2/18/2009 10:08:11 AM

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/first100days/2009/02/18/white-house-opposes-fairness-doctrine/

Quote :

"President Obama opposes any move to bring back the so-called Fairness Doctrine, a spokesman told FOXNews.com Wednesday. The statement is the first definitive stance the administration has taken since an aide told an industry publication last summer that Obama opposes the doctrine -- a long-abolished policy that would require broadcasters to provide opposing viewpoints on controversial issues. "As the president stated during the campaign, he does not believe the Fairness Doctrine should be reinstated," White House spokesman Ben LaBolt told FOXNews.com. "

Another reason to like Obama.

2/18/2009 3:28:01 PM

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/first100days/2009/02/18/white-house-opposes-fairness-doctrine/comments/

2/18/2009 3:32:27 PM

good for him.

2/18/2009 3:34:58 PM

if he's telling the truth. He lied his ass off about the porkulus bill.

2/18/2009 3:44:16 PM

ladymcbeath of California's got your back, bcsawyer

Quote :

"His statement is meaningless, and not only because he lies pathologically. The “fairness doctrine” is the least of our worries as to how they can shut down talk radio and police the net. They are talking about nationalizing the banks! For the love of God, this guy wants to be Hugo Chavez! If we allow them to nationalize the banks the Obamites will control every aspect of our lives. They can put any industry out of business, they can reward any failing enterprise, make their politically correct values the basis for making loans or withholding any loans, sic the IRS on anyone they choose. This attack on talk radio is a smokescreen. When even Bill Clinton is talking about it you know it’s all orchestrated to rile us all up and keep us from noticing what else is going on. Focus on the money, people. That’s how they are going after us. "

as does commies4change

Quote :

"The Fairness Doctrine only applies to radio - not to any other major media source (i.e. newspapers and television). The scary thing is that some of these Communists are talking about not only restricting free speech on the nation's radio waves, but on the Internet as well. Hmm...United States Democraps taking a page right out of the Hugo Chavez/Fidel Castro/Josef Stalin playbook. No, we have ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to worry about! Obama - Chains we can't believe in!"

but i'm looking at aleale1964 to bring us on home

Quote :

"socialists get made when you question them LOL "

[Edited on February 18, 2009 at 4:08 PM. Reason : +]

2/18/2009 4:00:11 PM

something tells me she doesn't need any help being riled up

2/18/2009 4:08:47 PM

Its being voted on in the senate today

2/26/2009 2:02:17 PM

more specifically:

South Carolina senator Sen. Jim DeMint has attached his amendment, called the Broadcaster Freedom Act (an act to outlaw the "Fairness Doctrine"), to a bill to give the District of Columbia a voting representative in the House.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/02/26/demint-tries-prevent-fairness-doctrine-revival/

2/26/2009 2:12:25 PM

so they are voting on two bills

2/26/2009 2:14:25 PM

OH SHIT IT PASSED 57-41. I thought they werent trying to bring it back

2/26/2009 2:47:56 PM

the opposition bill just passed too, thank god

2/26/2009 2:59:33 PM

Quote :

"The Senate voted Thursday in favor of an amendment to the District of Columbia voting rights bill that would prohibit the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) from reinstating the so-called Fairness Doctrine, which critics say would decimate conservative talk radio. The Senate passed the measure 87-11."

http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/senate-tunes-out-fairness-doctrine-2009-02-26.html

2/26/2009 3:08:44 PM

here's more for anyone who would like to read what happened

Quote :

"Senate Votes to Kill Fairness Doctrine, But GOP Concerns Remain Amy Schatz reports on the FCC. The enduring fight over the Fairness Doctrine came to the Senate floor Thursday afternoon, as senators proposed dueling amendments on the issue during a debate on legislation that would give Washington, D.C., residents voting rights. Republican Sen. Jim DeMint of South Carolina proposed an amendment, the Broadcaster Freedom Act, which would prohibit the Federal Communications Commission from reinstating the Fairness Doctrine, a policy dumped in 1987 that required broadcasters to provide balanced coverage of controversial issues. Several Democratic lawmakers have said recently they’d favor bringing the Fairness Doctrine back, fueling an uproar in the conservative talk radio world. On Feb. 18, the White House tried to calm things down when it announced that President Barack Obama did not support reinstating the Fairness Doctrine. That didn’t calm many conservatives, who believe Democrats are itching to reinstitute the rule in hopes of killing off conservative talk radio. “What this would do is create a dysfunctional situation where no radio station could afford to express an opinion anytime,” DeMint said during debate on the Senate floor. “Whose opinion will determine what’s fair, what’s balanced, what’s diverse?” Democratic Illinois Sen. Richard Durbin proposed a rival amendment that he said essentially reaffirmed existing law, which calls for the FCC to encourage diverse media ownership. “President Obama says he doesn’t support reinstating the Fairness Doctrine and neither do I,” said Durbin, who argued his amendment didn’t reinstate the policy, as his Republican counterpart charged. The Durbin amendment also essentially overrode language in DeMint’s proposal, which was aimed at preventing the FCC from sneaking Fairness Doctrine-like language into other regulations. The DeMint amendment passed on an 87-11 vote while the Durbin amendment passed 57-41. That prompted the South Carolina senator to lament that while conservatives might have won one battle, others loomed. “We have closed the front door on Fairness Doctrine, but Durbin amend opens back door to censorship. The fight goes on,” DeMint tweeted on Twitter as the floor vote proceeded. Indeed, neither vote is likely to do much to dampen down chatter about the Fairness Doctrine, since the FCC is expected to take up regulations that would impose new localism requirements on broadcasters later this year. Some Republicans, including Robert McDowell, the FCC’s lone Republican commissioner, have expressed concerns that new localism rules could provide a back door for imposing Fairness Doctrine-like requirements. "

http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2009/02/26/senate-votes-to-kill-fairness-doctrine-but-gop-concerns-remain/

2/26/2009 3:41:45 PM

Quote :

"“What this would do is create a dysfunctional situation where no radio station could afford to express an opinion anytime,” DeMint said during debate on the Senate floor. “Whose opinion will determine what’s fair, what’s balanced, what’s diverse?”"

i mean i don't support the fairness doctrine. but i find this ironic coming from the same republicans who insisted that pbs and npr be more "balanced" in the bush years. i know public television/radio aren't the same thing as private radio. but still it's funny.

2/26/2009 3:47:53 PM

^There's actually some precedent for "Government Speech" vs. free speech. I imagine that is how it would be justified. There was a lot of talk about that in a recent Supreme Court case:

http://www.supremecourtus.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/07-665.pdf

2/26/2009 6:02:54 PM

so is this thread finally dead, now?

or will Zombie Hooksaw come back with another ZOMG LIBERAL MEDIA CONSPIRACY thread?

2/26/2009 6:18:01 PM

has it been sent to the president to sign? if not, issue's not closed

2/26/2009 6:26:18 PM

i will post here to say that the fairness doctrine was a bad idea no matter how you cut the whole "local ownership" aim. also, jim demint is the worst senator in the worst state.

3/3/2009 7:41:32 PM

bump by request

10/23/2009 1:54:48 AM

Quote :

"or will Zombie Hooksaw come back with another ZOMG LIBERAL MEDIA CONSPIRACY thread"

hahaha

10/23/2009 1:59:17 AM

Did anyone see the spinjob by CNN the other morning about how unfair it was that there was so much conservative presence on the radio? I thought I was watching the anti-FoxNews for a second. Anyway, they were talking like the good ol' Doctrine might make a return.

10/23/2009 2:01:04 PM