Journalism organization opposes Fairness Doctrine

The nation’s largest organization of professional journalists announced Tuesday it will oppose the reintroduction of the Fairness Doctrine.

The Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) announced it would stand against the Fairness Doctrine, which the group said would allow the government to control broadcast editorial content.

The announcement makes for strange bedfellows with conservatives in Congress, who have alleged the Fairness Doctrine would result in severe constraints on their talk radio base, including superstars like Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity.

“SPJ in general opposes government intervention on speech. The Fairness Doctrine does that and discussion about having it again should end,” SPJ President Dave Aeikens said in a statement. “The SPJ Code of Ethics requires fairness in news coverage, but we don’t want the government to mandate that.”

Though legislation to institute the Fairness Doctrine has not yet been introduced this Congress, some House Democratic leaders have indicated that they favor its eventual passage.