Bill (champion of the free) Press

Editor’s note: This commentary is in response to Joseph Farah’s column, “Bill (abridging the free) Press.”

Joe Farah is a friend of mine.

He’s a nice guy.

When he had his own radio program, I was a frequent guest and we sparred good-naturedly.

When Pat Buchanan and I co-hosted “Buchanan and Press” on MSNBC, Joe was one of our regular guests.

And, even though he always agreed with Pat, and never with me, we always got along.

Joe’s such a nice guy. He runs my weekly column on WorldNetDaily – even though he never agrees with anything I say and even though it drives his readers crazy. I am living proof of Joe’s commitment to deliver the broadest spectrum of political commentary you can find anywhere.

Having said all that, Joe Farah is full of beans when he says I’m an enemy of free speech. I’m a champion of free speech, and I want to hear more of it – especially on talk radio.

Joe’s knickers are tied in a knot over my recent interview with Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich. After talking about prospects for the stimulus package, I pointed out that Redskins owner Dan Snyder was canceling progressive talk on one of the radio stations he owns, leaving Washington with three conservative talk stations, and no liberal talk. The same thing was happening in several other markets.

My question to the senator was this: Is there anything Congress can do about this? She replied that there used to be something called the “Fairness Doctrine” that might have prevented such one-sided broadcasting.

Having started down that road, here’s the way the interview went:

Press: So, is it time to bring back the “Fairness Doctrine”?

Stabenow: I think it’s absolutely time to pass a standard. Now, whether it’s called the “Fairness Standard,” or whether it’s called something else – I absolutely think it’s time to be bringing accountability to the airwaves. I mean, our new president has talked rightly about accountability and transparency. You know, that we all have to step up and be responsible. And, I think in this case, there needs to be some accountability and standards put in place.

Press: Can we count on you to push for some hearings in the United States Senate this year, to bring these owners in and hold them accountable?

Stabenow: I have already had some discussions with colleagues and, you know, I feel like that’s gonna happen. Yep.

OMG! By Joe’s reaction, you’d think Debbie Stabenow had called for burning the Constitution on the front lawn of the White House and putting all conservative talk show hosts in the soon-to-be empty cells at Gitmo.

But, notice: Neither Sen. Stabenow nor I called for bringing back the “Fairness Doctrine.” In fact, I think it makes as much sense to bring back the “Fairness Doctrine” as it does to bring back black-and-white television. Times have changed.

Despite Joe Farah’s hysterical rhetoric, nobody’s talking about taking anybody’s microphone away, or shutting anybody down, or dictating the content of any talk show. Nobody’s trying to “hush Rush.” Nobody wants to prevent station owners from making as much money as possible from talk radio.

All Sen. Stabenow and others do advocate is accountability and responsibility, two old-fashioned conservative values.

In this case, it is the responsibility of living up to the terms of their broadcast licenses.

Here’s what Joe Farah can’t seem to understand: We the people own the airwaves. Rather than have the government do it, we give private companies a license to operate public airwaves. In fact, we give them away free! Why? We do it for those companies to make a profit, yes, but also, according to the terms of their FCC license, for them “to operate in the public interest and to afford reasonable opportunity for the discussion of conflicting views of issues of public importance.”

Station owners are not operating in the public interest when they offer only conservative talk.

Talk radio should reflect the diversity of voices that make up this great country. Today it does not. Today talk radio on public airwaves is dedicated to only one point of view.

Pathetic, pitiful, un-American, paranoid – these are just some of the words that come to mind when I read that Joe Farah is afraid of competition on the airwaves.

I’ve lost a lot of respect for Joe Farah.

Don’t get me wrong. I’ll still be friendly. I’ll still send my columns to WND.

I knew I disagreed with him on just about every issue under the sun. But I really thought, deep down, that he was smarter than Sean Hannity, that he would recognize the value of having a wide open discussion of issues on the radio from voices left and right.

I thought that Joe, of all people, would stand for “fair and balanced.”

I was wrong. I’m disappointed. In fact, I’m mortified, appalled and flabbergasted. Joe, say it isn’t so!

 

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