The fairness doctrine: RIP

A total of 83 “outdated and obsolete media-related rules” have been wiped off the books, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said Tuesday.

The main one was the so-called  Fairness Doctrine, defunct since 1987.

Politico:

While the commission voted in 1987 to do away with the rule — a legacy to a time when broadcasting was a much more dominant voice than it is today — the language implementing it was never removed. The move Monday, once published in the federal register, effectively erases the rule.

Monday’s move is part of the commission’s response to a White House executive order directing a “government-wide review of regulations already on the books” designed to eliminate unnecessary regulations.

Nixing these regs were never done by the Bush administration, but even before Obama was elected, right-wing talk hosts were riling the dittoheads with predictions that Democrat Dictators would use the long-shelved regulation to silence them.

(photo: a muffled Rush: yeah, right...)

The Doctrine was like Elvis. Or Jesus. Dead for a long, long, time but sighted or resurrected whenever convenient to scare the dittoheads, or frighten the begging-to-be-frightened listeners of religious radio.

Rush, Sean Hannity, Mark Levin, Glenn Beck, the Marx Brothers, Pat Robertson, J.P. Patches, Neal Boortz, Dori Monson, Donald Trump, Billo Reilly, and Rev. James Dobson- all have warned that the subversive, socialistic and dangerous Doctrine (not ever a law) which required access to broadcast stations of opposing views, and discussion of controversial issues, would be revived by Barack Obama, his FCC henchpersons, or Congressional running dogs like Nancy (Shiver) Pelosi. 

It was dropped by the FCC in 1987. But, a bill to kill it again was proposed last year by Republicans in February, even though it was already dead even before Senate Republicans slew it in 2009.

It was a convenient right-wing straw man, a conspiracy theory that buttressed the right's dire predictions that Obama was an evil oligarch on the brink of cancelling the Constitution; it was cited in Christian pastoral infomercials on religious stations to scare the money out of their flighty listeners. 

Despite FCC Chair Julius Genachowski testified in 2009 he wasn’t going to revive it. And he never has. No matter candidate Obama was against bringing it back, and President Obama still opposed the Doctrine. Or that Speaker Nancy Pelosi never proposed it when she had the power, and neither has Leader Harry Reid.

Despite all this the policy remained, fallow, on the books. Until now.

And Limbaugh, Beck et al, kept it alive by warning that it might be revived in the long-debated "localism" initiative proposed by the Bush FCC, and continued in the Obama years by Genachowski.

Don't expect the right to stop using this bogey man- Obama's “'government-wide review of regulations already on the books' designed to eliminate unnecessary regulations" runs counters to their narrative of "big-governent liberal trying to run your lives."

The facts haven't fazed the right so far, don't expect them to any time soon.

Comments

[joanie]

Wow! I'm not a fan of eliminating the fairness doctrine. I like "truth-fairness-rebuttal" in broadcasting. But, the way you put it, it sounds like the right thing to do. Get rid of the bogeyman. Done.

[Pete]

It's a near-certainty that Rush et al weren't even aware that some Fairness Doctrine regulatory language was still on the books, or they would have been raising holy hell about it and citing it as "proof" of Obama's evil intent.

They had plenty of incentive to whip up a pseudo-controversy over the existence of the language, but they have zero incentive to acknowledge now that it's gone, let alone acknowledge who was responsible. Won't happen.

[woody held]

Quite a few heavyweight Democrats are on record as supporting the FD, including Pelosi

Also Reid, Schumer, and Dick Durbin. The fact that there was no effort to reinstate from 2008-2010 only means that these are smart politicians.

But with support from so many leading dems, it's fairly absurd to claim that this is a 'bogeyman.'

GOP has done very little to restrict abortion in the past decade or so. It wasn't in the cards politically for them. Does this mean that the abortion issue is now a 'bogeyman' and libs can stop worrying about it?

[KS blathers for the halibut]

The so-called Fairness Doctrine is not really fair. If the right didn't say anything about it, the White House would have snuck it through via the Executive Order route. They would have figured not much political fallout from doing that, like they did for amnesty-lite for illegals like they did last week.

[Coiler]

and in 1986...ya know?

[Jovita]

KS, my wife said to tell you there is no such word as "snuck." The correct word to use is "sneaked."

[joanie]

If the right didn't say anything about it, the White House would have snuck it through via the Executive Order route.

Umm, wasn't it an executive order that deleted it?

Woody: Considering the state of "abortion" in many red and even some blue states, the campaign against and defunding of Planned Parenthood, and the killing of Dr. Tiller and threats against many others, it seems to me the GOP is pretty active on the issue. Or is the GOP finally going to come out and confirm to all its governors and legislators and extremist Christians that it is the law of the land and back off?

to answer: no, the threat to restrict abortion is alive and kicking on the right.

[correcting Jovita's wife ,t poolside, breakfast in Monte Carlo]

merriam webster online - snuck: past and past participle of sneak

[Joanie Don't Do Humble..... ya got that?]

....that;s why i call you people on the right idiots... you people-you simply don't think, can't think, you're like robots repeating the same lines youve learned from faux news over and over.........you see , that's why i can call you idiots, it's the right thing to do, no apologies , no worries......did i tell you that you guys on the right who post here aer all idiots...

[joanie]

I thought you were done with the apology thing? Promises, promises, gollum.

Actually, I'll give NW Andrew an apology for mixing him up with the conservatively liberal Andrew. NW Andrew is the one who who took the bad rap from me.

[Jovita]

"Ain't" is in the dictionary as well, Cary Grant. And you're up awfully early for someone who goes to so many parties.

[Edifying the Jovita family , poolside....Tommy008]

"Snuck has become in recent decades a standard variant past tense and past participle of the verb sneak...... It is not so common in highly formal or belletristic writing, where sneaked is more likely to occur." -Dictionary.com

[Edifying the Jovita family , poolside....Tommy008]

the party was Sunday night, and didn't close out until close to three a.m. no post from Monte carlo form me on Monday just resting up, with a pip of a hangover. We had to have one of our host's bodyguards drive Derek's Ferrari Enzo back to his hotel, with Derek riding passenger since he was in no condition to drive.. The host's adult son drove me back to the Marriott, in a white Bentley Continental by the way, since i came with Derek. He picked up the bodyguard, at the Hotel de Paris and they drove back up to the property. Party of the decade. Dinner was finally served a little before ten after several hours of drinks and ouer d'erves. I'd like to tell you more about the party but with hicks like Joanie and Sarah and some other crude, coarse leftists and commies barging their way onto this blog, it's a little like throwing my pearls before swine.

[Puget Sound Blathers]

Not to worry, Sean/Rush/Savage will always have the 'War on Christmas' to rely upon to call out the troops of outrage.

But it's always nice to have a back up outrage and the retirement of the 'Fairness' Doctrine will mean that something else will have to take its place.

Oh wait, I guess the President golfing/vacationing will do nicely for now....

[Pete]

If I were in the south of France for weeks, the last thing I would be doing is hanging out in a Marriott in a resort town getting drunk. Not sure why our friend seems to think we're all jealous and interested in the details. Have fun - whatever works for you.

[Edifying the Jovita family , poolside....Tommy008]

it's not the South Tacoma Marriott, it's the Riviers Marriott, a four star hotel in Monaco, right by a huge marina filled with multimillion dollar yachts, instead of a tawdry Indian tribe casino. im "slumming" after spending the first weeks of the stay at the Le Meridien Beach Plaza, then the Hotel de Paris. Sounds like you don't even read my posts. You simply don't make sense. I didn't sit in a Marriott getting drunk , i assumed copious amount of adult beverages at a fabulous party hosted in a 20 million dollar townhouse up in the hills above Monte Carlo harbor, with beautiful women and at least one movie star present. you sound silly.

[Tommy008]

ok i fibbed- The Riviera Marriott is actually in France. one train stop over the border to the west. All the other stuff about the nearby marina at Port de Cap-d'Ail is completely true, though ther are even grander and larger marinas in Monaco proper. i spent all my money at the other two establishments , that are in Monaco, and now "i'm slumming". if you call being encircled by historic, luxurious villas and homes slumming.

[Pete]

And you're doing so while within a day's drive of the entire Mediterranean coast from the Costa del Sol to Silicy, the Alps and Pyrenees, and great cities like Marseilles, Rome, Barcelona, Venice, Milan, Florence, Geneva, and even Paris, with all they have to offer, and all the French and Italian countryside between. Instead you'd rather rub elbows with very rich people, fantasize that you belong with them (if you did, you wouldn't bother to mention the pricy cars or lodgings), and drink "adult beverages."

We just have different priorities, but to me yours are the ones that seem silly and ridiculous, and a not-flattering cliche besides. I'd take advantage of what sounds like a remarkable opportunity to see more of the world than just a luxury hotel, a few real live celebrities, "beautiful women" (who are everywhere, if you're willing to look), and nice views of one harbor. But that's just me.

You're living your fantasy for a bit, and good for you, but it's not a fantasy everyone shares or even cares about.

[StarTheWonderDog]

Pete capsulized it all perfectly; if you have to brag about it you are probably not living reality when posting on this blog. I don't know anyone who given the location and accommodations and venue you claim would sit in your room or "at the pool" and tout living the good life. You are a dreamer and I think we can all understand that but please quit spoon-feeding the bull shit cause we all know better. You'll be a better person if you just own up to your reality and quite frankly you'd probably be better received.

[Tommy008]

you simply are writing silly nonsense, Pete. this trip was about relaxing poolside, and at the casino tables in Monaco, and a bit of the South of France. some hiking, boat rides and sightseeing were also on the bill. You act liek this is my one and only chance to see Europe. I don't have the time or money to go to all those other cities on this trip. And i've never claimed that i BELONG with those people at the party- yet. I was fortunate enough to meet Derek, and gain entre into a few parties, exotic car rides, and a mega-yacht cruise ( that's tomorrow , with Derek and her girlfriend, on their friend's yacht) that i normally wouldn't get into. The only thing i've bragged to Joanie about on this blog (absolutly infuriating her, by the way) wa that i was doing well in my stock investing and that if the numbers held true i would continue to experience exponential growth in my net worth. i never claimed that i had a huge net worth already at this time. if things hold true to my numbers i WILL belong in that crowd at the party in a few years time. im leaving sunday morning from Nice to San Diego. I'll spend a few Weeks in San Diego, and then 7 to 10 dys in L.A. househunting in the Hollywood Hills. Most people are no doubt enjoying my wires from overseas , whether they believe i'm actually here or not- thet're not getting furious, and completely bent out of shape about it, like you and Joanie. jOANIE I UNDERSTAND- but im a bit nonplussed by the virulence of your responce, Pete. Don't worry - there will be no dispatches from S.D. or L.A. just this handful of brief letters from Monaco have infuriated and outraged you and Joanie enough. bwahaahahahhhh

[joanie]

Well, since we're off-topic:

I heard on the radio today - a caller to Ed's show - that all the fracking on the east coast could be responsible for earthquakes: it breaks up the bedrock which is what holds the plates in place.

If that's true, we will see how far people will actually endanger themselves for more cheap oil. It's kind of a test. Can't wait for the answer sheet.

[Tommy008]

oh i see Dogwoman has raised her ugly head again. another one who is absolutley furious over my posts from abroad.i thought people liek you and Pete would be bright enough to assume that i was doing things liek driving in my rental car along the French Riviera coast, visitng villages, cafes restaurants, exploring etc. , which of course i have done , many times during the last several weeks. I thought you were imaginative enough to realize that i was mentioning only certain highlights of the trp(poolside at one of the most famous hotels in the world, gambliong at one of the the most famous casino in the world, the fabulous party,etc) in these short missives, and not giving you the entirety of my trips itinerary . i was wrong.

[StarTheWonderDog]

Like the fairness doctrine tommys fabrication is taking over and any equality of honest rhetoric has died. Remember Tommy is one who promised to be gone from this blog for the summer. Well if we can't believe that what if anything can we believe of tom's rantings. Now it's off to San Diego for more fun and games so let's see if he avoid us for at least the duration of that exotic party. We'll be watching for your trademark tell tale writing gaffe's which reveal you every time you post. Even when you go slow and do super monitoring of your spelling you still can't hide your true self.

[Tommy008]

hey , you're not the jealous freak who viciously gouged my classic Mercedes in a 360 degree key job, aer you Pete?

[Walter Mitty]

You guys are cruel

I believe everything Tommy008 says.

[KS blathers for the halibut]

..did i tell you that you guys on the right who post here aer all idiots...

Posted by: Joanie Don't Do Humble..... ya got that? | August 23, 2011 at 10:37 PM

Besides emulating the hag, your spelling sucks.

Fairness Doctrine is now regarded as the #1 strawman by the right. An executive order extinguished the Fairness Doctrine - so why couldn't an exec. order give it new life ? Oh wait, I almost forgot that I just gave this conspiracy theory new life... Looking forward to the next post, say in about 6 months or so on the (un)Fairness Doctrine :(

[joanie]

You really are afraid of hearing both sides of an issue, huh KS? Why so insecure? Not so sure you really know what you think?

[joanie]

Here's a great site for people who love liberal radio but never know where to get it: progressive radio

If you bring it up, it connects you with five pages of radio stations around the country and the liberals that are talking. For instance, in Willow Springs, IL, Ed Schultz is playing right now. Other stations show Mike Malloy. And there are people I've never heard of. Click on the bold name, and you go right to the player. It is wonderful. Check it out.

[woody held]

Woody: Considering the state of "abortion" in many red and even some blue states, the campaign against and defunding of Planned Parenthood, and the killing of Dr. Tiller and threats against many others, it seems to me the GOP is pretty active on the issue. Or is the GOP finally going to come out and confirm to all its governors and legislators and extremist Christians that it is the law of the land and back off?

to answer: no, the threat to restrict abortion is alive and kicking on the right

Neither removing tax-funding from planned parenthood nor killings by pro-life wackos constitute an infringement on the right to abortion. The former just means that funding would have to come from private sources; it in no way restricts anyone from having an abortion. The latter is not supported by even most pro-lifers. I haven't heard of any calls from R's for clemency for abortion-doc killers--have you?

So again, if the Fairness doctrine is a 'bogeyman' so too are the warnings that we hear every prez election that the right to choose is in jeopardy.

I think both are probably used as bogeymen to some extent. I'm just saying that it's a mistake to portray either as completely sham issues, as the OP does. As you say, the threat to choice is still 'alive and kicking;' by the same token so is the threat to freedom of speech & press.

[Radio Queen]

Here's a great site for people who love liberal radio but never know where to get it: progressive radio

Well, joanie, this is the technology I was talking about several months ago, when someone suggested that they needed to purchase a special radio to pick up out-of-area stations. I seem to remember you ridiculed me quite soundly for assuming that everyone had access to the internet for streaming radio programs. Glad to see you've changed your mind. :)

Tunein is also available as an iPhone/iPad app. And don't limit yourself to the choice of stations listed above. Many others are also available by starting with tunein's homepage at http://tunein.com. From there, you can search and create your own preset list of favorite stations.

[KS blathers for the halibut]

You really are afraid of hearing both sides of an issue, huh KS? Why so insecure? Not so sure you really know what you think?

Posted by: joanie | August 24, 2011 at 10:04 PM

Shrug. More cognitive dissonance I see. I said what I meant - The fairness doctrine is a strawman for the right.

Of course, I did not talk about the left's laundry list of strawmen - Republican majority = A theocracy (held by most on the left), the Tea Party are terrorists and want this country to go into default and anyone who disagrees with the POTUS's policies is a racist (many on the left can see through this one - I think)

[sparky]

What about the people on the right who came out publicly stating they wanted the country to go into default? Were they lying? Just saying that to get attention? What about Mitch McConnell saying his only goal was to make sure Obama failed? Was he lying?

[StarTheWonderDog]

Of course we can apparently disregard some of the brilliant statements from those of your political persuasion, recent notably the Honorable Rev Al Sharpton and the Honorable Representative Maxine Waters. No, I don't think you want to go there. Bwahaha

[Puget Sound Blathers]

Star
Great point.
LMAO, we all recall how upset Sparkles was during the Bush Presidency by the Left's unwillingess to get on Board....

Sparkles only sees a problem on opposing the President on the right, when the left opposed Pres Bush it was out of principle. She can't grasp that the Right is just doing the same tactic and feels just as principled.

KS-
In regards to Joanie, what we are witnessing is the onset stages of dementia. Keep your eyes peeled to KOMO 4 News. One day she'll get lost heading up to Birch Bay and will be found wandering the streets of Republic, WA.
She's probably less than a year away from a civil comittment stay at Western Washington State Hospital.

Maybe next time T008 is in the area, he'll swing by to check on her status and renew the comittment.
No doubt he'll document this sad tale in one of his stories.

[sparky]

All that verbage, and you didn't answer my question. Nothing new here.

[joanie]

Glad to see you've changed your mind. :)

Ah, but I haven't. Not every one has a computer or iPhone. Just a reality. I wasn't speaking for myself only. And radios still have a place. I don't have a computer in every room or at all in BB. I love the sleep button at night as I fall asleep listening to Malloy.

When in BB, I putter so need old tech to follow me around. Computers are expensive. I don't have a laptop.

Sounds like I do need to look into the iPhone app? Honestly, I never thought I would use an iPhone. I'm not a gadgets person and thought they were kind of frivolous. My cell is years old and I still use a land line because I don't have to remember to charge the darn thing. Do I sound like an old fogey? Maybe I am.

I think there's still a place for old tech in radioland but I will look into the iPhone Tune-in App. BTW, do iPhones have sleep buttons?

[joanie]

BTW, Queen: school is starting for Sparky and I. Are you still active in education? Is school starting up for you, too?

One I get into it again, I'm pretty happy. But this separation from vacation back to work, work, work is hard.

[joanie]

This has to do with fairness but not the radio kind. I'm curious what people think about his:

An Unsuspecting American With No Medicare Coverage—Me!

When I read this, I was appalled that anyone would be left in their senior years after working a productive life without healthcare. I doubt many of you thought this possible.

[Radio Queen]

The medicare article is chilling. I fault employers for not making their employees aware of this unbelievable loophole, along with advice on how to plan. Isn't that what HR departments are for??? Surely, they know they have long-timers who are affected.

Yes, I go back to school a week before the kids--Monday! It is hard to make the transition from summer to school, but once we're there, we remember the reasons why we keep doing it. One of my favorites is to keep up with the technology they take for granted and we have to struggle to learn.

And here's a link for how to set the sleep timer on an iPhone.

[joanie]

Ah, you and sparky and way ahead of me! Thanks for the iPhone info. I'll look into it.

[Bob Nelson]

Government monitoring and control of the media to ensure "fairness"? Naah, I'd rather have freedom of speech, though if you truly want fairness, NPR and PBS should be 50 per cent conservative. So should CNN,
MSNBC, etc. Fair is fair.

Actually the Left controls many media sources, other than talk radio and Fox News (which actually proved successful because it offered a different viewpoint), leading Rush to say "I _am_ equal time".

Just because liberals can't control all of the media, they want to muzzle freedom of speech. More power to individual freedoms and the freedom of the market/press!

How about if Republicans controlled much of Washington and they ordered PBS to slant right?
"Just to make it fair..." Thank God the Unfairness Doctrine is gone.

[Bob Nelson]

Rep Jeff Flake, R-AZ: “The federal government should not be in the business of regulating speech. By permanently eliminating the so-called Fairness Doctrine, we’ll ensure that markets, not the government, will continue to dictate what people hear over the airwaves.”

Protect the First Amendment!
From Sal/Axis of Right:
"What is it that the left is afraid of? Why is it that free speech is something that they can’t stand when it comes from Conservatives? We on the right often claim of media bias, but that is primarily because of the hypocracy of the Drive-By Media, which claims to be objective while pushing a leftist agenda. At the same time, I do not see anyone of importance on the right clamoring for government regulation of the Drive-By media. Conservatives answer with the free market. A vast gap was seen in objective media coverage, so Fox News was born. Conservative talk radio emerged from the lack of any conservative media back in the late 1980s with Rush Limbaugh. Conservative blogs sprung up as an alternative to Drive-By Media newspaper publications, helping to fill the void in reporting and as a watchdog of the Drive-By Media.
Yet the left feels threatened by Conservative talk radio"

[sparky]

As Bla'M said.."The facts haven't fazed the right so far, don't expect them to any time soon."

[joanie]

Hey Bob, when can I get MSNBC for $30 like you get Fox? Hmmmm? Fair's fair.

[Puget Sound Blathers]

The pssssssst sound you hear is Bob using Logic/Facts to prick Sparkles illusion.

The whine you year is Joanie crying about how expensive MSNBC is in comparision to Fox.

Kind of funny what happens when facts and reason come into play.

[sparky]

"Martin Luther King would want a revolution, not a memorial."

‎"King did not think that America ought to go to hell, but rather that it might go to hell owing to its economic injustice, cultural decay and political paralysis. He was not an American Gibbon, chronicling the decline and fall of the American empire, but a courageous and visionary Christian blues man, fighting with style and love in the face of the four catastrophes he identified: Militarism, Racism, Materialism and Poverty. He never confused substance with symbolism. He never conflated a flesh and blood sacrifice with a stone and mortar edifice. We rightly celebrate his substance and sacrifice because he loved us all so deeply. Let us not remain satisfied with symbolism because we too often fear the challenge he embraced."

[StarTheWonderDog]

It will be interesting to see (apparently not until 2027) what the FBI records reveal about MLK when those records are released to the public. We have him on such a high pedestal, is it truly deserved and earned to the extent we revere him?

[Puget Sound Blathers as Joanie's head explodes...]

Star
Read the excellent three part book series by Taylor Branch on MLK was a good honest appraisal. You'll read about MLK the man.
In my view, that he had human flaws only points out the greatness of his accomplishments. In my opinion, he was the most important American of the 20th Century.
In terms of the FBI and dirty deeds performed on behalf of LBJ by his henchman, Bill Moyers, needs to come to light. Moyers makes Rove look like a Sunday School Teacher.

[StarTheWonderDog]

Don't know if I'd go that far Sounder but he was certainly a cut above the Honorables' Rev Sharpton and Maxine Waters and the most honorable shake-down artist Jesse Jackson. I have high regard for what MLK and his aura accomplished and there is no doubt about about his prominence in history but I'd like to find out about some of the rumored down sides, plagiarism, infidelity, womanizing, etc. Human flaws are one thing, moral and character flaws are something else. I would just like to find out the truth.

[Puget Sound Blathers]

Star
I understand what your saying and to your point I believe that it's been proved that MLK did spend time with other women and as a younger man even plagiarized his doctoral thesis in college.
None of it takes away from his accomplishments which were transformative for this country. He did great things and made this country a better place.

By the way, I was in DC this week (yes, that 5.9 was interesting) and also went over to catch a look at the new MLK Memorial. Very nice.