More Calls to Reinstate Fairness Doctrine
Its impossible to ignore the ongoing discussion and renewed calls from members of Congress to bring back the Fairness Doctrine.
The Fairness Doctrine is an antiquated Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rule dating back to the 1940s that was abandoned in 1987 during the Reagan administration.
Theres a new flurry of activity in Congress seeking to bring back this troubling measure or something like it. And, in our analysis, such a move would be an unconstitutional attempt to stifle free speech.
White House Senior Advisor David Axelrod refused to rule out the possibility that the Fairness Doctrine or something like it would make a comeback. In an interview with one of the Sunday news programs, he said he would leave that issue to incoming FCC Commissioner Julius Genachowski to discuss with President Obama.
And, now comes a report that there are ongoing discussions about this very topic on Capitol Hill. Consider this from a news report just out today:
Senior FCC staff working for acting Federal Communications Commissioner Michael Copps held meetings last week with policy and legislative advisers to House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman to discuss ways the committee can create openings for the FCC to put in place a form of the Fairness Doctrine without actually calling it such.
The American people know whats going on. In a new poll just released, just 38% of Americans support government-mandated speech on radio a sharp decline of nearly 10 points since the last survey was taken in August. While 47% of Americans oppose government-imposed speech on radio stations, a stunning 65% of Americans say its somewhat likely or very likely that the Democrat-controlled Congress will reinstate the Fairness Doctrine.
We have seen repeated efforts to bring back this troubling regulatory measure over the years. In 2005, a bill sought to reimpose the Fairness Doctrine by requiring broadcasters to afford reasonable opportunity for the discussion of conflicting views on issues of public importance in a manner consistent with the rules and policies of the Commission in effect on January 1, 1987. H.R. 3302, 109th Cong., 1st Sess., July 14, 2005.
The legislator who introduced that measure in 2005 now says he plans to reintroduce it in this session of Congress. Rep. Maurice Hinchey (D NY) plans to reintroduce his 2005 bill, the Media Ownership Reform Act. Were going to focus attention on [the Fairness Doctrine] and see what happens, Hinchey told an
And, now, theres a new wave of lawmakers who seem very intent on trying to bring this regulatory measure back. But this time, theres talk of calling it something else. In recent weeks, a number of lawmakers including Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) expressed support for this type of legislation.
I think it's absolutely time to pass a standard. Now, whether it's called the Fairness Standard, whether it's called something else I absolutely think it's time to be bringing accountability to the airwaves. Stabenow recently told a radio program.
And Sen. Harkin told a radio show that we gotta get the Fairness Doctrine back in law again.
Thats why the Broadcaster Freedom Act is so important. It is legislation that will prohibit the reimplementation of the Fairness Doctrine. And, with each day, more people are signing onto our petition urging Congress to stand-up and protect free speech. Nearly 80,000 people already have signed on to our petition. If you havent done so yet, please add your name today. You can do that here.
The fact is a return to the Fairness Doctrine would stifle Christian speech and have a dramatic effect on programs like Jay Sekulow Live! And, dont be fooled by semantics. Whether they call this dangerous regulatory action the Fairness Doctrine or something else, its a problem.
I am already preparing a litigation strategy to challenge any return of the Fairness Doctrine whether it is through Congress or directly implemented by the FCC. If it returns, we will not let this unconstitutional measure go unchallenged.