Christian Broadcasters Charge That Controversial “Fairness” Doctrine Will Trample Free Speech

April 22, 2009 - PRLog -- CORAL RIDGE MINISTRIES NEWS




CONTACT:    

Andrew Scott, (954) 334-5332, a.scott@crministries.org



Christian Broadcasters Charge on April 26 Coral Ridge Hour That Controversial “Fairness” Doctrine Will Trample Free Speech



FORT LAUDERDALE, FL. (April 22, 2009) –Christian broadcasters charge on the April 26 Coral Ridge Hour that a proposed federal rule to mandate “fairness” on radio and television will choke off free expression. If reinstated, the so-called “Fairness” Doctrine will suspend the First Amendment liberties of broadcasters by requiring that they air anti-Christian viewpoints or risk losing their license.
http://www.coralridge.org/medialibrary/default.aspx?mediaID=CRH0917_F


The controversial federal rule is the focus of the Sunday, April 26, Coral Ridge Hour, the weekly television program from Coral Ridge Ministries. Under the regulation, broadcasters must allot airtime for opposing views to polarizing issues—such as abortion or same-sex marriage.



Mat Staver, Dean of the Liberty University Law School, states on the program, “If you want to speak on a conservative viewpoint under the Fairness Doctrine, the only way you’re going to do it is if you agree to allow someone . . . to give a leftist, anti-life, anti-Christian viewpoint.”



Staver, who also hosts a daily radio program, said the regulation “is simply contrary to the First Amendment,” and Dr. D. James Kennedy, the late founder of Coral Ridge Ministries, once classified it as the “government control of speech.”



To discuss how the Fairness Doctrine censors Christian broadcasts, the April 26 Coral Ridge Hour program features Dr. Frank Wright, president of the National Religious Broadcasters; nationally aired radio talk show hosts Janet Parshall and Kerby Anderson; Colin Hanna, president of Let Freedom Ring; and other experts.



The program also features the new booklet, Not Fair, Not Free: The Fairness Doctrine Campaign to Crush Free Speech, by Coral Ridge Ministries’ senior writer and Washington, D.C., correspondent, Robert Knight.
http://store.coralridge.org/ProductDetails.aspx?pc=115445


“Christians, in particular, and all freedom-loving Americans should support freedom of the airwaves,” Knight writes in the book.



A petition opposing the Fairness Doctrine is available on Coral Ridge Ministries’ website. “The Cost of Freedom,” a sermon preached by Dr. D. James Kennedy, precedes the Sunday feature. Visit The Coral Ridge Hour station log for TV station listings and times.
http://www.coralridge.org/stationfinder/default.aspx?cur=crh



INTERVIEW REQUESTS: To request an interview with Robert Knight, senior writer and Washington, D.C., correspondent for Coral Ridge Ministries, please contact Andrew Scott at a.scott@crministries.org, (954) 334-5332.

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Coral Ridge Ministries (CRM) is a media ministry founded over 30 years ago by Dr. D. James Kennedy. Millions of people tune in daily to our broadcasts on radio, television and Internet to hear the Gospel and gain Biblical insight on contemporary issues.