The “fairness doctrine,” a policy that until 1987 required broadcasters to give equal time to opposing viewpoints, has been getting attention lately as Republicans try to keep Democrats from reinstating the rule on the airwaves. Below is a clip of Sen. Norm Coleman, R-Minn., debating Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., about that issue.
Coleman opposes revival of the fairness doctrine and noted that the talk of doing so is unwisely aimed at talk radio, which is dominated by conservatives. “I think it’s very dangerous for government to be in the position of deciding what’s fair and balanced,” he said, later adding that “there’s nothing fair about the fairness doctrine.”
How well do the mainstream media cover American religion? Not so well, according to Media Matters for America — but not in the way that many people might think.
The liberal media watchdog group today released a report that says conservative voices dominate in religious coverage in major newspapers and television outlets. Paul Waldman, a senior fellow and director of special projects for the group, called the difference in the media’s use of conservative and liberal religious sources a “striking imbalance.”
That clip of Waldman is one of several video excerpts from a press conference to announce the report. Other speakers included:
Katie Barge, the communications director of Faith in Public Life;
Bob Edgar, general secretary of the National Council of Churches;
Jim Forbes, a minister in New York City and host of “The Time Is Now” on Air America;
Alexia Kelley, executive director of Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good;
Brian McLaren, a religious author and the board chairman of Sojourners/Call To Renewal;
And David Saperstein, director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism.
Ed Morrissey of Captain’s Quarters started his tenure as the political director of BlogTalkRadio this week with a “get” for his own show, CQ Radio.
Howard Kurtz, the media critic for The Washington Post and the host of CNN’s “Reliable Sources,” was the guest, and they discussed the media’s coverage of Monday’s shooting massacre at Virginia Tech, among other things.
A top presidential campaign aide to Democratic Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, meanwhile, was the guest on another BlogTalkRadio show hosted by two Virginia Democrats.
Viacom recently sued Google and its YouTube video-sharing service for $1 billion over alleged copyright violations. When a student at Howard University in Washington, D.C., asked Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards his thoughts on the lawsuit, Edwards used it as an opportunity to voice his support for equal pricing treatment of all high-speed Internet content and strong antitrust laws to prevent media consolidation.
“If democracy’s going to work in this country,” Edwards said, “then we want people to be well-informed and we want a wide variety of diverse voices to be heard. And that’s what’s at issue with these media conglomerates … What we see flourishing at the grassroots could be stomped on if we’re not careful.”
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