Phoenix Mayor Blames Immigration Law Partly On Absence Of Fairness Doctrine
John Eggerton -- Multichannel News, 5/17/2010 4:38:35 PM
Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon, who opposes his state's controversial new immigration law, blames the Regan-era Federal Communicastions Commission, at least in part, for the law's passage.
In a Center For American Progress forum May 14, Gordon said the seeds of the law go back to 1987, when
the FCC scrapped the fairness doctrine as unconstitutional. "I think it goes back to the Reagan era when the
fairness doctrine was dropped," he said, "and instead of rquiring both sides of a debate to be aired, only one side
was given the chance depending on who was providing that."
He said that even more important was the change in tone stemming from that decision. "Language that was never
acceptable became maintstream," he said. "Those that were deemed to be in disagreement with those on television or radio were demonized as traitors and extremists and hateful and language that we have never heard seen."
The result, he said, was that such demonization became "acceptable in the mainstream media and acceptable in
debates."
The National Hispanic Media Coalition last year asked the FCC to investigate what they said was hate speech on
radio and TV, particularly as directed at the immigrant community. But they also said they were not looking to re-
imposed the doctrine, which required broadcast stations, radio and TV, to seek out opposing viewpoints on issues of national importance.
Conservative talk radio and some cable news programs have been targets of complaints about anti-imigration speech.
Monday the ACLU led a legal challenge to the Arizona law, which instructs police to seek documentation of the status for anyone they suspect of not being in the country legally. The groups say the law "encourages racial profiling, endangers public safety and betrays American values. "
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I had mixed reaction to the the mayor's comments: "Language that was never
acceptable became maintstream. Those that were deemed to be in disagreement with those on television or radio were demonized as traitors and extremists and hateful and language that we have never heard seen."
The result, he said, was that such demonization became "acceptable in the mainstream media and acceptable in debates." But that does sound like mainstream media: CBS, NBC, CNN. et al. I have heard the most disgusting things said of conservative leaders and speakers on those stations, things never said on the Fox new channel or our local Fox radio station. The failure of left of center and far left media to compete in the debate should signify just what this country's population wants to hear debated over the airwaves. Mayor Gordon and his ilk would surpress free speech much in the way Hugo Chavez does in Venezuela, which is no free speech, only his rantings. Phoenix deserves a better mayor, one who respects our 1st Amendment, the US Constitution and our immigration laws.
Terry Hendricks - 5/18/2010 2:12:24 PM EDT -
I'm a retired FCC employee and I was working at the Commission when the Fairness Doctrine was in place. The statement that the Doctrine was intended to address issues of national importance is incorrect. Stations were to utilize it in addressing issues important to the local community. This is not to say that some national issues were not important to local communities. But licensees were required to look only at the local community in applying the Fairness Doctrine.
Allen Myers - 5/18/2010 11:08:52 AM EDT -
Phil Gordon is a moron. Linking the new AZ law requiring enforcement of the federal law at the state level to the blatant censorship of the unconstitutional "fairnes doctrine" is only the latest rant of our idiot mayor. The reason he refuses to actually blame the federal government for not enforcing the law that was already on the books is that he is an unabashed open borderiste that dispises the laws of the USA. His idiocy has resulted in people dying in the deserts all over southern AZ as they attempt to get to his unilaterally declared sanctuary city and the new title of the kidnap capital of the US.
Thomas Pawlenko - 5/18/2010 2:17:05 AM EDT
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