July 6, 2007

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, along with a number of leading Democratic senators, including Kerry, Feinstein and Durbin—have rallied for what ought to be alarming for anyone who values the First Amendment, regardless of where you stand politically. Their push for government regulation of speech is one of the most illustrative battles in recent days, because it sheds such a bright light on how the Democratic Party responds to the voicing of ideas they do not like in our country’s increasingly lively interchange through media.

The regulatory measure at the center of the debate is the Orwellian-named “Fairness Doctrine.” Misguided since its inception, the Federal Communication Commission ruled in 1949 and embellished in 1959 a standard that mandated broadcasters present two (or more) sides of all public issues and give equal time to each political candidate for an office (if any candidate was to be given on-air time).

In 1987, recognizing the measure’s chilling effect on speech, the courts ruled that the FCC was no longer obligated to enforce the Fairness Doctrine—and it was subsequently dissolved. Today, Senator Kerry complains that conservative talk show hosts have “been able to squeeze down and squeeze out opinion of opposing views.”  But, with all due respect to Senator Kerry, any objective observer looking at the media landscape in the country today would have to conclude that something akin to fairness really came only upon the demise of the Fairness Doctrine.

Even today, the voice and perspective of the left dominates in journalism. In a dramatic illustration of this leftward orientation of mainstream media (MSM), MSNBC reported last month on the political contributions of 144 journalists: 125 gave to Democrats, 17 to Republicans and 2 donated to both parties. This is a ratio of Democrat to Republican of nearly 9 to 1. Whose perspective is it, really, that is at risk of not being heard today?

What happened upon the dissolution of the Fairness Doctrine was an opening up and a leveling of the playing field. The center-right found an opportunity to express itself through a medium that could still reach the masses: talk radio. Rush Limbaugh’s demonstrable ability to entertain while engaging the issues of the day made such programming profitable (for station operators, syndicators and, yes, Rush too) while still being informative. Whatever your opinion of the staid voices of National Public Radio, it shouldn’t surprise us that deregulation increased the talent pool and drew out broadcasters that can draw an audience.

Rush was the clear pioneer for what is now a large and competitive industry—and the talk radio industry is, indeed, led by voices whose views are from the center-right. Frustrated by this enclave of strength, Senator Durbin says in no uncertain terms, “It’s time to reinstitute the Fairness Doctrine. I have this old-fashioned attitude that when Americans hear both sides of the story, they’re in a better position to make a decision.” So Senator Durbin can’t hear his side of the story from ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, MSNBC, NPR, Time, Newsweek, The New York Times or The Washington Post?