CSO Newsletter Vol. 3, No. 1
January 31, 2009
The Fairness Doctrine
bySarah Macomber
Imagine tuning into your favorite country radio station and after a couple of songs, you hear rap. Or imagine tuning into a rap station and hearing country. It is only fair that each genre-based music radio station play a diverse selection of music to give listeners a rounded selection of songs on one station. You may want to simply enjoy a country performance, but you cannot deny that it is only fair to have equal airtime for the rap-genre to play music as well. This might only be an imagined up scenario, but the “Fairness Doctrine” is very real.
Fortunately, the doctrine will not meddle with your music preferences on the radio. However if you enjoy conservative radio talk shows then you might be irked to find out just what the Fairness Doctrine proposes. Many extreme Leftists, the liberals of America, are working on passing this doctrine. It demands that free airtime be supplied for a liberal point of view on CONSERVATIVE radio talk shows. Of course, in return, conservatives will get airtime on liberal talk shows. This seems ‘fair’, except that there aren’t very many liberal talk shows. To be frank, they aren’t popular enough. In contrast, there are a variety of conservative radio talk shows.
This doctrine poorly disguises itself with the name ‘Fairness’. In reality the extreme liberals have no qualms about making their point. They want to silence conservative talk shows. The television has very little to offer in the way of religious channels. Some might agree that a few are enough. Newspapers generally print up a snazzy article for either opinion, although can be biased depending on who is running what. It is the radio that really gives conservatives a well earned place to speak freely. That is rapidly changing though.
Instead of imagining a country music station, imagine a conservative talk show. You tune in to listen to your favorite talk show host address an issue or give a sermon on air. And then a liberal host comes on air for an equal amount of time to refute everything that had just been said. I don’t know about you, but I pick my forms of entertainment based on what I enjoy and what interests me. If I were interested in hearing liberals tear apart a conservative case, I’d find an online discussion forum geared towards debates. It is truly wonderful to learn both sides of a story and educate yourself in issues by looking at each side with an open mind. However, demanding a station be forced by law to handout free airtime to have everything they discuss rebutted is a joke.
Many stations are funded by listener’s donations, fundraisers, and corporations. The government and state are known to fund about ten percent of what keeps a station alive. What conservative or liberal listener would want to pay to have the opposite opinion aired when they could be listening to what they tuned in for? Problem is: a conservative station that depends on listener’s donations might not be able to afford to keep the talk show alive when free airtime is given out. Not only that, but as I said before, liberal stations lack a large audience. Will conservative stations die because listeners stop tuning in due to the liberal discussions? It would seem this way. Which leads me to ask, what is the true motive behind the Fairness Doctrine?
Giving a well rounded opinion, in my eyes, is not the motive that drives some (but not all) liberals to put this doctrine in action. It can all boil down to silencing the conservatives. It is very easy to access both opinions on any matter. The television and the internet are quick means to getting information on everything. Anyone looking for a liberal opinion won’t have to go far. And if you are looking for conservative views off the radio as well, then the internet will give you everything you need. So why do we need a Fairness Doctrine? To kill one means of free speech. How far will this go? It might start with a talk show on the radio. But imagine the possibilities. Will churches have to let liberal orators rebut the sermon half-way through? It is drastic and unlikely, however it is not impossible. The point is, when will we stop and which rights will be attacked next? Conservative radio talk shows might just be the beginning.
Keep your wits about you and look for the Fairness Doctrine if it wakes up from its dormancy. President Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi are working towards resurrecting the aforementioned doctrine. There are ways to prevent the doctrine and I advise everyone interested prevent this infringement on our First Amendment; the Freedom of Speech.
-Sarah Macomber
High School Sophomore
