The Obama Fairness Doctrine

[Revmitchell]

Just three days after the election, a Brookings Institution leader issued a memo to President-elect Barack Obama asking him to restore the Fairness Doctrine. The Vice-president of Governance Studies at Brookings, Darrell West argues that the Fairness Doctrine would help restore journalistic ethics and fulfill the media’s mission to educate the populace.

In the first of twelve memos to President Obama which will be issued over the next eight months, West argues that the incoming chief executive needs to “Restore the Media Fairness Doctrine and Requirements for Television Public Affairs Broadcasting.” West writes,

“At present, television and radio—on which Americans depend heavily for news and information—generally do not produce or promote thoughtful or deliberative discussions. The idea behind media regulation in the 1980s was that satellite technologies and cable television would allow for the presentation of diverse viewpoints…That approach has proved largely ineffective” (emphasis added).

“With profits falling, traditional media sources too often produce little substantive information and fail to give citizens adequate information about their government,” he argues. “America needs a marketplace of ideas equal to the policy challenges.”

It is ironic that West would promote a doctrine shown to water down free speech in the name of “a marketplace of ideas.” As Accuracy in Media has documented, the Fairness Doctrine had a significant “chilling” effect on news outlets, promoting self-censorship by broadcasters wary of government regulation.

It is not for nothing that the doctrine has been labeled by some as a “Hush Rush” law.


More Here

 

[tinytim]

Should have quoted the next paragraph

However, the new president-elect is unlikely to favor a return of the Fairness Doctrine, per se. In June 2008, Obama press secretary Michael Ortiz told Broadcasting & Cable that “Sen. Obama does not support reimposing the Fairness Doctrine on broadcasters.”

 

[windcatcher]

What should have been enforced is the FCC's duty and oversight of monopolistic control of the media, which they haven't done! The fairness doctrine should be fluched down the toilet......imo..... as the ones it will regulate is the minority of free news media which still exists in the public domain and will stiffle free speach!
Our government was established to protect the rights..... including the voice .... of minorities against the censorship and control by the majorities. The fairness doctrine is another way of calling evil good, and good evil.... a back door way of labeling something in positive sounding words and images which purpose is to do the opposite of what it implies. No fairness in the 'fairness doctrine'.

 

[windcatcher]

ooops...... double post!

 

[Revmitchell]

Should have quoted the next paragraph

I would have posted the whole article if I could. I have to stop at some point. However, posting that paragraph all by itself makes it appear as if he wants nothing done to reign in radio and TV. Further reading of the article will show otherwise. But I can go ahead and post another single paragraph:

Columnist Michelle Malkin, a Reed Irvine Award recipient, called CAP’s proposals a “Hugo Chavez approach to the radio airwaves.” Barack Obama has shown that he considers key portions of Blethen’s and CAP’s proposals a priority when regulating the media.

Which would also fail to represent the whole article. It is best just to read the whole thing and consider the boards copyright policies when posters post copyrighted material.