Liberal Talk Radio, The Free Market and The Fairness Doctrine
 
What’s the cure when nobody wants to listen to liberal talk radio?
The obvious solution for liberals is to revive the “fairness doctrine.”
Check out the exchange between Senator Diane Feinstein and Fox News’ Chris Wallace.
It seems that Feinstein is troubled by the fact that discussion  on talk radio about the Senate’s Comprehensive Immigration Bill is “one-sided:”
Well, in my view, talk radio tends to be one-sided. It also tends to be dwelling in hyperbole. It's explosive. It pushes people to, I think, extreme views without a lot of information. This is a very complicated bill. It's seven titles. Most people don't know what's in this bill. Therefore, to just have one or two things dramatized and taken out of context, such as the word amnesty — we have a silent amnesty right now, but nobody goes into that. Nobody goes into the flaws of our broken system. This bill fixes those flaws. Do I think there should be an opportunity on talk radio to present that point of view? Yes, I do, particularly about the critical issues of the day.
Why is government regulation needed to redress the imbalance of talk radio?:
Well, I'm looking at it, as a matter of fact, Chris, because I think there ought to be an opportunity to present the other side. And unfortunately, talk radio is overwhelmingly one way.
One way? How would Feinstein characterize ABC, CBS, CNN and NBC?
The reason talk radio has a conservative bent is that the mainstream media has proven itself to be a reliable handmaiden of the Democratic Party for the past two decades.
Obviously, as the dismal performance of Air America demonstrates, liberal talk radio cannot compete in the marketplace: nobody is buying what they’re selling. Government intermeddling isn’t going to change this ineluctable fact.
Perhaps Feinstein has an ally in Senator Trent Lott, who believes we need to fix the problem of right wing talk radio.
 
Monday, June 25, 2007
By Johnny K