Fact check please: fairness doctrine

[GregD]

John O'Neil is on CSPAN2 right now, and a woman asked about the need for an agency that would fact check political ads. She also asked about the fairness doctrine.

In his response, O'Neil insisted that the fairness doctrine was ended in eary 2000 during Clinton's term.

A quick google tells me what I believed - that the FCC stopped enforcing that doctrine in 1987.

Can someone answer this conslusively? Did we just catch O'Neil in yet another lie?

GregD

[Eloriel]

1. Ended during Reagan's term

Once upon a time I had a copy of the self-congratulatory statement by the head of the FCC at the time, all full of Orwellian "free speech" garbage.

You caught O'Neill in an inaccuracy at the least, don't know if it's a lie (that would go to motive).

[tkmorris]

2. Yes you did

"In a 1987 case, Meredith Corp. v. FCC, the courts declared that the doctrine was not mandated by Congress and the FCC did not have to continue to enforce it. The FCC dissolved the doctrine in August of that year. "

http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/F/htmlF/fairnessdoct/fairnessdoct.htm

[GregD]

3. Thanks - thought so!

[katusha]

4. dupe. please delete

[punpirate]

5. Yes, it's an outright lie.

The Fairness Doctrine effectively ended by an FCC ruling in 1987 (Reagan appointees), even though courts had upheld its constitutionality previously. Congress attempted to reinstate it in the same year by putting the Fairness Doctrine into law, but, predictably, Reagan vetoed it, saying "The Fairness Doctrine is inconsistent with the tradition of independent journalism."

It's part of the public record.

John O'Neill is, as his prior public performances indicate, a liar of the first magnitude.

[FM Arouet666]

6. Reagan stopped the fairness doctrine.

I spotted this post as I was watching Robert Kennedy Jr. on the Bill Maher show.

1988 Reagan abolished the fairness doctrine

"Now we have 6 large corporations that have taken over all 6000 TV stations, virtually all 15,000 radio stations, and 80% of the 16,000 newspapers. News departments have become corporate profit centers with their only obligation to the share holders which is to create large audiences and viewerships for ad space. They are airing stories which appeal to the purulent interests that all of us have in the reptilian core of our brain, sex, celebrity gossip and now for terror." RFK jr


Thank science of Tivo;-)