It’s beyond dispute that leftist thought and spin dominate news and political coverage on the major television networks, National Public Radio and the Public Broadcasting System (to say nothing of K-12 public education, academia and the entertainment industry). But apparently that’s not enough for the left, which finds it intolerable that conservatives continue to enjoy prominence on talk radio.
Their opening gambit was an attempt to resurrect the Fairness Doctrine, repealed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in 1987 during the Reagan administration. That was an idea whose time had long since passed. In the infancy of radio and television there was concern that the relatively small number of broadcast outlets might abuse their public trust and unduly manipulate public opinion. So it was decreed that licensed radio and TV stations must present contrasting viewpoints on public policy issues. This was always a presumptuous and unworkable mandate. What kind of panel of FCC philosopher-kings could possibly possess the impartiality and wisdom to judge all of broadcast media and determine what is fair and what isn’t? Moreover, you can’t just present “both sides” when there are many sides to an issue. Since presenting all sides is impractical, the result was to discourage overtly opinionated programming. (Covertly opinionated liberal programming was OK.)
With the death of the Fairness Doctrine, provocative and controversial talk radio blossomed, rescuing AM radio from the financial distress triggered when much of music radio made its exodus to the FM dial. The “scarcity” argument for regulating broadcast content has also disappeared with the advent of cable, satellite and the Internet. There’s no danger of anyone or group monopolizing public opinion on the airwaves.
Devoid of any reasonable justification, proposed legislation to officially bring back the Fairness Doctrine appears to have been beaten back. So the Obama administration and Democrats in congress have come up with a new scheme designed to achieve the same goals. “Localism” and “diversity” are the buzz words du jour. When Obama’s nominee, Julius Genachowski, is seated as FCC chairman, majority Democrats on the commission are poised to require that broadcast stations convene permanent “advisory” boards of community leaders to meet regularly with station management to ensure the community’s localism and diversity needs are being met. Imagine a band of Obama-style community organizers pressuring local radio stations about their hiring and programming practices. A nationally syndicated show, like Rush Limbaugh’s for instance, obviously can’t address local issues, so why not replace it with a local host like, oh, Ward Churchill, who would also satisfy the diversity quota? So what if he can’t draw an audience or advertisers. If the advisory board’s advice isn’t heeded, the FCC can threaten the station’s broadcast license.
To get this ball rolling, the FCC recently created a national “Federal Advisory Committee on Diversity for Communications in the Digital Age.” Heading the committee is none other than longtime liberal activist Henry Rivera, representing the Emma Bowen Foundation for Minority Interests in Media (there’s a clue). As an FCC commissioner in the 1980s, Rivera fought the repeal of the Fairness Doctrine. The committee’s roster is replete with representatives from women’s and minority grievance groups whose unstated mission will be to gag conservative talk radio.
The left has overreached with this assault on the First Amendment. It comes down to this question: “Should government be allowed to regulate the political content of what you can hear on radio?” I don’t believe the American public will stand for it. Two weeks ago, I attended a conference in Washington, D.C., with other talk show hosts from across the country to organize a defense against this attack on our right to speak freely and yours to listen freely. It’s time to push back and fire a warning shot across the bow of these would-be thought police. To get involved, go to .
Mike Rosen’s radio show airs weekdays from 9 a.m. to noon on 850-KOA. E-mail him at mikerosen@850koa.com.
