Posted on 11/06/2008 11:43:39 AM PST by mak5
Ahead of a widely-expected crackdown on free speech and political dissent by the incoming Obama administration, our Dear Leader has appointed a new FCC transition czar to oversee the process.
Henry Rivera, a longtime radical leftist, lawyer and former FCC commissioner, is expected to lead the push to dismantle commercial talk radio that is favored by a number of Democratic Party senators. Rivera will play a pivotal role in preventing Obama's critics from having a public voice during Obama's tenure in office.
Rivera, who resigned from the FCC nearly a quarter-century ago during the Reagan years, believes in a doctrine of "communications policy as a civil rights issue".
His exit during the Reagan Administration paved the way for the Fairness Doctrine's repeal when the late president appointed Patricia Diaz Dennis in 1986 to fill out the rest of Rivera's term. Had this not occurred, talk radio as we know it today would not exist.
That gives Rivera's new task a great deal of personal urgency: it's a late-career, second chance opportunity to shut down opposition voices that have been allowed to flourish since his depature from the commission.
In particular, Rivera is known for his push for more minority broadcasting ownership, but this issue has largely been rendered obsolete as former commercial broadcasting empires teeter on the brink of bankruptcy.
Rivera's first opportunity to eliminate commercial talk radio will occur in June 2009, as the term of Republican Robert McDowell expires and he can be replaced with a pro-Fairness Doctrine Democrat. That will give the commission a three-vote Democratic majority, though the final two seats must remain in Republican hands.
If they can strong-arm one of the three Republicans to leave early, this can be implemented even sooner.
One issue facing Rivera and Obama's new commissioner is how the policy will be carried out. According to data from the 1970s, when the old doctrine regulated the content of speech on the radio, the FCC was forced to utilize a great deal of its resources sifting through tens of thousands of "unfairness" complaints. The FCC's staff might have to be increased substantially to accommodate listeners looking to censor radio programming in their area.
Meanwhile, Air America Radio apparently believes liberal talk radio will benefit from the Fairness Doctrine's implementation! In an interview with a broadcast trade publication, Air America CEO Bennett Zier seems to believe that conservative stations would be forced to carry libtalk programming in order to comply with the law (but wouldn't libtalk stations also be required to run conservatives?):
RADIO INK: What do you think of all the speculation about the return of the Fairness Doctrine? Would that be a big problem for Air America?
BENNETT ZIER: If there’s a Fairness Doctrine, one would say that would be a good thing for left-of-center talk. But I think if Air America puts forth relevant, entertaining, provocative content, it’ll be a balance. People will be interested in what we want to do. We believe that we need to control our own destiny, and we’re going to do that by giving the listeners, the viewers, and the readers what they want in a lot of different technologies.
But this is delusional, as Air America's wildly unpopular talk programming will merely speed the demise of commercial radio if forced upon the industry's most-successful stations, which happen to be conservative talkers.
That could move the rest of the medium to the Internet and satellite radio, where Air America is already heard. The result would be a wipeout of a number of liberal radio executives who supported Obama.
Successful attempts by Democrats to suppress free speech will probably be cloaked, using different terminology and phony justifications. Don't be fooled: the only reason for this crusade is to wipe out every trace of political dissent.
This is where we are going to learn what it means to be self-governing.
We are going to HAVE to stay on top of our representatives in DC. The “fairness” doctrine is just one of the boatload of initiatives the left is going to start using against us.
The people in this country only lose their freedoms if they ALLOW it. Now, do we fight or roll over like DC republicans?
Woops, so you suppose they are taking names yet. Just a minute, I have to go answer my door.
Let them try to take talk radio away....they will be in for a suprise. Two can play these games.....the 1st amendment does have teeth.
I guess it is time to go to another country and start Free America broadcasts.
I thought Air America went bankrupt? Are they still around?
Obama has already made it clear that he regards the Constitution as a deeply flawed document that needs to be fixed. Doing away with the Bill of Rights should be child’s play for him.
My friends...
Does that mean Rush can now do the nightly news on any Big Media nextwork just to be fair?
Let ‘em try.
It can move off shore easily enough, there’s satellite radio which the fcc can’t touch and streaming internet.
You can’t shut it down except in a vindictive sense.
But it might be fun to make broadcast tv subject to the fairness doctrine like it used to be. Facist Katie Kouric having to make nice with
Ann Coulter?
Buy XX radio stock.
Only applies to radio is my understanding, not TV.
No. Stay here. We’ll need you to join me and the millions of others we will rally to go to Washington and let them know where we stand on their plans for silencing all dissent, the silencing as was done in Russia’s empire for 70 years, in Germany for 12 years, still in China and North Korea and Iran and......WE WILL WIN, because we are right and have the courage of our convictions to prevail.
No. Stay here. We’ll need you to join me and the millions of others we will rally to go to Washington and let them know where we stand on their plans for silencing all dissent, the silencing as was done in Russia’s empire for 70 years, in Germany for 12 years, still in China and North Korea and Iran and......WE WILL WIN, because we are right and have the courage of our convictions to prevail.
Obama won’t need to to push this bill right away. After all, more than 50% of the American electorate believes the MSM. However, I suspect, the Fairness Doctrine will come in handy as he nears his 2nd term election.
Democrat NAzism on the march..
JOB 1-Silence your most effective critic.
Obama may have no actual choice in this.
His moonbat masters are DEMANDING this as repayment for all that Internet support.
Why does it only pertain to radio?
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