A tough day for the Senators from Massachusetts.

First, Uncle Teddy’s Immigration Amnesty Bill was killed.

And now, Sen. Kerry’s Youtube dream of bringing back the Fairness Doctrine has been dealt a fatal blow:

The House voted overwhelmingly yesterday to prohibit the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) from using taxpayer dollars to impose the Fairness Doctrine on broadcasters who feature conservative radio hosts such as Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity.

By a vote of 309-115, lawmakers amended the Financial Services and General Government appropriations bill to bar the FCC from requiring broadcasters to balance conservative content with liberal programming such as Air America.

The vote count was partly a testament to the influence that radio hosts wield in many congressional districts.

It was also a rebuke to Democratic senators and policy experts who have voiced support this week for regulating talk radio.

But it’s a great day for those who value free speech and the value of an open and free market of ideas. I think Cam Edwards puts it best:

The bottom line is this: those who want to regulate speech live in a very bad time to do so. Gone are the days when you needed a printing press or a broadcasting license to share your opinions with the world. The genie’s out of the bottle, and it’s not going back in. Rather than wasting time trying to stifle free speech, supporters of the Fairness Doctrine would be better off doing the following:

1- Get some real radio hosts who are progressive. Ed Schultz and Stephanie Miller put out good quality left-leaning talk shows. Air America does not. But two hosts are not enough… you need many more.

2- Realize that NPR is your competition, not your friend. NPR is liberal talk radio, whether you want to admit it or not. And they too put out quality programming. You want commercial liberal talk? End government funding of NPR.

3- Don’t be so damned impatient. Conservative talk radio is continually growing and evolving. Liberal talk radio will need time to catch up, and three years of sub-par broadcasting by Air America doesn’t help.

Radio is a business. When Clear Channel thought that Air America would add to their bottom line, they started adding Air America affiliates to their station lists. They’re not opposed to liberal talk, they’re opposed to shows that don’t make money. This is the free market at work. If you want to try and impose the Fairness Doctrine, then just admit you’re not a big believer in capitalism and the free marketplace of ideas.

I wouldn’t argue with a single one of those points.

Posted by Robbie Cooper on Thursday, June 28th, 2007 | Trackback |