Crabs in a Bucket...or The Fairness Doctrine

I have avoided writing about this issue for some time, for the main reason that I perhaps feel too passionately and might just throw  my computer through the wall (not really, but you get the point).  There have been calls by various people for reinstatement of the Fairness Doctrine:  Nancy Pelosi, John Kerry, even Bill Clinton.  I am adamantly opposed to the Fairness Doctrine and think that it violates the First Amendment's protection of free speech.

So, what is the Fairness Doctrine?  The Fairness Doctrine is a creature of a different time period all together.  It was a law that gave the FCC power to create regulations to ensure that radio airwaves are used for the public interest.  The theory behind allowing such a regulation is that radio waves are scarce and need public control to make sure that people don't hijack a frequency.  The theory is sound, but the application of the Fairness Doctrine is not, at least not anymore.   In 1969, the Supreme Court upheld the Fairness Doctrine in Red Lion Broadcasting Co. v. FCC.   The Supreme Court held that both the requirement of giving both sides and allowing those "attacked" equal time to rebut were constitutional and actually expanded and protected free speech, rather than limiting it.

President Reagan repealed the Fairness Doctrine and that was that.  In the 1988, Rush Limbaugh began his show that could be argued to have revitalized AM radio and recreated Talk Radio.  Fast forward twenty years and Conservative talk radio is huge.  Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Glenn Beck, Laura Ingraham, Mark Levin, etc.  (Not to mention Jason Lewis of KTLK 100.3 FM in Minneapolis, who recently was syndicated and is going national next Monday.  Woot woot!).  What about left-wing radio?  It has stumbled along, but its big effort to go national with Air America was a huge bust and many new stations and shows were quickly cancelled.

Naturally, Democrats are intimidated by the power of talk radio.  Talk radio's opposition to Bush's amnesty bill was no doubt behind its eventual failure.  So, what do Democrats want?  They want to shut down talk radio.  But how to do this?  These people have a right to operate their radio station however they want,...unless the Fairness Doctrine is imposed on them.  Like crabs in a bucket, Liberals want to take down those with whom they are unable to compete.

That last statement is inflammatory, but is it wrong?  What other explanation can there be?  If it was about "fairness," they would find a way to impose such a protection of free speech on political blogs, TV, newspapers, and magazines as well.  That would ensure that all political viewpoints are clearly heard and that no one party dominates any medium.  But, they are only attempting to make radio fair, the only medium which they do not clearly dominate.

It also cannot be an attempt to give people options about talk radio.  Despite the nearly 50-50 division along political lines (for example, even Obama's landslide victory ended up being 52-47%), liberal radio has tried and failed.  People who listen to conservative radio (at least the majority) are not just cruising AM and FM stations until they find it.  Like NPR and MPR, those who want to listen, do.  Those who don't, don't.  Liberal talk radio tried and not even enough liberals listened to keep it alive.  It is not how liberals want to get their news.

The only possible explanation is the "If you can't beat them, use the power of government to take them down" argument.  (For other examples, see Abortion and Gay Marriage in the courts).  This is a pathetic attempt to reign in the power of talk radio and it should be found to violate the First Amendment.  Unlike the first half of the twentieth century, there is no shortage of media in today's world.  AM, FM, XM, Satellite, online, and now even HD radio means that more people than ever before can listen to stations of their choice.  Networks, News Channels, Satellite Dishes, and online video also make visual news available in vast amounts.  Newspapers, magazines, blogs, and the internet in general provides the print variety.  

To impose the Fairness Doctrine on grounds that both sides need to be heard is ABSURD!  To the extent that the left perspective is not heard, it is seen and read.  The Democrats just won bigger majorities in Congress and the Presidency.  Is that not enough?  Was the right-wing talk radio bias so strong that they could only just win everything?  Now, that is power.  Let's take 'em down!