Censorship: The Threat to Silence Talk Radio
Brian Jennings
May 2009 · Simon and Schuster · Narrated by Jesse Boggs
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7 hr 20 min
Unabridged
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About this audiobook
Freedom of speech. It is our most cherished privilege as Americans, guaranteed by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution since 1791.
But our current presidential administration threatens to sharply curtail or silence altogether the freedom of expression that distinguishes America from the average dictatorship. What is under direct attack? Conservative talk radio.
During the Reagan administration, conservative talk radio burgeoned when the FCC voted to stop enforcing the Fairness Doctrine, which required all licensed broadcasters to present "balanced" viewpoints on controversial issues. The format was a smash hit, attracting an estimated 50 million listeners weekly. Popular, profitable, outspoken, powerful, influential—it’s what the American people wanted, and its success was the Democrats' worst nightmare.
Now, the principles underlying the Fairness Doctrine threaten to be reinstated. Under cover of being "fair," they will be used as a means of censorship, allowing government to influence who owns our airwaves and thus controls the content, a mandate with far-reaching implications for all media—indeed, for freedom of speech for all Americans.
But our current presidential administration threatens to sharply curtail or silence altogether the freedom of expression that distinguishes America from the average dictatorship. What is under direct attack? Conservative talk radio.
During the Reagan administration, conservative talk radio burgeoned when the FCC voted to stop enforcing the Fairness Doctrine, which required all licensed broadcasters to present "balanced" viewpoints on controversial issues. The format was a smash hit, attracting an estimated 50 million listeners weekly. Popular, profitable, outspoken, powerful, influential—it’s what the American people wanted, and its success was the Democrats' worst nightmare.
Now, the principles underlying the Fairness Doctrine threaten to be reinstated. Under cover of being "fair," they will be used as a means of censorship, allowing government to influence who owns our airwaves and thus controls the content, a mandate with far-reaching implications for all media—indeed, for freedom of speech for all Americans.
About the author
Brian Jennings is one of nation's top talk radio programmers who served as National V.P. of Talk Programming for Citadel Broadcasting, one of the nation's largest radio companies for over a decade and served as programming head to over 40 radio stations nationwide. According to Talker's Magazine, he is also one of the founding fathers of the conservative talk radio format. Nominated 5 times as a national talk radio executive of the year by Radio and Records Magazine, Jennings is also a national award-winning journalist. His many awards include Columbia University's DuPont Award, the National Sigma Delta Chi Award, the Ohio State Award, the National Headliners Award, the National Abe Lincoln Award, and others. He has also worked as a consultant to national personalites such as Oliver North, Michael Reagan, Alan Colmes, Dick Cavett, and others. Considered one of the foremost authorities on talk radio today, Jennings resides in the Pacific Northwest and is a frequent guest on radio and television programs throughout the nation and a staunch defender of free speech.
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