[BC] Re: Fairness doctrine by another name? aka censorship?

[Jerry Mathis]

IIRC the threat feared most of the FD wasn't that it specifically mandated
equal time; it set forth broad generalizations. "Must provide equal time" is
a rather unspecific directive that could (and was) interpreted in many ways.
But the fear it generated in especially small-market stations was that if
the station advocated for any controversial issue, anyone could come in and
demand "equal time", and if the station refused, it could be challenged at
the next license renewal time (and back then, license renewal was every 2
years IIRC). Challenges to your license could result in long drawn-out
proceedings and many thousands of dollars spent on attorneys' fees. To
small-town stations, it just wasn't worth it.

--
Jerry Mathis

On 2/17/09, Donna Halper <dlh at donnahalper.com> wrote:
>
> And Willie asked--
>
> Christian Radio has a LOT to lose, here, so I am KEENLY interested.
>>
>
> Not to worry, Willie-- the Fairness Doctrine did NOT mandate that if you
> had a Christian station, it had to include equal time for Jews, Muslims, and
> Buddhists!!! 8-)   I am not sure how much the members of this list want to
> know about the FD and I don't wanna bore anyone.  But so help me, some of my
> friends on the right are really really mis-stating what the FD said and what
> it did.
>