Comment & Debate
Washington Post – “…it is a chilling federal attempt to compel some undefined ‘balance’ of what ideas radio and television news programs are to include. However bad or unfair today’s news may seem on occasion, do people really want government to step in as judge? Members of Congress who care about genuinely fair coverage of views should abandon the congressional effort, which is based on an outdated concept of limited airwaves.”[1]
“Broadcasting, reintroducing the Fairness Doctrine”. Debatabase. 27 Aug. 2008 – A Fairness doctrine would attack the constitutional right to freedom of speech. It is no business of the state to force feed citizens with opinions or apply some sort of media interference in the name of “balance”. Giving the government some kind of editorial control over what is broadcast amounts to censorship and should be resisted fiercely. Far from being fair, such a restriction stops broadcasters expressing their opinions freely, and so abridges the right to free speech.