Amendment I
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

The fairness doctrine from 1949 until 1987, when it was discontinued by the FCC, required broadcasters as a requirement for getting their licenses to cover controversial issues in their area in a balanced way. In 1985 the FCC issued its’ Fairness Report basically stating that the doctrine was no longer having its’ intended affect. It was in fact having the opposite affect in that journalist were avoiding controversial issues to stay away from having to comply with the FCC.

Congress is considering reinstituting this doctrine to the detriment of free speech. If it passes, no one can deny that whatever party is in power at the time will use it to selectively enforce its’ rules against institutes that disagree with current policies. Beware of what you ask for, political tables turn quickly.

I believe that the only restrictions on radio licenses should be a restriction on frequencies to avoid “bleeding” over from one station to another. A radio or TV stations' success or failure should be determined by the public not the government. No one is forced to listen to any given program; there are dials that can be used to express your approval or disapproval. A radio or television station is first and foremost a business and in being so needs to show profits. Profits depend on advertising revenue and advertisers do not pay for ads on stations that don’t have listeners or viewers. The public is the entity that decides what is broadcast and that is the way it should be. The government should never be allowed to decide the content of our news or our commentary.

If we put up with this then what is next? Books? Movies? Letters?