fairness doctrine — VOICES for REASON

I’ve registered my pleasure at the news that FCC chairman-to-be Julius Genachowski has vowed not to reinstate the Fairness Doctrine. But some of you may recall an article in which Ayn Rand seemed to support the Fairness Doctrine and even recommended extending it to the field of education. Let’s look at what she actually said.

Read the rest of this entry »

Virtually everyone recognizes that it would be an egregious violation of free speech for the government to dictate what the New York Times publishes. How, then, do supporters of the Fairness Doctrine try to reconcile the Doctrine with the First Amendment? Well, they say, unlike newspapers, the airwaves are a finite resource that needs to be rationed out in the “public interest.” Writes one supporter:

The Fairness Doctrine does not (and cannot constitutionally) apply to print media. When it comes to print media, everything is owned in private. . . . However, broadcast, cable and radio are quite different. . . . While the press is available to everyone, there are only so many frequencies upon which to broadcast, only so many ranges in the electromagnetic spectrum upon which to carry messages. Not everyone can broadcast. If they tried, static would be the result. That is why we have licenses. And even more importantly, the airwaves are not privately held by individuals, but are the collective property of we the people.

In other words, since the airwaves are finite, they must be publicly owned, and since they are publicly owned, it would be unfair to only let part of the public be heard, and therefore we need a Fairness Doctrine to make sure everyone gets a say.

But this whole argument rests on a bizarre non sequitur. It does not follow from the fact that the airwaves are finite that they should be publicly owned.

Read the rest of this entry »

Can you imagine anyone advocating for the government to force the New York Times to publish columns by Ann Coulter? Probably not, yet that is the policy that supporters of the Fairness Doctrine would have imposed on radio and TV. Thankfully, in his confirmation hearing, Federal Communications Commissioner, Julius Genachowski, vowed not to resurrect the Doctrine.

I’m no fan of Genachowski–and he is no friend of free speech–but I wholeheartedly support his commitment to keep this noxious policy buried.

Read the rest of this entry »