FCC Commish: Some Want Fairness Doctrine Extended to 'Net
President Obama's new FCC commissioner has come out harshly against those who might want to bring back the fairness doctrine -- the 80's era law that required broadcasters (on the public airwaves) to air both sides of controversial issues.
Robert McDowell warned that if the doctrine were to be brought back, it may not "wear the same label. That's just Marketing 101: if your brand is controversial, make a new brand."
The basis for the Doctrine and for a few other regulatory hurdles that local broadcasters must meet (three hours per week of children's programming, for example) rests on spectrum scarcity. Because spectrum is limited, those to whom broadcast spectrum is awarded must meet certain guidelines.
However, McDowell said that some wanted to impose the Doctrine to other venues where spectrum concerns don't exist, such as cable and satellite or even the Internet: "Certain legal commentators have suggested that a new corollary of the Doctrine should be fashioned for the Internet, on the theory that web surfers should be exposed to topics and views that they have not chosen for themselves." McDowell added, "I am not making this up."
Good luck making that happen. Can you imagine Michael Arrington giving equal time to his opponents? Actually...
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