Comrade Bill Press identifies right wing conspiracy! (ClearChannel)

Comrade Bill Press has an excellent editorial in the WaPo called "Another Right-Wing Conspiracy in Washington?" (link). He discusses vital issue of Obama1260, the libtalk powerhouse that was recently taken off the air, ostensibly because it's ratings were too low to be measurable. That was just a cover story!

The comrade identifies Clear Channel and their hegemonical practices of putting liberal talk on weak stations and then failing to promote it as part of a conspiracy to prevent libtalk from flourishing as it could. He points to libtalk flourishing in Portland and Madison - the twin hearts of American conservatism - as example of how the American people are hungry for the actual truth (not the fake truth, but the real truth). For an example of the verity of Comrade Press' words, reactionary already reacting (link).

He ends with a bold call to end the airwaves Oppression through collective action:

Companies are given a license to operate public airwaves -- free! -- in order to make a profit, yes, but also, according to the terms of their FCC license, "to operate in the public interest and to afford reasonable opportunity for the discussion of conflicting views of issues of public importance." Stations are not operating in the public interest when they offer only conservative talk.

For years, the Fairness Doctrine prevented such abuse by requiring licensed stations to carry a mix of opinion. However, under pressure from conservatives, President Ronald Reagan's Federal Communications Commission canceled the Fairness Doctrine in 1987, insisting that in a free market, stations would automatically offer a balance in programming.

That experiment has failed. There is no free market in talk radio today, only an exclusive, tightly held, conservative media conspiracy. The few holders of broadcast licenses have made it clear they will not, on their own, serve the general public. Maybe it's time to bring back the Fairness Doctrine -- and bring competition back to talk radio in Washington and elsewhere.

Posted in AlsoRans at February 8, 2009 09:57 AM