Betsy's Page

Monday, May 14, 2007

Reinstating the Fairness Doctrine

The American Spectator reports that the Democratic House leaders are going to begin a new push to reinstate the Fairness Doctrine.
According to two members of the House Democrat Caucus, Reps. Nancy Pelosi and Steny Hoyer have informed them that they will "aggressively pursue" reinstatement of the so-called Fairness Doctrine over the next six months. In January, Democrat presidential candidate Rep. Dennis Kucinich announced that he was going to pursue the Fairness Doctrine through his Government Reform subcommittee. That announcement was greeted with silence. But now, Pelosi has moved things to the front burner.
The Fairness Doctrine would require radio stations to balance conservative hosts with liberal hosts. Since their own liberal radio hosts couldn't win out fairly in the market place, the Democrats want to use government power to stifle conservative voices on talk radio.
The decision to press for re-establishment of the Fairness Doctrine now seems to have developed for two reasons. "First, [Democrats] failed on the radio airwaves with Air America, no one wanted to listen," says a senior adviser to Pelosi. "Conservative radio is a huge threat and political advantage for Republicans and we have had to find a way to limit it. Second, it looks like the Republicans are going to have someone in the presidential race who has access to media in ways our folks don't want, so we want to make sure the GOP has no advantages going into 2008."

That last comment appeared to be a veiled reference to former Sen. Fred Thompson, who appears to be gearing up for a presidential run. Over the past year, he has built a following both over the AM airwaves through the ABC Radio network, as well as through almost daily appearances across cable TV on the TV show Law & Order, where he plays a tough-talking district attorney.

According to another Democrat leadership aide, Pelosi and her team are focused on several targets in the fight, including Rush Limbaugh and the Salem Radio Network. In fact, Kucinich's staff has begun investigating Salem, one of the fastest growing radio networks in the country, which features such popular -- and highly rated -- conservative hosts as Bill Bennett and Michael Medved, and Christian hosts such as Dr. Richard Land.

"They are identifying senior employees, their political activities and their political giving," says a Government Reform committee staffer. "Salem is a big target, but the big one is going to be Limbaugh. We know we can't shut him up, but we want to make life a bit more difficult for him."
In other words, if they can't win an audience on their own, they'll just have to limit conservatives through government regulation. Despite its name, there is no fairness in the Fairness Doctrine.

At this point, the Republicans should be able to keep this from becoming law and Bush would be sure to veto it. But this desire of the House Democrats to use government power to hush their conservative critics on talk radio is revealing of their attitude towards the free marketplace of ideas.

UPDATE: Nancy Pelosi's spokesman tells Hugh Hewitt that the American Spectator story is false. She refuses to be interviewed for Hugh Hewitt's show.
Labels: Media, Nancy Pelosi

posted by Betsy Newmark permalink 6:53 AM 0 comments

Comments:

The American Spectator reports that the Democratic House leaders are going to begin a new push to reinstate the Fairness Doctrine.

According to two members of the House Democrat Caucus, Reps. Nancy Pelosi and Steny Hoyer have informed them that they will "aggressively pursue" reinstatement of the so-called Fairness Doctrine over the next six months. In January, Democrat presidential candidate Rep. Dennis Kucinich announced that he was going to pursue the Fairness Doctrine through his Government Reform subcommittee. That announcement was greeted with silence. But now, Pelosi has moved things to the front burner.

The Fairness Doctrine would require radio stations to balance conservative hosts with liberal hosts. Since their own liberal radio hosts couldn't win out fairly in the market place, the Democrats want to use government power to stifle conservative voices on talk radio.

The decision to press for re-establishment of the Fairness Doctrine now seems to have developed for two reasons. "First, [Democrats] failed on the radio airwaves with Air America, no one wanted to listen," says a senior adviser to Pelosi. "Conservative radio is a huge threat and political advantage for Republicans and we have had to find a way to limit it. Second, it looks like the Republicans are going to have someone in the presidential race who has access to media in ways our folks don't want, so we want to make sure the GOP has no advantages going into 2008."

That last comment appeared to be a veiled reference to former Sen. Fred Thompson, who appears to be gearing up for a presidential run. Over the past year, he has built a following both over the AM airwaves through the ABC Radio network, as well as through almost daily appearances across cable TV on the TV show Law & Order, where he plays a tough-talking district attorney.

According to another Democrat leadership aide, Pelosi and her team are focused on several targets in the fight, including Rush Limbaugh and the Salem Radio Network. In fact, Kucinich's staff has begun investigating Salem, one of the fastest growing radio networks in the country, which features such popular -- and highly rated -- conservative hosts as Bill Bennett and Michael Medved, and Christian hosts such as Dr. Richard Land.

"They are identifying senior employees, their political activities and their political giving," says a Government Reform committee staffer. "Salem is a big target, but the big one is going to be Limbaugh. We know we can't shut him up, but we want to make life a bit more difficult for him."

In other words, if they can't win an audience on their own, they'll just have to limit conservatives through government regulation. Despite its name, there is no fairness in the Fairness Doctrine.

At this point, the Republicans should be able to keep this from becoming law and Bush would be sure to veto it. But this desire of the House Democrats to use government power to hush their conservative critics on talk radio is revealing of their attitude towards the free marketplace of ideas.

UPDATE: Nancy Pelosi's spokesman tells Hugh Hewitt that the American Spectator story is false. She refuses to be interviewed for Hugh Hewitt's show.

Labels: Media, Nancy Pelosi

posted by Betsy Newmark permalink 6:53 AM 0 comments

Comments: Post a Comment

The truth about Avesil

Cheap Hosting

Atlanta Bankruptcy Attorney

Dallas Bankruptcy Attorney

Wikio

Get exclusive travel deals and book discount cheap flights

Online Bachelors Degree

Monday, May 14, 2007

Reinstating the Fairness Doctrine

		Betsy's Page

HOME Betsy neither necessarily uses, nor endorses, the products advertised on this site. The truth about Avesil Cheap Hosting Atlanta Bankruptcy Attorney Dallas Bankruptcy Attorney Wikio Get exclusive travel deals and book discount cheap flights Online Bachelors Degree Comments from an AP history and government teacher in Raleigh, NC. e-mail betsynewmark AT gmail.com Commissions earned from selling items through Amazon will go towards buying materials for my classes. Thank you. Site Feed		Monday, May 14, 2007 Reinstating the Fairness Doctrine The American Spectator reports that the Democratic House leaders are going to begin a new push to reinstate the Fairness Doctrine. According to two members of the House Democrat Caucus, Reps. Nancy Pelosi and Steny Hoyer have informed them that they will "aggressively pursue" reinstatement of the so-called Fairness Doctrine over the next six months. In January, Democrat presidential candidate Rep. Dennis Kucinich announced that he was going to pursue the Fairness Doctrine through his Government Reform subcommittee. That announcement was greeted with silence. But now, Pelosi has moved things to the front burner. The Fairness Doctrine would require radio stations to balance conservative hosts with liberal hosts. Since their own liberal radio hosts couldn't win out fairly in the market place, the Democrats want to use government power to stifle conservative voices on talk radio. The decision to press for re-establishment of the Fairness Doctrine now seems to have developed for two reasons. "First, [Democrats] failed on the radio airwaves with Air America, no one wanted to listen," says a senior adviser to Pelosi. "Conservative radio is a huge threat and political advantage for Republicans and we have had to find a way to limit it. Second, it looks like the Republicans are going to have someone in the presidential race who has access to media in ways our folks don't want, so we want to make sure the GOP has no advantages going into 2008." That last comment appeared to be a veiled reference to former Sen. Fred Thompson, who appears to be gearing up for a presidential run. Over the past year, he has built a following both over the AM airwaves through the ABC Radio network, as well as through almost daily appearances across cable TV on the TV show Law & Order, where he plays a tough-talking district attorney. According to another Democrat leadership aide, Pelosi and her team are focused on several targets in the fight, including Rush Limbaugh and the Salem Radio Network. In fact, Kucinich's staff has begun investigating Salem, one of the fastest growing radio networks in the country, which features such popular -- and highly rated -- conservative hosts as Bill Bennett and Michael Medved, and Christian hosts such as Dr. Richard Land. "They are identifying senior employees, their political activities and their political giving," says a Government Reform committee staffer. "Salem is a big target, but the big one is going to be Limbaugh. We know we can't shut him up, but we want to make life a bit more difficult for him." In other words, if they can't win an audience on their own, they'll just have to limit conservatives through government regulation. Despite its name, there is no fairness in the Fairness Doctrine. At this point, the Republicans should be able to keep this from becoming law and Bush would be sure to veto it. But this desire of the House Democrats to use government power to hush their conservative critics on talk radio is revealing of their attitude towards the free marketplace of ideas. UPDATE: Nancy Pelosi's spokesman tells Hugh Hewitt that the American Spectator story is false. She refuses to be interviewed for Hugh Hewitt's show. Labels: Media, Nancy Pelosi posted by Betsy Newmark permalink 6:53 AM 0 comments Comments: The American Spectator reports that the Democratic House leaders are going to begin a new push to reinstate the Fairness Doctrine. According to two members of the House Democrat Caucus, Reps. Nancy Pelosi and Steny Hoyer have informed them that they will "aggressively pursue" reinstatement of the so-called Fairness Doctrine over the next six months. In January, Democrat presidential candidate Rep. Dennis Kucinich announced that he was going to pursue the Fairness Doctrine through his Government Reform subcommittee. That announcement was greeted with silence. But now, Pelosi has moved things to the front burner. The Fairness Doctrine would require radio stations to balance conservative hosts with liberal hosts. Since their own liberal radio hosts couldn't win out fairly in the market place, the Democrats want to use government power to stifle conservative voices on talk radio. The decision to press for re-establishment of the Fairness Doctrine now seems to have developed for two reasons. "First, [Democrats] failed on the radio airwaves with Air America, no one wanted to listen," says a senior adviser to Pelosi. "Conservative radio is a huge threat and political advantage for Republicans and we have had to find a way to limit it. Second, it looks like the Republicans are going to have someone in the presidential race who has access to media in ways our folks don't want, so we want to make sure the GOP has no advantages going into 2008." That last comment appeared to be a veiled reference to former Sen. Fred Thompson, who appears to be gearing up for a presidential run. Over the past year, he has built a following both over the AM airwaves through the ABC Radio network, as well as through almost daily appearances across cable TV on the TV show Law & Order, where he plays a tough-talking district attorney. According to another Democrat leadership aide, Pelosi and her team are focused on several targets in the fight, including Rush Limbaugh and the Salem Radio Network. In fact, Kucinich's staff has begun investigating Salem, one of the fastest growing radio networks in the country, which features such popular -- and highly rated -- conservative hosts as Bill Bennett and Michael Medved, and Christian hosts such as Dr. Richard Land. "They are identifying senior employees, their political activities and their political giving," says a Government Reform committee staffer. "Salem is a big target, but the big one is going to be Limbaugh. We know we can't shut him up, but we want to make life a bit more difficult for him." In other words, if they can't win an audience on their own, they'll just have to limit conservatives through government regulation. Despite its name, there is no fairness in the Fairness Doctrine. At this point, the Republicans should be able to keep this from becoming law and Bush would be sure to veto it. But this desire of the House Democrats to use government power to hush their conservative critics on talk radio is revealing of their attitude towards the free marketplace of ideas. UPDATE: Nancy Pelosi's spokesman tells Hugh Hewitt that the American Spectator story is false. She refuses to be interviewed for Hugh Hewitt's show. Labels: Media, Nancy Pelosi posted by Betsy Newmark permalink 6:53 AM 0 comments Comments: Post a Comment