Obama's doublespeak on a "Full and Free Exchange of Ideas" in the media (not the Fairness Doctrine)

The all-new whitehouse dot gov's section on technology reads like something out of 1984 (whitehouse.gov/agenda/technology):

Ensure the Full and Free Exchange of Ideas through an Open Internet and Diverse Media Outlets
...Encourage Diversity in Media Ownership: Encourage diversity in the ownership of broadcast media, promote the development of new media outlets for expression of diverse viewpoints, and clarify the public interest obligations of broadcasters who occupy the nation's spectrum.

He wants a free and fair exchange... by driving his opponents off the airwaves. What that boils down to is in effect bringing back the Fairness Doctrine, just not calling it that and using a different technique in order to roll back what the repeal of the FD allowed to happen: the flourishing of rightwing talk radio. Whatever technique they use, the upshot would be the same: using government power to control what can be broadcast over the airwaves and reducing the power of rightwing talkers such as Rush Limbaugh. Obama recently tried to divide Rush from the Republican Party RINOs in Congress ("You can't just listen to Rush Limbaugh and get things done"), but that follows smearing him via an extraordinarily misleading ad and coming close to accusing him of inciting violence.

Note also that another mistake Obama's opponents make is to claim that he wants to bring back the FD, when it's only a few Democrats that want to do that. That allows Obama's supporters in the media to point out that Obama says he doesn't want to bring back the FD, taking the wind out of the sails of those opponents. Instead, they should phrase it as I did above.

Tue, 01/27/2009 - 13:18 · · Importance: 4