Obama reiterates Fairness Doctrine opposition; concentrate on his plans that would have the same effect

Fox News asked the Obama administration whether they want to bring back the Fairness Doctrine, and spokesman Ben LaBolt said (link):

"As the president stated during the campaign, he does not believe the Fairness Doctrine should be reinstated."

That follows both David Axelrod and press secretary Robert Gibbs giving more equivocal statements. And, it follows another report claiming that Henry Waxman wants to bring back the Doctrine, something that he denies.

And, it also follows opponents continuing to make fundamental mistakes in their handling of this issue: instead of claiming that someone wants to bring back the FD, they need to use language such as "they want to bring back the Fairness Doctrine or something that will have the same effect, whether under a different name or using a different tactic to achieve the same objective". If those opponents don't do that, then all the time spent opposing the FD will have been wasted, and something like the FD will eventually be put in place.

For a tangible example, see [1] from People for the American Way's incredibly lightweight "Right Wing Watch" blog:

What is it about the Fairness Doctrine that is causing the Religious Right to lose their minds? As Marin Cogan pointed out last year, the more she searched for actual evidence that anyone intended to bring it back, the more she had to conclude that it wasn’t going to happen... The Media Research Center formed something called the "Free Speech Alliance" for the sole purpose of fighting the Fairness Doctrine...

For the problems with the Cogan article, see this. At first I thought PFAW was lying about the "sole purpose" bit. However, as it turns out they weren't lying: the mrcaction.org/517/petition.asp?PID=18645182 only mentions the FD and does not even allude to the possibility of something coming back with a different name or using a different technique to achieve the same result.

[1] rightwingwatch.org/content/
obama-speaks-out-fairness-doctrine-paranoia-continue-unabated

Wed, 02/18/2009 - 16:09 · · Importance: 4