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Hillary’s Campaign To Turn Off Talk Radio
Guest Column | By Lynn Woolley | January 8, 2008
During the Reagan era, the country had about 125 talk stations. Since the demise of the Doctrine we have more than 2,000 of them with hosts espousing every conceivable opinion that free speech can muster.
Wake up, America! Talk radio is in trouble. Your favorite hosts are coming under increasing fire from a political Left that wants to silence them. The worst-case scenario for talk radio would be the election of Hillary Clinton.
If you enjoy your daily dose of Rush, Sean and their fellow hosts, a Clinton White House would be a disaster. While a variety of liberal voices regularly disparage talk radio for being "too one-sided" or "not fair and balanced," Hillary is the only prominent politician whose fingerprints are all over the sordid affair that actually got one talk host removed.
Ask someone on the street about the Don Imus case, you'll probably be told that The Rev. Al Sharpton got Mr. Imus kicked off. Sharpton played his role, but he was simply a tool used by an organization known as Media Matters for America.
The question as to why Mrs. Clinton was not happy with Imus is simple to answer. Although he's not a conservative, he was famously on record for having referred to her as "Satan" and "a witch." Anyone familiar with Imus knows that he's an equal opportunity insulter � going after anybody and everybody. Hillary failed to see the humor, and with her plans for higher office, she saw Imus as an enemy.
So Media Matters, a group with connections to Hillary, billionaire financier George Soros and MSNBC's Keith Olbermann, started rolling tape, waiting for Imus to slip up. When he commented on the Rutgers women's basketball team, it was time to act. Media Matters distributed the sound bite and was no doubt pleased when the Rev. Sharpton took up the cause.
As Cliff Kincaid of Accuracy in Media (AIM) writes in our new book The Death of Talk Radio?, "In firing Imus, NBC News and CBS got rid of one of Hillary's major political enemies in the media. The campaign against Imus should be seen as a trial run for how the Fairness Doctrine might work in practice."
The Fairness Doctrine is that outmoded, likely unconstitutional regulation requiring balance on the air. But since newscasts are excluded, the Doctrine made it possible for ABC, CBS and NBC � and especially the left-leaning Public Broadcasting System � to be as liberal as they wanted. But talk radio was stifled.
During the Reagan era, the country had about 125 talk stations. Since the demise of the Doctrine we have more than 2,000 of them with hosts espousing every conceivable opinion that free speech can muster. It's just that most of those opinions are from the Right, and that drives Mrs. Clinton and the Democrats nuts.
They have tried hard to use the "hate radio" label to drive Rush Limbaugh off the air. They did get him fired from his ESPN sports gig over a simple opinion that was deemed racist. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid tried to smear him with an out-of-context comment about "phony soldiers." But Rush took Reid's letter, signed by 41 Democrats including Hillary and auctioned it off for $2.1 million for charity � making Reid look like a fool in the process.
But the threats to freedom on the radio dial are real and they keep coming. As of now, Sen. Bernie Sanders, Rep. Dennis Kucinich and Rep. Maurice Hinchey are announced supporters of returning to the Doctrine. New York Congresswoman Louise Slaughter has introduced the MEDIA ACT, HR 4710, to reinstate the Fairness Doctrine and "ensure that broadcasters present discussions of conflicting views on issues of public importance." This will go nowhere under President Bush, but might succeed under President Clinton.
Fortunately, Rep. Mike Pence has introduced THE BROADCASTER FREEDOM ACT that would keep the airwaves free. All Republican members of the House have signed on but just a single Democrat. Obviously, that Democrat is NOT Hillary Clinton. Mrs. Clinton is well known for being a control freak and if she ascends to the White House, talk radio is one thing she will try to control.
Lynn Woolley is a Texas based talk show host and author. His latest book, with Cliff Kincaid, is entitled “The Death of Talk Radio?” Lynn’s website is http://www.BeLogical.com
Guest columns do not necessarily reflect the views of Accuracy in Media or its staff.
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