COMMENTARY - Radio and the late Fairness Doctrine
Newspaper June 28, 2010
Providence Journal (RI)
RICHARD D. RUGGIERI
[Like most people in broadcasting, I still study and scan the radio dial. Even though I'm retired, it's a hard habit to break. Recently, I find myself gravitating to two local news/talk stations - WPRO-AM and WHJJ-AM. From my perspective and experience of over 42 years in the field, it is like watching a train wreck.
If they offered programming as I've been hearing from way back in the 1970s both stations would be in clear violation of the Fairness Doctrine.
The Fairness Doctrine was introduced in 1949, and remained a matter of general policy until 1987. It required broadcasters to devote airtime to controversial matters of public interest, and to air contrasting views. What was wrong with a policy that insured equal access and fairness on the public airwaves? What was wrong with a policy that in effect encouraged First Amendment freedoms where both sides can be heard in a dignified forum?
Since the demise of the Fairness Doctrine there has been a cancerous growth on the radio air waves. It is absolute propaganda! Some refer to it as "Hate Radio" or "Psycho Radio." Led by neo-con ideologues Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Glenn Beck, Mark Levin and Michael Savage, this relatively new genre of radio programming is rapidly becoming a serious threat to our democracy.]
My brother Rick was wise to proliferating HATE RADIO years before the rise of Donald Trump .
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