Fairness Doctrine

[Atlanta Listener]

Hmmm, no takers on the Fairness Doctrine, eh? Baaaaa.

I have a question, if this "fairness" doctrine is imposed on us.  I wonder how Atlanta radio would shape up?  WSB and GST would definitely be a target, however.... what about WAOK and other "progressive" stations, especially several FM morning shows?  They are by no means "fair" either.  It would definitely be interesting.

The government always thinks it knows best, if that is the case, then why do they tend to screw up almost everything they are involved in?

Capitalism has stood the test of time while other forms have fallen.  If you have a product that is successful, such as Rush, Hannity, etc... then people will listen, advertisers will invest, etc...  If you have a show that sucks, then people will not listen, advertisers will leave, and the show will end.  If Rush or Hannity, or any other host, such as Warren Balentine, Mike Baisden, etc... started to have crap for shows, then the listeners will leave and find something else and they will cease at some point.  How is this not fair?  People vote with their feet, ears, and spending dollars. 

Liberty is a thing of the past.

Love the boards by the way.

Bring on the discussion.

[hail2theorange]

I'm sure I'll be accused of over-generalizing here, but I'll take a swing at responding...

First, the premise of the "Fairness" doctrine is just that... it is an attempt at making the "Public Airwaves" a fair place -- note that it's not called the free enterprise doctrine or the success doctrine -- the government does not care if a company makes a profit... indeed, they tend to try to punish those that do by their insipid graduated tax structure. So, the government, then maintains that the public airwaves belong to "The People" (that's a code word for the kind of people that are currently in power), so should not present a single side of any argument, especially when it is contrary to the belief of "The People" (see definition above).

Second, it is doubtful that the fairness doctrine would have much affect on left-leaning banter on shows that are primarily music-oriented. This is because when a right-leaning person complains about things like this, they are characterized as "whiners" and nobody likes a whiner.

It is also doubtful that a left-leaning talk station could survive in any locale that is not currently supporting such a show -- with rare exception (see Randi Rhodes), lefty hosts tend to argue and shoot the messenger more than discuss and argue the message (yes, I know that is a generalization, but generalizations are just that because they tend to ring true). In order to succeed, a good talker has to be able to argue their points, admit when their side screws up (Sean Hannity might be an exception here, he seems to always take the party line) and most importantly, not take themselves too seriously and shut down/alienate those that disagree with them.

If the fairness doctrine is resurrected, I would anticipate that there would be fewer syndicated talk shows, more local-flavor talk shows that tend to invoke callers from both sides of the spectrum and allow the host to not necessarily take sides. There will probably be more non-political call-in shows on the AM dial -- sports/home/garden/finance and maybe some more news/sports/weather kinds of programming as well.

I would think that the fairness doctrine would be a boon to satellite radio, since Limbaugh, Hannity, Medved, Boortz, etc. would be outside the control of the Feds when they are no longer on the public airwaves.

[agentUrge]

Personally, I don't think it would work very well because, as hail2theorange essentially said, the success of a station that leans in one direction or another is really dependent on the locale.  Thus, Air America didn't do well here because talk radio in Atlanta is pretty much dominated by the right (with exception to NPR) but up in  Asheville, left leaning programming does fairly well (as I recently learned). 

I have to say this though, the only difference between left-wing or right-wing talk radio is the viewpoint.  The methods are the same, and the personalities are the same Rush, Hanity, Rhode, Ed Schultz...they all take the same approach: aggressive..standoffish, at times.  Same same. 

Either way, I have a hard time seeing it work...but if it opens up local talk radio and pushed syndicated content out...I'm all for it.

[Mr_Winston-Salem]

This will also impact religious broadcasters, like 91.5 WWEV. Think of the thousands of translators to spread religious programing. A new translator signed-on recently at 90.5 in Gwinnett County (near Mall of Georgia).

[Nate Wesley]

Liberty is a thing of the past.

You pretty much told us all we need to guess about your intellect with this part here.

Now, back to freerepublic.com. 

[taylorengineer]

Liberty is a thing of the past.

You pretty much told us all we need to guess about your intellect with this part here.

Now, back to freerepublic.com. 

So what are you trying to say here Nate?
That you feel intellectually "superior" or "enlightened" is elitist snobbery.
So you think any of us are truly free? Then make your case.
I would like to hear one logical argument proving the Fairness Doctrine will lead to more "liberty and freedom" for any human being on this planet.

[Atlanta Listener]

Liberty is a thing of the past.

You pretty much told us all we need to guess about your intellect with this part here.

Now, back to freerepublic.com. 

Way to get involved with the discussion.  Instead of attempting a slash and burn attack, why don't you discuss the issue?  Talking points are cheap and easy.  Discussion has a greater value.

Thanks for the info about freerepublic.com, are you a member?  If not, I will look you up over at www.democraticunderground.com

This is a legitimate radio-based discussion that has strong opinions on both sides.  Reducing yourself to cheap theatrical attacks only undermines your position on the issue.

[The Beave]

One thing talk hosts are saying (off of the air) and I said it the other day in

RE: The fairness docterine -

"If politics was taken seriously as a hate crime... There would be alot of people going to prison."

[DToTheJ]

Thanks for the info about freerepublic.com, are you a member?  If not, I will look you up over at www.democraticunderground.com

I've seen some interesting threads on there. But what's the deal that you can't even do so much as send a message to another member without donating to the website?

[kyscott]

Liberty is a thing of the past.

You pretty much told us all we need to guess about your intellect with this part here.

Now, back to freerepublic.com. 

You did the same, Nate.  Thanks for removing all doubt.