Klavan On The Culture

March 7th, 2009 1:54 pm

Andrew & Andrew

Big Hollywood’s Andrew Breitbart and I met up at the offices of the Manhattan Institute’s City Journal earlier this week. I’m one of the Journal’s contributing editors, and Andrew B. was there to deliver a speech to some young MI contributors on the need to reclaim the culture from the left. The subject being a passion of Andrews both B and K, we met at the CJ offices to talk it over with Brian C. Anderson. Brian is City Journal’s august editor and the author, with Adam D. Thierer, of A Manifesto for Media Freedom, an important book detailing plans by the left, and even some by the right, to limit your free speech. The lively conversation that followed is available as a podcast here. Just scroll down to the podcast section and you’ll see it.

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5 Comments

1. Pete:

With all due respect, the so-called “Fairness Doctrine” has been in the past held up as Constitutional when the Federal Communications Act had been previously challenged in court.

If the notion of monitoring/regulating political opinion radio in the spirt of “localism” is that offensive to you as a “free speech” violation, then why exactly is cursing prohibited on radio/TV? Why is nudity frowned upon by the FCC? Are those not ALSO examples of the government “regulating” the media? Perhaps this outrage over “free speech” is just another example of the Right advocating principles when only convenient to themselves?

You obviously won’t believe this, but many people on the Left are actually against it for two key reasons: 1. Enforcing it would be a logistical nightmare and 2. The most egregiously political AM talkers would simply go to satellite, where the FCC has no jurisdiction.

Mar 9, 2009 - 9:39 am 2. marymcl:

Got enough scare quotes to sustain your argument, Pete? Talk about sour grapes. It is precisely that speech which is “egregiously political”, as you put it, that the First Amendment was designed to protect. So according to you, the Left has no principled basis for opposing censorship. Choosing your battles, huh?

Mar 10, 2009 - 6:56 pm 3. Pete:

Lack reading comprehension much, mary? If you noticed what I actually said, you’d understand why this hysteria over the Fairness Doctrine is unwarranted.

Let me repeat. 1) The enforcement would be a logistical nightmare. 2) The radio talkers that would be affected in theory would simply go to satellite.

However, in theory Rush wouldn’t have his show “censored”. If a local station ran all three hours of Rush’s show, they would be obligated to give three hours to an opposing point of view. Rush wouldn’t have to change a single thing, and he could go on pulling in $33 million a year while his syndicator continues to lay off employees. Again, such a regiment would be impossible to enforce.

I notice that the people who don’t want the FCC enforcing the political content of radio/TV certainly have no issues wanting the FCC to enforce speech in the form of bad language.

Mar 12, 2009 - 5:54 am 4. marymcl:

To begin with your last remark, where exactly did you get the idea that I want the FCC enforcing speech codes? It’s news to me. You didn’t “notice” it in my post. It’s just a prejudice you dragged in with you.

And I understood you the first time. It’s not the censorship that bothers you, it’s the current lack of a practical (dare I say profitable) means of enforcing it.

Mar 12, 2009 - 7:55 pm 5. Hot News » Andrew Breitbart:

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Mar 27, 2009 - 12:16 am