The controversial Fairness Doctrine went down in flames yesterday, even before it was ever brought to the floor for a vote. I am happy to say I was dead wrong yesterday when I wrote Rep Mike Pence’s (R-IN) Broadcaster Freedom Act would not have enough support to pass the House. In a landslie vote, over 70% of our Representatives, a vote of 309-115, decided to amend the Financial Services and General Government appropriations bill to bar the FCC from requiring broadcasters to balance conservative content with liberal programming.

Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said yesterday “I have this old-fashioned attitude that when Americans hear both sides of the story, they’re in a better position to make a decision.” Senator John Kerry agreed with Durbin and also was looking for a return of the Fairness Doctrine. Luckily common sense prevailed and our lawmakers remember why the Doctrine was done away with to begin with.

In 1985 the FCC discarded the policy after deciding that it restricted journalistic freedom and “actually inhibit[ed] the presentation of controversial issues of public importance to the detriment of the public and in degradation of the editorial prerogative of broadcast journalists,” according to a Congressional Research Service report.

The reason the Doctrine inhibited the presentation of controversial issues was because of fines imposed by the FCC if a radio station did not “fairly” present both sides of the issue. Many radio stations decided it would not be worth the risk of a steep fine for not accurately presenting both sides, so they avoided controversial issues altogether.

The recent immigration bill which was rejected by the Senate is a prime example of how important talk radio has become. Rush, Boortz, Hannity, and many others were responsible for educating the American public on what a disaster this bill was. Due to the closed door hearings, and late release of the final draft of the bill, many Americans, and even Senators did not have a chance to read the bill for themselves. Political talk radio hosts let us know about the loopholes, the lack of enforcement provisions, and the amnesty being offered to millions of illegals that we may not have known about otherwise.

Had the Fairness Doctrine been in effect prior to this bill, it is very likely talk radio hosts would have been forced to avoid the subject altogether, leaving Americans to trust George Bush and Ted Kennedy when they promised us this was “comprehensive immigration reform”. What if the radio station could not find someone to come on the air and speak about the benefits of this bill after Sean Hannity already told us its faults? With the Fairness Doctrine in play, the lack of a dissenting voice would have prevented Hannity from bringing up the subject.

That is not Fairness, that is Censorship.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Congress, Constitution, First Amendment, Politics