Censorship

The Threat to Silence Talk Radio

Brian Jennings

• Publisher: Threshold Editions
• Year: 2009
• eBook ISBN: 9781439168165
• Topic: Politics & International Relations
• Subtopic: Radio
• Index: Politics & International Relations

"Talk radio is the American voter." -- Rush Limbaugh Freedom of speech. It is our most cherished privilege as Americans, guaranteed by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution since 1791. But at the dawn of a new presidential administration, an epic battle is looming -- a battle for our airwaves that could sharply curtail or silence altogether the freedom of expression that distinguishes America from the average dictatorship. The target of this battle is conservative talk radio. If key Democrats have their way, the principles of the Federal Communications Commission's Fairness Doctrine will once again be enforced and allow government to control the content heard on free radio, a mandate that will have far-reaching implications for all media. During the Reagan administration the FCC voted to stop enforcing the Fairness Doctrine, which required all licensed broadcasters to present "balanced" viewpoints on controversial issues. Conservative talk radio burgeoned, giving rise to the father of conservative talk, Rush Limbaugh, and such hosts as Sean Hannity, Mark Levin, Michael Medved, Neal Boortz, Laura Ingraham, and others. The format was a smash hit -- resonating with listeners from coast to coast and giving a powerful voice to the conservative movement. Soon such programming, attracting an estimated 50 million listeners weekly, dominated the airwaves where liberal talk radio failed. Popular, profitable, outspoken, powerful, influential -- it's what the American people wanted, and its success was the Democrats' worst nightmare. Now, the principles of the Fairness Doctrine threaten to be reinstated -- if not directly, then through back-door tactics involving ownership of stations. Under cover of being "fair, " they will prove to be anything but: They will be used as a means of censorship by those with contempt for conservative talk radio. With our current Congress firmly under Democratic control, the future of talk radio -- indeed, freedom of speech for all Americans -- is under direct attack.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Colophon
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Acknowledgments
• Contents
• Foreword by Sean Hannity
• Preface by Congressman Greg Walden
• Introduction: Us vs. Them
• CHAPTER 1 Talk Radio in Jeopardy At What Price Free Speech?
• CHAPTER 2 The First Amendment Yesterday and Today
• CHAPTER 3 The Fairness Doctrine What It Means for You
• CHAPTER 4 The Bingaman Bombshell A Call for Censorship
• CHAPTER 5 Hush Rush Limbaugh Sounds Off
• CHAPTER 6 Radio Hosts Tee Off The Perfect Firestorm
• CHAPTER 7 The Lilliputians Savage Calls Censors Little People
• CHAPTER 8 Silence Rumor Has It More-Balanced Talk Could Have Prevented the War
• CHAPTER 9 Dingy Harry Reid Gets It Wrong
• CHAPTER 10 Censorship by Congress Legislative Efforts Exposed
• CHAPTER 11 Obama Weighs In Our New President’s History of Censorship
• CHAPTER 12 Thats Entertainment! Why Conservative Talk Radio Works (and Liberal Talk Doesn’t!)
• CHAPTER 13 A Liberal Rejects Censorship Alan Colmes Just Says “No!”
• CHAPTER 14 The Gospel According to Radio The Impact on Christian Broadcasting
• CHAPTER 15 Bias! Talk Radio as a Balance to Mainstream Media
• CHAPTER 16 The Birth of Talk Radio The Origins of Conservative Talk
• CHAPTER 17 Constitution Day A Celebration of Personal Freedom
• CHAPTER 18 Congress Weighs In Legislation For and Against Censorship
• CHAPTER 19 The Digital Explosion How the Internet Makes the Fairness Doctrine Obsolete
• CHAPTER 20 Fair & Balanced Should It Be Legislated?
• CHAPTER 21 Grassroots Intimidation Backdoor Tactics
• CHAPTER 22 The Myth The Need for Balance in Broadcasting
• CHAPTER 23 Hometown Radio Local vs. Big Media
• CHAPTER 24 “Good Morning, Vietnam!” Free Speech on Armed Forces Radio
• CHAPTER 25 The Speech Police Liberal Activist Groups Force Fairness
• CHAPTER 26 The Left-Wing Smear Machine Conservative Talk Fights Back
• CHAPTER 27 Is America Next? Canadian Free Speech Squelched
• CHAPTER 28 The Speech Terrorists Conservative Talk vs. Radical Islam
• CHAPTER 29 The Obama Doctrine The United Church of Fairness
• CHAPTER 30 The Fairness Communications Commission How the FCC Will Censor
• CHAPTER 31 Radio Fights Back Radio Managers Take a Stand
• CHAPTER 32 Censors in Action Radio Hosts Silenced
• CHAPTER 33 What Would the Great Communicator Say? Michael Reagan Speaks Out
• CHAPTER 34 Censorship Don’t Let It Happen Again!
• Notes