Fairness Doctrine & The 1st Amendment

Karen Bune
Victimology Contributor
Officer.com

Perhaps Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-NY) is so elated over President-Elect Barack Obama’s victory that he cannot think clearly let alone recognize how ridiculous his comparative thought about the Fairness Doctrine even equates with pornography. “The very same people who don’t want the Fairness Doctrine want the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) to limit pornography on the air. I am for that…But you can’t say government hands off in one area to a commercial enterprise but you are allowed to intervene in another. That’s not consistent,†said Schumer. There is no comparison between the two let alone any justification for such a claim. It is apparent Sen. Schumer is grasping at straws with his reasoning in trying to sell the idea of reintroducing the Fairness Doctrine onto the American scene. “The ‘Fairness Doctrine’ is anything but ‘fair’ and we should call it what it is—a ‘free speech quota’ and an attack on the First Amendment,†says Chris Berry, President and General Manager of DC’s 630 WMAL radio station. Those who advocate the return of this doctrine are attempting to bring forth a dangerous intrusion into freedom of the press and control free speech. Though advocates of this idea may contend it offers balance in reporting and broadcasting, they should also realize that it is an infringement on the tenets of democracy that allow the exercise of unrestricted freedom of speech Attempts to bring back the Fairness Doctrine are merely self serving efforts with the intent to stifle talk radio including hosts such as Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, Mark Levin, and others throughout the country, who may be saying things that others don’t want to hear or don’t necessarily agree with. It is a first step to shutting them up and, ultimately, trying to shut them down. Efforts to squash dialogue and impose limits by dictating freedom of expression are contrary to the tenets this country stands for and are a disservice to the foundation of democracy. Sen. Schumer, House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, and others on their bandwagon will find a tremendous backlash emerge if they so much as begin rolling the ball down this alley of manipulative control and political dominance.