“Get your hands off our talk radio”:
Feinstein says she is “looking at” reviving the Fairness Doctrine to counteract the decidedly conservative bent of talk radio. Former President Reagan and a Democratic Congress repealed the Fairness Doctrine in 1987.
She wants to bring it back because she thinks “one-sided programming” pushes the American people into “extreme views” — such as their current opposition to the Bush/Kennedy/McCain immigration bill. She wants “an opportunity to present the other side” by forcing radio stations to offer more liberal fare.
She may be on to something here. I’m confident it was the one-sided programming in the MSM that led people to turn to talk radio in the first place.
Of course, nobody thinks a revived Fairness Doctrine would only be applied to radio. It wouldn’t be long before we would hear liberals demanding that broadcast TV and the Internet be made “fair,” too.
When I hear that Feinstein has added that she backs the firing of a little less than half of all print and television journalists, and their replacement with individuals who have histories of donating money to republican candidates, I’ll think about supporting this I’ll know that I’ve nodded off and am dreaming.
(no, I would never support any such thing, just bringing the funny)