Whats this i hear about DEMS wanting to silence talk radio?

Conservative talk radio (like Sean Hannity) has been very popular. It's a money-maker for radio stations. People want to listen to it. Liberal talk shows haven't done so well. The market doesn't seem to want to listen to it. Right now, a radio station has the right to air whatever their market wants to listen to.

What the Fairness Doctrine would do is to force these privately-owned radio stations to air both conservative and liberal radio shows equally, rather than allow the market to dictate what is aired. Stations would be forced to air shows even if the public doesn't want it. The radio stations know that if they lose half of their air time audience, they'll lose too much money to stay competitive (fewer listeners=fewer advertisers). They don't want to be censored and have to worry about always airing different sides of a particular issue. Privately-owned Christian radio stations don't want to be forced to air Pro-choice opinions equally when their listeners obviously aren't interested in hearing that. Their listeners will tune out and their advertisers will drop off during those times.

Many radio stations simply wouldn't want the hassle and business risk of being forced to air something that their listeners don't want to hear. They will likely change their format over to music. Some Christian stations would shut down rather than air pro-choice views.

It would be like requiring that all music stations air an equal amount of their type of music and classical (or insert any type of music that most people don't want to listen to). During the time that the other music is aired, fewer people will listen and radio stations would lose money.

For those who deny that Democrats are interested in bringing back the Fairness Doctrine, they should pay a bit more attention to the Democratic Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi.

http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=27185

Its called the Fairness Doctrine. Back in the 80's, Reagan opened up the radio airwaves to businesses and commercialism like they do on TV and since then, it went from a few hundred radio stations to tens of thousands. The radio band got so full, that satellite radio got started and XM and Sirius was born. It provided jobs for a LOT of people and still growing.

BUT some of those radio shows got so popular and using the freedom of speech, they can talk about what a terrible job that the democrats are doing and what bad unethical things they've done, well, the democrats didn't like it and now wants to get rid of those thorns in their sides like Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Bill O'Reilly, etc.

What people don't realize is that there is just as many radio hosts talking bad about the republicans too.

If you don't like it, change the station, but democrats wants all the stations to be liberal friendly like CNN, MSNBC, CBS, etc.

They are trying to cover up the unfairness of this law by calling it a "Fairness" doctrine.

Not true. Some Democrats want to reinstate the Fairness in Broadcasting Doctrine which mean for every hour a station lets one party do editorials the way Rush and Hannity do then they have to let the opposition party have equal time for rebuttals. That's not "silencing" talk radio or a free speech issue. It's just the opposite by letting both sides of an issue be represented instead of being locked out from air time on a station. This was standard for radios/TV before Reagan gutted the law.

You were listening to talk radio and somebody was ranting on how other people want to silence him? Sounds like these shadowy forces he's talking about either aren't doing a very good job, or he's wrong. Either way, I don't think conservative talk radio is a particularly reliable source.

Called "Fairness Doctrine". Since liberal radio does so poorly, because they restate what the MSM already spews, they want to now "share" equal time with very Successful Conservative shows. It's ridiculous and juvenile. If you don't like what Conservative radio is stating turn to your local news, sitcom or any other show.

T.C...You know how the leftists can't get their agenda past the voters so they depend on activist judges to stomp on the will of the people when it suits their purpose? Well their ideas are so bad and irrational that they can't compete in the real market-place of ideas. So they want laws passed to stomp on the will of the people again. I will tell you now though. There will be an Army, that will Rise Up. They have pushed us as far as we are going to go. Don't worry. This will not stand!

Obama wants to silence all talk show host unless they share his views and are not going to be able to say and thing bad or negative about their Democrat party.

Just more right wing BS. When will you learn that right wing radio is about sensationalism and emotion with very little fact or substance?

This is not a rant. No one on the left has proposed anything that would silence right wing radio.

Edit: See Keneth J, below to see how delusional and paranoid these right wing extremist have gotten. Again, no one has proposed silencing talk radio.

It's called the "Fairness Doctrine". You have to give both parties equal amounts of air time..like say they talk about a Dem for an hour, they also have to give an hour to the Reps...they don't have to use it, but they have offer it...the Dems don't want to do that so they would rather just nobody talk at all.

Democrats want to silence us and punish conservatives for being sucessful.