What's Fair about the Fairness Doctrine?

Some Democrats in Congress want to resurrect a defunct federal policy they say would protect free speech.

But when Congress returns from summer break, Republicans say they'll try to block revival of the Fairness Doctrine. They say it would muzzle conservatives on talk radio.

Should government regulations decide how long you can listen to a liberal radio host like Al Frankin - or a conservative commentator like Rush Limbaugh?

That's a question that Congress will decide as the Senate considers a revival of the Fairness Doctrine, a 1949 law that once required broadcasters to give equal time to opposing political views or face fines by the Federal Communications Commission.

After some defeats in court, the doctrine was finally discarded in 1987 by Ronald Reagan's FCC.

Many believed it actually stifled rather than encouraged debate. Station managers didn't want to deal with government interference, so they shied away from discussion of controversial issues.

Some Senate Democrats are now looking at reinstating the doctrine in order to return to what they call a "much-needed balance" in talk radio.

Sen. Diane Feinstein, D-CA, said on Fox News Sunday, "In my view, talk radio tends to be one-sided. It also tends to be dwelling in hyperbole. It's explosive. It pushes people to, I think, extreme views without a lot of information."

But in the House, half of the Democrats sided with Republicans to overwhelmingly pass a bill banning the FCC or any future president from re-imposing the policy.

Indiana Republican Congressman Mike Pence, R-IN, sponsored the House measure. A former radio show host, he calls it the "unfairness doctrine."

Pence said it 'is nothing short of a government mandate and management of the free speech on the airwaves of America."

Liberals, such as radio host Bill Press, say it's only fair for government to rein in right-wing broadcasters who dominate the airwaves licensed by the government.

"Conservatives rule talk radio," Press said. "Conservatives have their own powerful television network: the only one, the most powerful in the country, the most watched. Liberals have none. Conservatives rule the op-ed pages of all the newspapers."

But conservatives counter that it's liberals who dominate the airwaves on the major networks, National Public Radio, and PBS.

They say that the Fairness Doctrine is just a liberal plot to "hush Rush" and other conservatives.

Adam Thierer is with the conservative Progress and Freedom Foundation.

Thierer said, "The problem with the Fairness Doctrine is that the government is the one dictating what is "fair." And the problem with that is, it ends up becoming a very bureaucratic process to regulate speech and speech output according to who's in power."

So is the Fairness Doctrine a government guarantee that you'll hear all sides of an issue on the airwaves? Or is it a government tool for those in power to pressure political opponents?

The answer could become clear if or when the Fairness Doctrine makes a comeback.