Posted by
Bob Siegel on Monday, August 24, 2009 3:27:18 PM
" Bob, I have heard that President Obama is against bringing back the Fairness
Doctrine, (an old FCC regulation, which, if brought back, would mandate
an hour of Liberal Talk Radio for every hour of Conservative Talk
Radio). If so, shouldn't Conservatives stop talking about this dead issue? They sound so paranoid."
Despite Obama's comments, much of our current congress is all for this
hideous doctrine. People like Nancy Pelosi, Richard Durban and John
Kerry have all voiced enthusiastic support. A Republican bill that
would outlaw its return, has met resistance and little chance of
passing.
True, Obama says he is against the Fairness Doctrine, but let's face
facts: Obama is an expert at saying one thing and doing the exact
opposite.
Obama says he has no desire to take over banks.
Obama says he has no desire to take over the auto industry.
Obama says he has no desire to grow government.
I don't know how he makes these comments with a straight face, but he
does. Oh yes, and Obama does not call himself a Socialist:
"I'm not a Socialist. I believe we should take money from the rich and
redistribute it. I believe we should have the power to tell banks what
kinds of loans to give out and what to pay their CEO's. And I believe
we have the right to tell car companies what kinds of smog free cars
to make, but no, I am not a Socialist."
The only evidence that Obama is not a Socialist is that he chooses not
to call himself one. That's it! Even Newsweek finally printed a
magazine cover with the headline: "We Are All Socialists Now."
So he also says he's against the Fairness Doctrine. Whew! What a
relief! Here is how the distaste was officially worded in a statement
from the Obama campaign in June of 2008:
"Senator Obama does not support re-imposing the Fairness Doctrine on
broadcasters," said press secretary Michael Ortiz in an e-mail to
B&C late Wednesday. "He considers this debate to be a distraction
from the conversation we should be having about opening up the airwaves
and modern communications to as many diverse viewpoints as possible."
"That is why Senator Obama supports media ownership caps, network
neutrality, public broadcasting, as well as increasing minority
ownership of broadcasting and print outlets."
Hmm...Media ownership caps, network neutrality, opening up the media to
diverse viewpoints...It's already open to diverse viewpoints. But the
conservative viewpoints have more listeners and Liberals are absolutely
livid over this, despite the fact that PBS (paid for partly by our tax
dollars) is all Liberal. It seems that whenever the government does get
involved with broadcasting, it is Conservatives who are not treated
with "fairness." The only way government can open radio up even more to
diversity is to legally insist on more time for other viewpoints. Otherwise,
what exactly do we mean by "open it up to more viewpoints"?
In any event, it sounds like a lot of control over the media to me. In
fact, it doesn't sound much different than the Fairness Doctrine. But
don't worry. It won't be the Fairness Doctrine because Obama won't call
it the Fairness Doctrine.
The Federal Communications Commission also has a loosely defined rule called "localism," which requires stations to "serve the interests of their local communities in order to hold onto their broadcast licenses."
Obama, (who recently put in his own FCC chairman, (Julius Genachowski), now has a chance to define localism his own way. For a hint of his future definition, look to the past: On September 20, 2007, Obama submitted a pro-localism written statement to an FCC hearing at the Chicago headquarters of Rev. Jessie Jackson's Operation Push. This says something about his "localism enthusiasm." One month later, Obama wrote a letter to Chairman Martin stating, "The commission has failed to further the goals of diversity in the media and promote localism."
But there's another Obama FCC appointment: Obama recently installed Mark Lloyd as "Chief Diversity Officer" at the Federal Communications Commission. Sweet! He doesn't believe in the Fairness Doctrine. He just believes the FCC needs a Chief Diversity Officer.
Lloyd has a history as a Democrat activist. He is known for his creative strategies to censor conservative media under the guise of "local accountability." In 2007 he co-wrote a report calling for the restoration of local and national caps on the ownership of commercial radio stations and fines for commercial radio station owners if their stations didn't air enough "progressive" content. Such fines would be distributed to liberal competitors with lower ratings and only a handful of listeners.
In Lloyd's own words: "Our conclusion is that the gap between conservative and progressive talk radio is the result of multiple structural problems in the U.S. regulatory system, particularly the complete breakdown of the public trustee concept of broadcast, the elimination of clear public interest requirements for broadcasting, and the relaxation of ownership rules."
In a blog post, LCCR (Leadership Conference of Civil Rights) sponsored by George Soros, hailed the appointment of Lloyd, saying he would "help the FCC to develop communications policy that will increase media diversity and address the needs of low-income people, women, minorities, people with disabilities." The LCCR and Lloyd have managed to avoid terms like "Fairness Doctrine." but in point of fact that stand behind every inch of what that suppressive idea is all about.
"We call for ownership rules that we think will create greater local diversity of programming, news, and commentary. And we call for more localism by putting teeth into the licensing rules," he wrote in an article on CAP's website, titled Forget the Fairness Doctrine.
But wait! There's more. The brief excerpt below is from The American Spectator (2-16-09)
Senior Fcc staff working for acting Federal Communications Commissioner Michael Copps held meetings last week with policy and legislative advisers to House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman to discuss ways the committee can create openings for the FCC to put in place a form of the Fairness Doctrine" without actually calling it such.
Waxman is also interested, say sources, in looking at how the Internet is being used for content and free speech purposes. "It's all about diversity in media," says a House Energy staffer, familiar with the meetings. "Does one radio station or one station group control four of the five most powerful outlets in one community? Do four stations in one region carry Rush Limbaugh, and nothing else during the same time slot? Does one heavily trafficked Internet site present one side of an issue and not link to sites that present alternative views? These are some of the questions the chairman is thinking about right now, and we are going to have an FCC that will finally have the people in place to answer them."
Meanwhile, it is not altogether impossible that Obama will switch gears and just call this thing a Fairness Doctrine anyway. When Chris Wallace interviewed David Axelrod (top adviser to President Obama) about the Fairness Doctrine, he dodged the question, saying it would be "worked out between Obama and the new FCC President."
Press Secretary Robert Gibbs has also been asked about it twice, maneuvering around the questions like a man walking through a mine field.
Finally, if Congress passes a bill calling for the doctrine, Obama could always sign it, saying it was not his place to over ride Congress.
Remember also:
-The Obama campaign tried to shut down Milt Rosenburg's radio show highlighting Stanley Kurtz as he talked about Obama connections with self confessed terrorist, Bill Ayers.
-Within a week of his televised question from Joe the Plummer, poor Joe was audited by the IRS (Amazing coincidence).
-Obama has also gone out of his way to tell people they should stop listening to programs like Rush Limbaugh so that we can "come together in unity."
-And just a few days ago, Obama claimed it was a "Right-Wing Conspiracy" that is pillaging his health care proposals. If he were to pay attention to the polls, he would have to literally accuse over half the country of such a conspiracy.
I'm sorry. There is nothing, absolutely nothing about this man which suggests to me that he embraces free speech. But I'll grant you one thing: Chances are, the new Fairness Doctrine will not be called the Fairness Doctrine. Whoopty Fricken Doo!
Read more about why the Fairness Doctrine is anything but, by Bob Siegel:
Let Me Try Explaining it One More Time, While It's Still Legal to Explain It
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