WASHINGTON, July 20 (UPI) -- The U.S. Senate has voted not to consider an amendment that would prevent the FCC from reactivating the Fairness Doctrine.
Sen. Norm Coleman, R-Minn., was rebuffed Thursday on a 49-48 vote as he made an unsuccessful bid to attach an anti-Fairness Doctrine bill to education legislation, the Washington Times reported Friday.
The Fairness Doctrine forced broadcasters to offer opposing points of view on political issues until 1987 when it was abolished by the Federal Communications Commission, which argued the mandate impeded journalistic freedom.
Discussion over the Fairness Doctrine was revived last month when a liberal think tank declared political talk radio is "dominated" 9 to 1 by conservatives, thereby failing to serve the American public.
While the current Republican-led FCC has no plans to reinstate the Fairness Doctrine, Republicans in both the House and Senate are introducing bills that would prohibit a future Democrat-led agency from doing so, The Times said.
Coleman's effort to attach the bill to education legislation prompted Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., to admonish sponsors of unrelated amendments for holding up the education bill.
Undaunted, Coleman replied: "This bill is about educating young people. ... Well, let them have unfettered access to information."
