‘Pravda’ On The Horizon: Polling Favors Government Control Over TV and Radio Content … And The Internet - With Videos
47% Favor Government Mandated Political Balance on Radio, TV
Nearly half of Americans (47%) believe the government should require all radio and television stations to offer equal amounts of conservative and liberal political commentary, but they draw the line at imposing that same requirement on the Internet. Thirty-nine percent (39%) say leave radio and TV alone, too.
At the same time, 71% say it is already possible for just about any political view to be heard in today’s media, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey. Twenty percent (20%) do not agree.
Fifty-seven percent (57%) say the government should not require websites and blog sites that offer political commentary to present opposing viewpoints. But 31% believe the Internet sites should be forced to balance their commentary (full demographic crosstabs available for Premium Members.)
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In a July 2007 Rasmussen Reports survey, Americans were evenly divided on whether or not the government should require political balance on TV and radio stations. A survey this week has shown that voters consider media bias a bigger problem than large campaign contributions.
Conservatives have expressed alarm in recent months over congressional Democratic efforts to restore the so-called Fairness Doctrine which would mandate politically balanced commentary on the airwaves.
Just this week Robert McDowell, a Bush appointee to the Federal Communications Commission, suggested that the restoration of the Fairness Doctrine, abolished in 1987 by the Reagan administration, could lead to government regulation of content on the Internet.
Democrats are more supportive of government involvement in the airwaves than Republicans and unaffiliated voters. Fifty-four percent (54%) of Democrats favor it, and only 26% are opposed. Republicans and unaffiliated voters are fairly evenly divided.
Even Democrats say hands-off the Internet though but by a far smaller margin than Republicans and unaffiliated voters. Democrats oppose government-mandated balance on the Internet by a 48% to 37% margin. Sixty-one percent (61%) of Republicans reject government involvement in Internet content along with 67% of unaffiliated voters.
Only 45% of Americans say they are following recent news stories about the Fairness Doctrine even somewhat closely, while 15% say they are not following the story at all.
Democrats have been pushing the Fairness Doctrine in part because of the long-standing complaint by liberals that conservatives dominate talk radio. Conservatives counter that their political foes are just trying to use the government to push liberal talk radio even though it has been rejected by the marketplace.
In the new survey, 42% say there are more conservative radio talk shows because they get better ratings, but 28% believe it is because stations owners are biased. Seventeen percent (17%) attribute it to an unspecified other reason, and 13% are unsure.
Most Republicans (61%) believe conservative talk radio has flourished because of the ratings, with only 11% saying it is due to bias. Democrats, on the other hand, see bias as the reason over ratings by a 42% to 28% margin. Among unaffiliateds, 42% say ratings and 27% say bias.
Voters in all categories agree by sizable margins that it is possible for just about any political view to be heard in today’s media.
With the Congress expected to stay firmly under Democratic control, the responses of those who plan to vote for the party’s presidential candidate Barack Obama versus his Republican opponent John McCain suggest what direction the Fairness Doctrine debate is likely to take in the coming year. Fifty-eight percent (58%) of likely Obama voters believe the government should make all radio and TV stations offer equal amounts of conservative and liberal commentary, as opposed to 40% of potential McCain voters who feel that way. But 63% of McCain voters and 53% of Obama voters reject similar regulation of web sites and bloggers.
FCC Commissioner: Return of Fairness Doctrine Could Control Web Content
McDowell warns reinstated powers could play in net neutrality debate, lead to government requiring balance on Web sites.
By Jeff Poor - (Business & Media Institute)
There’s a huge concern among conservative talk radio hosts that reinstatement of the Fairness Doctrine would all-but destroy the industry due to equal time constraints. But speech limits might not stop at radio. They could even be extended to include the Internet and “government dictating content policy.”
FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell raised that as a possibility after talking with bloggers at the Heritage Foundation in Washington, D.C. McDowell spoke about a recent FCC vote to bar Comcast from engaging in certain Internet practices – expanding the federal agency’s oversight of Internet networks.
The commissioner, a 2006 President Bush appointee, told the Business & Media Institute the Fairness Doctrine could be intertwined with the net neutrality battle. The result might end with the government regulating content on the Web, he warned. McDowell, who was against reprimanding Comcast, said the net neutrality effort could win the support of “a few isolated conservatives” who may not fully realize the long-term effects of government regulation.
“I think the fear is that somehow large corporations will censor their content, their points of view, right,” McDowell said. “I think the bigger concern for them should be if you have government dictating content policy, which by the way would have a big First Amendment problem.”
“Then, whoever is in charge of government is going to determine what is fair, under a so-called ‘Fairness Doctrine,’ which won’t be called that – it’ll be called something else,” McDowell said. “So, will Web sites, will bloggers have to give equal time or equal space on their Web site to opposing views rather than letting the marketplace of ideas determine that?”
McDowell told BMI the Fairness Doctrine isn’t currently on the FCC’s radar. But a new administration and Congress elected in 2008 might renew Fairness Doctrine efforts, but under another name.
“The Fairness Doctrine has not been raised at the FCC, but the importance of this election is in part – has something to do with that,” McDowell said. “So you know, this election, if it goes one way, we could see a re-imposition of the Fairness Doctrine. There is a discussion of it in Congress. I think it won’t be called the Fairness Doctrine by folks who are promoting it. I think it will be called something else and I think it’ll be intertwined into the net neutrality debate.”
A recent study by the Media Research Center’s Culture & Media Institute argues that the three main points in support of the Fairness Doctrine – scarcity of the media, corporate censorship of liberal viewpoints, and public interest – are myths.
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what a terrible idea….
August 15th, 2008 at 10:44 amare the citizens of this country really getting this stupid to approve more gov’t control?
The other side would be the likes of KGO in San Fran. Those guys hate my country, my military, my president and me. Can you immagine patdollard.com giving equal time to hussein O??
August 15th, 2008 at 11:04 amI think people on the right that voted for this make a gigantic and erroneous assumption that the government will actually be fair! Let the market decide based on talent and listenability.
August 15th, 2008 at 11:06 amit should all be market based. look at air America. nobody wanted to listen to a bunch of American hating commies on the radio so that station tanked. its the way it should be and no one should be able to dictate what we decide to listen to.
August 15th, 2008 at 11:10 amthats right gary, there will be nothing fair about it.
free market is the only ‘fair’ way
fairness doctrine is another euphemism for COMMUNISM
August 15th, 2008 at 11:20 amYou know, not one of RATS-MOUSE-en “pollers” spoke to me or anyone I know.
I wonder which “America” the polled?
August 15th, 2008 at 11:20 amTry it fuckers…just freaking try it…there is not a poll in the world I would buy simply because the pollsters are bought.
August 15th, 2008 at 12:25 pmThis has got to be one of those bull-shit polls. I want to see the specific line of query, demographic distribution, political alignment, and all other relavant specifics of the study protocol. I call total BULLSHIT.
August 15th, 2008 at 12:39 pmDo Americans what to be force-fed liberal propaganda? Fuck No!
You can call me reckless and naive, but I would almost bet lunch at Taco Bell that this year’s election is going to be a blow-out for the GOP, not only for the Presidency but also for the Congress as well. Allow me to explain: I believe that that one of the best “public opinion polls” is what people are willing to spend their hard-earned dollars on. Especially something as disposable as “entertainment.” With that in mind, consider Batman: The Dark Knight. In its first 27 days the film has pulled in an amazing $715 million at the box office. And what does this film say? Its theme is that Good must out-aggress Evil no matter what in order to protect what it loves and cherishes. And that’s what Batman does: He hauls an Asian gangster back to Gotham to be prosecuted. He beats up the Joker while he’s in police custody. And he scans over 30 million Gothamite cel-phones to find where Joker will strike next in order to nab him. In short, Batman is President Bush wearing a mask and cape.
On the other end, you have DePalma’s paean to Goebbels’-style liberal propaganda, namely “Redacted.” Magnolia Pictures apparently could only find 15 theaters across America that hinted it might at least return the distribution costs, and in its 35-day run “Redacted” only made a little over $65,000 in domestic gross. It only made about $125 per day per screen, and at $8/ticket that means only about 15 people per day per screen saw it. In short, even in the depths of moonbat liberal-land “Redacted” was playing to mostly empty theaters!
Batman, on the other hand, is playing in 4,366 theaters with a domestic gross of $451,888,836. So, after 27 days, B:TDK has made on average $3,833 per day per screen and again at $8/ticket that means about 479 people per day per screen have watched it.
So, to recap THIS particular “public opinion poll:”
(1) B:TDK = Bush’s War on Terror = 479 people per day per screen everywhere in America paid money to see it. Lots of repeat biz with no end yet in sight.
(2) Redacted = Leftists’ War on America & Military = 15 people per day per screen in moonbat-ville paid money to see it. Dead after 35 days.
So, what I’m seeing here is that America is IDENTIFYING with old-fashioned leaders who aren’t afraid to beat the crap out of our enemies, because America still remains a force for good in this world and non-Lefties know it.
This election is not only a referendum on Obambi, but could easily become a referendum on the SEDITION of the Left against America and our military during a time of war — if McCain and the GOP have the stones to do it.
One more observation: B:TDK is obviously striking a responsive chord in the hearts of millions of Americans. So, when Obambi says that McCain “is running for George Bush’s 3rd term,” if I were McCain I would proudly embrace and wear that assertion the same way that Lady Margaret Thatcher wore her distractors’ title of “The Iron Lady.” I would have political ads running that compared Batman to President Bush, with the announcer saying “in the same way that Batman fought to save those whom he loved and cherished from the Joker, so has President Bush fought to protect those whom he has loved.” And then after reminding the viewer what Obambi said, I would finish the commercial with McCain wearing the Batman mask with the caption, “McCain: The Dark Knight.”
You think the Obamanuts are wetting themselves now, over Corsi’s new book? Imagine what they would do if McCain continues to AGGRESSIVELY show himself to be “the stronger horse” when it comes to protecting America — especially in light of Russia’s invasion of Georgia. I would follow a campaign strategy of making the Democrats shriek and howl like banshees in Obama’s rhetorical impotence while confidently projecting to America my ability to lead our nation and our military through the unknown future.
Anyway, that’s my $0.02 ramble for today. Time for
August 15th, 2008 at 1:35 pmWHO THE FUCK TOOK THAT POLL? … I didn’t know the DNC convension started already.
August 15th, 2008 at 2:03 pmWho the Fuck did they Poll?
Not Me!!!!
August 15th, 2008 at 3:36 pmHere’s the thing …
Congress WILL listen to and cite this poll …
But thumb their noses at the polls showing the vast majority og Americans WANT domestic drilling.
August 15th, 2008 at 4:27 pm“— if McCain and the GOP have the stones to do it.”
Big if. With Lindsey Grahamnasty goin’ Bi and McCain floating a pro-choice VP choice it’s very iffy. We can never underestimate the ability of Republicans to capitulate it all away.
August 15th, 2008 at 7:24 pmBottom line for me is that I don’t beleive the polls, I flat out beleive they are lying.
August 15th, 2008 at 11:00 pm