Why is the far right so scared of the FD?
Because its not about Fairness, its specifically aimed at nothing but removing the one area of the market where Conservative speech has done better.
Its not aimed at magazines.
Its not aimed at newspapers.
Its not aimed at TV.
The ONLY thing the Fairness Doctrine focuses on is Talk Radio. Do those other things not need to be "Fair"? Who determines "Fair"?
It is nothing but a political stunt to force businesses to essentially remove conservative talk from its radio stations because the alternative is less profitable.
What freedom is there in political speech when one side is shut out?
The freedom of the market place. Individual freedom of enterprise. The left isn't "Shut out" of talk radio because of some government imposed sanction. If that was the case, the left wing talk personalities on air wouldn't be there. If that was the case, air america would've never came to be.
They're shut out because of the MARKET. Left Wing talk radio has shown that it does not create the same kind of ratings and thus does not get the same kind of advertising money as Right Wing talk radio. As such, BUSINESSES decide it is better to put on the people who actually bring money to the station rather than the other.
That is capitalism, that is business, that is part of what America is about.
It is not the governments place to come in and tell a privately run business that the GOVERNMENT thinks they're not being fair, so they must remove some of their profitable programming to instead put on programming that gets lower ratings, lower advertising revenue, and as such ALSO causes lower carry over to the following show.
No one's free speech is REVOKED in this case. Any liberal talk radio show host that is on the air now, that shows himself to garner enough ratings and revenue in his market could pitch his show to another market and hope to get on, and so on and so forth. The exact same way the Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity's of the world did it. Within the market place.
Indeed, the only way someones free speech in some way shape or form would be revoked was if the fairness doctrine was passed, in which case the radio stations right to free speech by choosing what they wished to air on their radio station would be infringed.
There is nothing "Fair" about the fairness doctrine. Its unfair to business, its unfair to radio, and its unfair to the constitution.