{"id":992,"date":"2011-08-23T13:20:53","date_gmt":"2011-08-23T17:20:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/faithandjustice\/?p=992"},"modified":"2011-08-23T16:39:47","modified_gmt":"2011-08-23T20:39:47","slug":"jay-sekulow-the-death-of-the-fairness-doctrine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/2011\/08\/jay-sekulow-the-death-of-the-fairness-doctrine.html","title":{"rendered":"Jay Sekulow: The Death of the Fairness Doctrine"},"content":{"rendered":"

The dreaded so-called “Fairness Doctrine” has finally been put to rest.<\/p>\n

Over the years, nearly 250,000 of you have stood with us – ACLJ members and supporters – adding your name to petitions – sending a powerful message to Washington and the FCC – that regulations like the Fairness Doctrine are damaging and need to go.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Now, confirmation from the FCC<\/a>. This from FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski:<\/p>\n

“The elimination of the obsolete Fairness Doctrine regulations will remove an unnecessary distraction. As I have said, striking this from our books ensures there can be no mistake that what has long been a dead letter remains dead,” Genachowski said in a statement on the FCC website. “The Fairness Doctrine holds the potential to chill free speech and the free flow of ideas and was properly abandoned over two decades ago. I am pleased we are removing these and other obsolete rules from our books,” he added.<\/p>\n

Even though the so-called “Fairness Doctrine” was put on the shelf years ago, it was still a threat because it was still on the books. But, as equally as troubling, has been the continued push by some in Congress in recent years to keep this censorship concept alive – to find some way to keep the pressure on – to keep Christian and conservative broadcasters under the thumb of the federal government.<\/p>\n

We have stood up against new proposed regulations that mandate speech – regulations that would be devastating. With my radio broadcast, Jay Sekulow Live!<\/a>, <\/em>I see it every day. Imagine, if we had to abide by these requirements: If you talk about protecting the unborn, you would have to give the pro-abortion view equal time. A pro-Israel message would require an anti-Israel rebuttal. This kind of regulation, of course, would represent a dangerous attack on the free speech of Christian, conservative broadcasters.\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

So, yes, the Fairness Doctrine is no more. This is a significant First Amendment victory for Christian broadcasters. The National Religious Broadcasters applauded the move but urged caution as well.<\/a> Dr. Frank Wright, NRB President & CEO: “While the letter of the law is now dead, we want to ensure that the spirit of this particular law also remains dead. There are many voices calling for increased scrutiny of broadcast programming under the guise of \u2018localism,\u2019 and we see such proposals as a Fairness Doctrine in different garb.”<\/p>\n

We agree. Our legal and legislative teams will remain vigilant to ensure that this censorship concept doesn’t rear its ugly head again through another legislative measure or FCC regulation.<\/p>\n

We must not let our guard down for a moment. You have my word that we will continue to protect the free speech rights of Christian broadcasters. And, I can assure you, if any new threat to our freedoms unfold, the ACLJ will be front-and-center in this fight again – protecting the First Amendment rights of Christians to address issues as they see fit without interference or censorship from the federal government.<\/p>\n

If you would like more information about our work at the ACLJ, you can check out the Jay Sekulow<\/a> page on our website<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The dreaded so-called “Fairness Doctrine” has finally been put to rest. Over the years, nearly 250,000 of you have stood with us – ACLJ members and supporters – adding your name to petitions – sending a powerful message to Washington and the FCC – that regulations like the Fairness Doctrine are damaging and need to…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":401,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[307,308,141,310],"tags":[743,312,311,766,776,200,791,241,313],"class_list":["post-992","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fairness-doctrine","category-fcc","category-first-amendment","category-religious-broadcasting","tag-aclj","tag-censorship","tag-christian-broadcasting","tag-congress","tag-first-amendment","tag-free-speech","tag-jay-sekulow","tag-jay-sekulow-live","tag-julius-genachowski"],"yoast_head":"\nJay Sekulow: The Death of the Fairness Doctrine - Faith & Justice<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/2011\/08\/jay-sekulow-the-death-of-the-fairness-doctrine.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Jay Sekulow: The Death of the Fairness Doctrine - Faith & Justice\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The dreaded so-called “Fairness Doctrine” has finally been put to rest. 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He is also Chief Counsel of the European Centre for Law and Justice (ECLJ). Jay Sekulow is one of the leading defenders of constitutional rights and religious liberties in the United States. Over the past 25 years, Jay Sekulow has amassed an unparalleled record of accomplishment, arguing before the U.S. Supreme Court on 12 occasions. His aggressive litigation strategy before the Supreme Court has led to many landmark First Amendment victories. In his first case before the Supreme Court, Jews for Jesus, Jay Sekulow secured the right of religious groups to pass out tracks in airports. In Mergens, Jay Sekulow successfully protected the right of students to form Bible clubs and prayer groups on public school campuses. In Lamb\u2019s Chapel, Jay Sekulow cleared the way for churches to have equal access to public facilities in the same way that other groups are permitted to utilize those facilities. In the Bray and Operation Rescue cases, Jay Sekulow protected the free speech rights of pro-life advocates to be free from criminal prosecution for conveying their pro-life message. In McConnell v. FEC, Jay Sekulow protected the right of young people to engage in the political process by donating to the campaign of their choice. In Pleasant Grove, Jay Sekulow paved the way for governments to be able to display Ten Commandments monuments, and other monuments of their choosing, in public parks. Through the ACLJ, Jay Sekulow engages the political, legal, and cultural battles facing America today. He routinely works with Members of Congress, advising them on proposed legislation and representing them in critical legal matters. Jay Sekulow has also testified before Congress on the constitutionality of proposed legislation. Also, in addition to being a successful Supreme Court advocate, Jay Sekulow is a highly respected broadcaster. Jay Sekulow is the host of Jay Sekulow Live! which airs each weekday on over 850 radio stations nationwide, in addition Sirius and XM satellite radio. He brings insight and education to listeners daily through this national call-in radio program. He is also the host of the ACLJ This Week, the ACLJ\u2019s weekly television program. Jay Sekulow regularly appears on major media outlets, including FOX News, CNN, ABC, CBS, and NBC, where he is sought out for his vast experience in constitutional law and his unique insight into many of the pressing legal and political issues facing America today. He is frequently quoted in the nation's leading newspapers and often contributes opinion editorials to national publications. Jay Sekulow has also published numerous law review and other scholarly articles. Jay Sekulow has received numerous honors for his groundbreaking legal work in the area of free speech and religious liberties. The Legal Times has named Sekulow one of \u201cThe 90 Greatest Washington Lawyers of the Last 30 Years\u201d and the National Law Journal has twice named Sekulow one of the \u201c100 Most Influential Lawyers\u201d in the United States. In addition, TIME Magazine listed Jay Sekulow as one of the \"25 Most Influential Evangelicals\" in America. Jay Sekulow\u2019s legal work in defense of religious liberties and human rights extends beyond the United States, having founded the ECLJ in Strasbourg, France, which maintains consultative status with the United Nations. He has also opened offices in Pakistan, Africa, and Jerusalem, Israel. Jay Sekulow is a staunch defender of Israel, presenting arguments before the International Criminal Court at the Hague. His efforts in support of Israel\u2019s right to defend itself from terrorist attacks have been commended by Israeli government officials, one official stating, \"Jay was instrumentally-involved in projects that the President of Israel and the Prime Minister put on our national agenda.\" Jay Sekulow also has a passion for educating the next generation of religious liberty advocates. He is a member of the Regent University Law School Faculty as a Distinguished Professor of Law and routinely teaches courses on constitutional law and presents guest lectures. Jay Sekulow has also started educational programs in international human rights law in Strasbourg, France and at Handong University in South Korea. Jay Sekulow is a graduate of Mercer University, earning both a bachelor\u2019s degree and doctor of jurisprudence. Sekulow served on the editorial staff of the Mercer Law Review and graduated cum laude. He later earned a Ph.D. from Regent University, writing his dissertation on American Legal History. Jay Sekulow also serves on the Board of Trustees for The Supreme Court Historical Society in Washington, D.C. Jay Sekulow, ACLJ Chief Counsels full biography and video. Jay Sekulow on Facebook. Jay Sekulow on Twitter. Jay Sekulow on YouTube.","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/author\/jay_sekulow"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/992","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/401"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=992"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/992\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1004,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/992\/revisions\/1004"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=992"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=992"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=992"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}