FCC RULE ENDANGERS CONSERVATIVE TALK RADIO
By
Jim Kouri
Posted 1:00 AM Eastern
May 25, 2008
NewsWithViews.com
In a stunning warning to all Americans, the non-partisan English First warned fans of national and local conservative talk show hosts Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Dr. James Dobson, Laurie Roth and other conservative talk shows that a proposed Federal Communications Commission regulation could very well drive their favorite programs off the air.
"This is serious business! The FCC that is part of the executive branch — in essence — is taking control of the airwaves, rather than allowing the US Congress and Senate to propose legislation, openly debate that legislation and then vote on it. One can compare what's being done in the name of fairness with Stalinism," warns conservative political strategist Mike Baker.
"If you look at who is pushing this so-called Fairness Doctrine, most likely you'll find center-left advocates in politics, government, academia, and the press," adds Baker.
On January 24, 2008, the Federal Communications Commission published a "Notice of Proposed Rulemaking" in the Federal Register which, if ultimately adopted, would impose a back-door version of the discredited "Fairness Doctrine" upon America's airwaves. The proposal-notice was so obscure that few even knew it existed, according to journalism Professor Jeff Hines of NYCC in Manhattan.
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"The feds know hardly anyone reads the thousands of pages contained in the Federal Register, but it allows government officials to claim they promulgated the proposal," said Prof. Hines.
Officials at English First revealed that the FCC's proposed "regulations claim that radio station programming — particularly network programming - often is not sufficiently culturally diverse" and that the FCC seeks "to ensure that broadcasters serve their communities, especially traditionally underserved audiences," such as non-English speakers, whether or not these people actually exist.
The FCC's proposed regulations also suggest a new requirement that all "licensees should convene and consult with permanent advisory boards."
"These people want to control the free flow of information, especially in an election year," said Cable Radio Network executive producer Chuck Wilder.
"The most successful talk show hosts in the country are conservatives — Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham, Michael Savage, George Putnam, Rush Limbaugh, and others who score millions of listeners each day," said Wilder.
One of the key elements being bandied by the FCC in their plans for information control is "the advisory board system."
According to FCC officials, these advisory boards "should include representatives of all segments of the community," a requirement which would empower self-appointed "community leaders," such as representatives of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) or the Center for American Islamic Relations (CAIR), to discourage commercial radio stations from airing discussions of controversial matters such as the costs of illegal immigration or the meaning of jihad.
"In other words, it's a politically-correct scheme to silence dissenters and manipulate information gathering and dissemination," said Mike Baker.
"People such as former CBS News reporter Bernard Goldberg said recently that the news media were corrupt and he gave examples on Fox News Channel's Barack Obama coverage," said Prof. Hines.
During a segment of Fox News Channel's The O'Reilly Factor, former CBS TV newsman now media critic, Bernard Goldberg, stated clearly and concisely, "The news media are corrupt."
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His fellow panelist Jane Hall, formerly of the L.A. Times and now a respected journalism professor concurred. They were lamenting the fact that by and large the members of the Fourth Estate were in the bag for Democrat president candidate Senator Barack Obama. In fact, it's almost sickening how the denizens of America's newsrooms go out of their way not to cover stories that would be covered if Obama were a white conservative.
English First has established a web site, containing the relevant FCC documents and a citizen's petition to the FCC. The deadline for FCC reply comments is June 11, 2008.
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