Bring Back The Fairness Doctrine

Under the Reagan Administration the Federal Communications Commissions (FCC) abolished the Fairness Doctrine. Media stations no longer had to show both sides of a topic. Rush Limbaugh launched his national radio show on WABC in NYC as soon as Reagan abolished the Fairness Doctrine. It was Rush’s idea.

Sure would be fun to watch Tucker Carlson et al wrestle with bringing it back.

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36 thoughts on “Bring Back The Fairness Doctrine”

  1. yes, yes, yes bring it back!

    question though: would that mean when discussing the insurrection and calling it an attempted coup would msnbc, for example, have to give equal time to the so-called “peaceful protesters” rampaging through the capitol?

     

  2. so how would the network give the other side of john’s homelessness story

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    With homelessness increasing nationwide, John Oliver takes a look at the way we discuss the unhoused, what policy failures are making the problem worse, and how we can help.

  3. another prob media seem to be having is they concentrate mostly on the racehorse news like approval/disapproval polls or political feuding rather than the meat and potatoes of actual issues being proposed/enacted/executed.  

    no wonder voters feel nothing is being accomplished when all they hear is news of who dissed who or what outrageous thing the former guy just said.

    and no wonder biden’s polls keep going down when polls going down is the only story about him that’s being reported instead of stuff like getting the global 15% minimum tax adopted & lifting stupid tariffs imposed by former guy for instance.

  4. Would that mean non-right-wingnut media would have to make the point of fascists?
    Could Fluffy and Fiends just make the pro-democracy point in a snide, smarmy, sarcastic manner?

  5. The Fairness Doctrine is misunderstood. Wiki explains what it was. 

    The fairness doctrine had two basic elements: It required broadcasters to devote some of their airtime to discussing controversial matters of public interest, and to air contrasting views regarding those matters. Stations were given wide latitude as to how to provide contrasting views: It could be done through news segments, public affairs shows, or editorials. The doctrine did not require equal time for opposing views but required that contrasting viewpoints be presented. 

    It required some semblance of balance. It did not require embracing both sides of every issue. 

  6. Speaking of fairness, on August 26 4 Americans died in Afghanistan as victims of a suicide bomber. On August 27, while the RW went crazy, calling to return to war, remove President Biden and other absurd ways to address it 1403 Americans died in America from Covid-19.  What’d the RW say about responding to those deaths and preventing that from happening again? Freedumb. 

  7. https://www.texastribune.org/2021/10/29/trump-train-texas-highway-crash-police/</a

    “As supporters of then-President Donald Trump surrounded and harassed a Joe Biden campaign bus on a Central Texas highway last year, San Marcos police officials and 911 dispatchers fielded multiple requests for assistance from Democratic campaigners and bus passengers who said they feared for their safety from a pack of motorists, known as a “Trump Train,” allegedly driving in dangerously aggressive ways.”

    “San Marcos refused to help,” an amended federal lawsuit over the 2020 freeway skirmish claims.”

    “No, we’re not going to do it,” Daenzer told a 911 dispatcher, according to the amended filing. “We will ‘close patrol’ that, but we’re not going to escort a bus.”

    “The amended filing also states that in those audio recordings, law enforcement officers “privately laughed” and “joked about the victims and their distress.”

    “The lawsuit alleges that by refusing the help, law enforcement officers violated the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871 because they were aware of “acts of violent political intimidation” but did not take appropriate steps to prevent the Trump supporters from intimidating eligible voters.“

    Everything old is new, again, as the song goes.

    “According to Friday’s filing, San Marcos police continued to receive 911 calls from other witnesses warning them of reckless driving along I-35, but the police department did not send an escort.“

    Fascist pigs.

    “It wasn’t until the bus reached Kyle around 3:46 p.m. that a police escort from that city arrived and the Trump supporters moved away from the vehicle, the lawsuit alleges.”

    “But when the Kyle police escort departed at the Travis County line, the filing stated, the trucks of Trump supporters “resumed their threatening behavior.” It wasn’t until the bus was able to make it to a campaign stop in Austin that those onboard were able to get off. “

    “…the lawsuit refers to a group text message among San Marcos officers, including Winkenwerder, in which an unidentified person appears to refer to Democrats who drove through town as a derogatory slang term for someone who is mentally disabled.“

  8. Pat D

    No wonder biden’s polls keep going down when polls going down is the only story about him that’s being reported instead of stuff like getting the global 15% minimum tax adopted & lifting stupid tariffs imposed by former guy for instance.

    This has been going on all morning.  I’m just getting totally fed up with this dollars and eyeballs programming.  

  9. Oh, those goobers would have been singing a way different song had I been driving that Biden bus.  Growing up where and when I did, I am well-practiced in the art of offensive driving.  Especially in a BUS? GTFOH.  

  10. Geez Craig….
    seeing the words Tucker Carlson and fun in the same sentence just don’t look right…

  11. BB,  your link last night about the tail of Boo the cat has the makings of a fine poem. loved it, in particular the wish “to have a most glorious tail to enjoy a nice nap with darkened eyes and muffled ears.”

    that comment however reminds me of a tail spelled differently which smothers ears from hearing and shades eyes from seeing. that covering “tail”  is the tale of the former guy’s Big Lie which keeps his cult from the truth.

  12. Even though he’s paid to be a straight-ahead news reporter, ABC’s Terry Moran had no problem editorializing about President Joe Biden last week, and what a “devastating” failure he’s been as a leader. Moran’s public put-down was in reference to a new poll that shows only 1 in 5 Americans have heard “a lot” about the Democrats sprawling investment bill, dubbed Build Back Better.

     

  13. here’s a link to john oliver’s full program last night in case you missed it.  his intro, the first 6 minutes, was pretty good. the last part was the homeless issue also linked earlier.

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  14. Poobah,
     
    Bink has a point – the FCC only regulates licensed broadcast radio and television stations (there was no such thing as cable when the FCC was created).  The Fairness Doctrine would apply to for instance radio stations that broadcast the evil stench of Limbaugh, Hannity, Mark Levin, etc., but unless the FCC charter was broadened by Congress to include cable providers, Fox, MSNBC and CNN would not be affected even if the doctrine were reinstated. When the doctrine was knocked down by the Reaganites at the FCC in the 80s, of the big 3 only CNN was in existence.  RW terrestrial radio would be, and if Air America (or if it still has any progeny) exists, it, too. If reinstating it would get rid of, or make the local station that carries Hannity’s & Levin’s radio talk show quit spewing only their BS, I’m all for it.

  15. Jamie,  Terry Moran’s denial of media coverage is laughable – claims “the media” is a 20th century term and that legacy media providers don’t set people’s news agenda any longer … and he works as a reporter for … ABC?  One of the top 3 Legacy media providers in the US (maybe half a dozen + 1 if you include in Legacy media PBS and the top 3 cable news providers).  I’m sorry, but really?  Good luck getting anything like news coverage that even resembles reporting rather than criticizing from whatever the shit Facebook has become – some infinity symbol and an idiotic renaming to Meta.

  16. Now, it’s Suckerberg and social media that drive the story or the lie.  A lot of folks don’t watch news, broadcast nor cable, and nothing is stopping that runaway horsey.

  17. Poobah, agreed -the only real questions are whether the enabling legislation is broad enough to allow a rules change to encompass a new Fairness Doctrine that includes cable and if not whether legislation that would allow that stands the odds of a snowflake in hell of passing congress. My meager recollection of communications law doesn’t even begin to answer those questions.

  18. Liberals just had to get rid of O’Reilly, and they did, woohoo!
     
    So FauxNews dredged up someone more despicable, less apologetic, and oh great, younger.  
     
    The bull-pen of shitheads is never exhausted

  19. …or crazier bullshit, but the problem is, crazy bullshit doesn’t play well with liberals, because of education, critical-thinking skills, stuff like that.
     
    So you’re kind of hemmed-in to winning with better ideas

  20. Contemporary liberal/progressivism offers nothing to low-education middle-class whites, except to make them feel stupid and inferior.  Of course they prefer Schmucker Carlson.  Why the fuck wouldn’t they?

  21. …and as long as sanctimonious online trolls drive the progressive policy agenda, AND THEY DO, Dems tread water at best, so get used to it

  22. Actually wait:
     
    Not all speech is protected in this country, and Boebert, Gaetz, maybe this Carlson schmuck (not sure what he says every day), and a whole cadre of other nefarious weasels are inciting violence in my estimation 

    ok now i’m done sharing my bright ideas that get lost to oblivion in 9 hours✌️

  23. By the way, Mr. C, i agree with your fundamental premise that FoxNews programming is anti-social and immoral.
     
    The premise of my argument, that the audience for that kind of message could possibly be appealed to with reason, is fundamentally flawed.

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