Week 10: Dear Andy

Dear Andy,
How’s the family? I heard about that homeless woman beating you up. That’s pretty crazy, man. Anyway I’ve heard some talk on the radio about a possible reinstituting of the Fairness Doctrine. You know what I’m talking about? It’s the doctrine that was introduced in 1949 and then upheld by the Supreme Court in 69’ that would allow the FCC to regulate and force equality in broadcasting. Well it was abolished in 1987 during the Reagan administration, but now there’s talk on the news that democrats are trying to bring it back again. It makes sense that they would want to do that though. I mean it is conservative media that is the most popular in the country by far; liberal talk shows don’t even compare in listener numbers. I just don’t see the “fairness” in the whole deal. I mean, sure, people should be able to hear both sides of the story, and that option exists! It’s just the liberal talk shows aren’t nearly as popular as conservative talk shows. Why would this be? Probably because they haven’t got much to offer to the table other than saying things like “Hope” for a better tomorrow, while republicans can use facts and logic to point out problems that our country is facing, but that’s just me. I don’t see why the Liberals can’t just let the conservatives dominate one portion of mass media, I mean let’s be honest, democrats own pretty much every other form of media: cinema, television, and music, to name a few. If there is going to be regulations for equal representation on the radio, it certainly seems fitting to institute a similar regulation on all forms of media, I mean as long as we’re talking about “fairness.” It’s just something to think about. Some democrats are denying that there is even a push to get it passed, including Obama, but at the same time there are liberals openly expressing a need for bringing it back. So just keep your eye out, it could make a comeback here pretty soon. The more successful conservative talk shows get, the more they’re going to want to silence them.