PoliCHARTZ - Thread of U.S. Politics & the Presidential Election

[Final-Fan]

halogamer1989 said:

akuma587 said:
I'm still not totally sure what the Fairness Doctrine is.

The Fairness Doctrine was a policy of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) that required the holders of broadcast licenses to present controversial issues of public importance and to do so in a manner that was honest, equitable, and balanced. The United States Supreme Court has upheld the Commission's general right to enforce such a policy where channels are limited, but the courts have generally not considered that the FCC is obliged to do so.^[1] The FCC has since withdrawn the Fairness Doctrine, prompting some to urge its reintroduction through either Commission policy or Congressional legislation.^[2]

It means "stifling consent" as Jack Kennedy put it and would weaken our position in talk radio and outreach.  The FCC should not interfere with people's right to free speech no matter how fair they want to make it.  Let the broadcasters decide and not the overextensive gov't.

I appreciate your concern that a reinstatement of the Fairness Doctrine would hurt conservative talk radio, but the airwaves belong to the people of the United States.  They, in the form of the government, choose to allow certain private enterprises to use pieces of it, but that is a privilege of those enterprises, not a right.  At least, according to the Supreme Court of the United States.  [edit:  If the Fairness Doctrine was actually proven to be detrimental to free speech, there'd be something to hold against it...]

P.S.  "It did not require equal time for opposing views, but required that contrasting viewpoints be presented."  (from the same Wikipedia article you quote)

P.P.S.  I don't know what you mean by "stifling consent".  Source?