McHugh Fights For Freedom Of Speech On The Airwaves

Press Release

McHUGH FIGHTS FOR FREEDOM OF SPEECH ON THE AIRWAVES

U.S. Congressman John M. McHugh (R-NY) today announced his support for the Broadcaster Freedom Act, H.R. 2905. The legislation is designed to permanently prevent the reinstatement of the so-called Fairness Doctrine by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Twenty years ago, the FCC determined that increases in broadcast listening options, combined with an inability to defend the doctrine from questions of its constitutionality, rendered the Fairness Doctrine as anything but fair. Over the years, it had been used to stifle political opposition and control political speech. On June 20, the House, with broad bipartisan support, passed an amendment that would keep funds from being used to implement the Fairness Doctrine for one year. However, after one year, legislators would again be free to institute this unfair policy; hence the need for permanent legislation such as the Broadcaster Freedom Act. McHugh explained his support to end this threat to freedom of speech in a statement below:

"Over the past twenty years, outside the shadow of the so-called Fairness Doctrine, talk radio has become a wildly successful endeavor across America. This medium has developed into an outstanding means to raise the level of public debate, the success or failure of which has been determined by the people, not by artificial government dictate. Unfortunately for the listening public, there has been serious discussion about reinstitution of the Fairness Doctrine allegedly to level the playing field. I vehemently oppose any such measures because, quite simply, it equates to government control of political speech.

Until its demise, the Fairness Doctrine was used as a tool in order to stifle free speech from political opposition. People on both sides of the aisle were able to utilize the FCC to silence their critics. Because of the vague language in the rule, raising a Fairness Doctrine challenge against broadcasters engaged in discussions of controversial issues or holding opposing views was relatively easy. Even if ultimately dismissed, the legal fees incurred in those cases made it financially untenable to broadcast programming that dealt with important political matters. For far too long, this archaic rule stunted political discourse across America and resulted in de-facto censorship.

Despite its name, the Fairness Doctrine is in fact an attack on the First Amendment and the free marketplace of ideas. Reinstituting the doctrine would create a bureaucratic nightmare of red tape, forcing radio stations to dilute their programming. Those in favor of the doctrine know full well that this would eliminate the free flow of ideas and opinions over the broadcast airways. This clear cut attempt at censorship must be stopped and I will work with my colleagues to pass the Broadcaster Freedom Act and ensure that this attempted assault on free speech is taken off the table for good."

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