I certainly share the President’s concerns about the suppression of the media in places like Myanmar and Iran. But I am also quite concerned about this country’s media, which turned into a right wing echo chamber about 20 years ago and shows little sign of improving.

If the President is really concerned about the freedom of the press, the Fairness Doctrine must be revived. While this might seem like a lashing out at “free speech,” quite the opposite is true. Progressive talk radio has done better in several media markets than Rushpublican pundits like Slanthead and the pedophile dope addict managed to do, only to be yanked off the airwaves and replaced with sports talk, or music…. or Rushpublican talkers. The refusal of the corporate media to air all sides of the political environment is, in and of itself, a suppression of free speech, and since the media in this country is now so consolidated only a restoration of the Fairness Doctrine can fix the problem.

So will the President address the lack of a free press in America now? Ignoring the hysterical Rushpublican stooges of FOX “News” is a good start, but much more needs to be done.

Freedom of the press is one of the most hallowed of the rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution and has seen America through thick and thin, even as time and technology have changed the way news is delivered.

Today, the U.S. Senate marked World Press Freedom Day by issuing a resolution acknowledging threats to the free press abroad and “reaffirming the United States’ commitment to promoting this essential right globally.”

The bipartisan effort was spearheaded by Democratic Sens. Russ Feingold, John Kerry, Patrick Leahy, Dick Durbin and others along with GOP Sens. Dick Lugar and Johnny Isakson and “independent Democrat” Joe Lieberman.

Said Sen. Kerry (D-MA), the 2004 Democratic presidential nominee, “A free press holds powerful people and big institutions accountable, and gives voice to people and interests who might never be heard, and that is a sacred freedom that should be protected and spread around the globe.”

Sen. Feingold (D-WI), himself a former White House contender, said, “A free society depends on a free press, and it is our duty to promote and protect this freedom around the world.”

Added Sen. Leahy (D-VT), “[W]e are reminded that an open and accountable society comes with the duty of its citizens to seek out the truth and to empower themselves with that knowledge. All of us have an interest in preserving press freedoms and protecting the public’s right to know.”

The Senate resolution, as described in a press release issued to RAW STORY, “celebrates the fundamental right of freedom of the press, commends journalists around the world for their work holding government accountable and strengthening civil society and pays tribute to those journalists who lost their lives in the line of duty.

“The resolution,” continues the release, “also condemns actions around the world to suppress the freedom of the press and calls for the U.S. government to develop a system to more rapidly identify, publicize and respond to threats against press freedom worldwide.”

I look forward to an examination of the suppression of stories unfavorable to Rushpublicans in our own press. After all, that’s what the Senate says it WANTS, right?

Tags: fairness doctrine, FOX news, free speech, media bias, obama

This entry was posted on Friday, May 1st, 2009 at 11:08 pm and is filed under Jolly Roger, Media (or lack of). You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.