KUCINICH: CONGRESS TO TAKE ON FCC

From FMQB:

Over the weekend, the National Conference for Media Reform was held in Memphis, TN, with a number of notable speakers on hand for the event. Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) made an surprise appearance at the convention to announce that he would be heading up a new House subcommittee which will focus on issues surrounding the Federal Communications Commission.

The Presidential candidate said that the committee would be holding "hearings to push media reform right at the center of Washington.” The Domestic Policy Subcommittee of the House Government Reform Committee was to be officially announced this week in Washington, D.C., but Kucinich opted to make the news public early.

In addition to media ownership, the committee is expected to focus its attention on issues such as net neutrality and major telecommunications mergers. Also in consideration is the "Fairness Doctrine," which required broadcasters to present controversial topics in a fair and honest manner. It was enforced until it was eliminated in 1987.

Kucinich said in his speech that "We know the media has become the servant of a very narrow corporate agenda" and added "we are now in a position to move a progressive agenda to where it is visible."

FCC Commissioner Michael Copps was also on hand at the conference and took broadcasters to task for their current content, speaking of "too little news, too much baloney passed off as news. Too little quality entertainment, too many people eating bugs on reality TV. Too little local and regional music, too much brain-numbing national play-lists." Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein also spoke at the event.

The Fairness Doctrine is an obsession of mine; a subject on which I will soon be writing my Master's Thesis. Even Fred Friendly (the producer behind Edward R. Murrow and no conservative) stated in his book The Good Guys, The Bad Guys and the First Amendment that the Fairness Doctrine was a tool used to suppress speech, not expand it.

This effort by Kucinich and others on the Left is Stalinism with a smiley face, and it has to be stopped.

Reliapundit adds: The Stalinist Left (that's redundant, no?!) is doing this because it wants to erase the advantage that the Right has in radio. Rush is the target - and his 3 million fans. Lookit: when your ideology can't stand the light of day you need to use the State to quash your opponents from speaking out and shining a light on it. That's why it's not enough for the Left that it utterly dominates the MSM - as Evan Thomas and others have honestly admitted. They want to silence the Right.

It's VERY interesting to note, that all Fox has done to become twice as popular as the other cable news-channels combined is offer BOTH sides.

If Americans were craving more LEFT-WING NEWS & VIEWS, then Air America radio would have succeeded. It didn't; CASED CLOSE.

*******10/16/07 - UPDATE: 24 HOURS LATER AND CAPTAIN'S QUARTER'S WEIGHS IN - PROVING ONCE AGAIN THAT TAB IS THE PLACE TO BE FOR THE BEST IN BLOGGING.