - which had been an oddity - quickly became a commercial success. “This type of content-based regulation by the federal government is, in my judgment, antagonistic to the freedom of expression guaranteed” by the Constitution, Reagan said in his veto message of legislation that could have continued the Fairness Doctrine.

This entry was posted on Saturday, August 16th, 2008 at 9:57 am and is filed under Broadcaster Freedom Act News, Fairness Doctrine News, Talk Radio Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.