Fairness Doctrine Debate, Canadian Radio, CHRI-FM

CANADIAN 'FAIRNESS'

Station Protests Forced Non-Christian Programming







While Americans continue to debate the possible reinstatement of the FCC's former Fairness Doctrine, where radio programming must be "balanced" with opposing views, our northern neighbor's own law provides an instructive lesson into this policy's grave dangers.

In Ottawa, Ontario, Christian music station CHRI-FM has been forced by the government to turn over a portion of its broadcast day for "alternative" religious views, according to the Ottawa Citizen.

Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism are some of the other faiths that must be represented on-air in order to appease the CRTC, Canada's version of the FCC.

To avoid triggering the requirement beyond a minimal weekly amount, CHRI actually downplays Christian teaching between songs. But now, CHRI-FM's owner wants to establish a spoken word religious station, which could create a potential programming nightmare: how could one satisfy the CRTC's thought police?

Amazingly, the policy was established with the stated desire to quash religious programming from the airwaves. Is Canada really a free country?

From the Ottawa Citizen's Jennifer Green:

But now Mr. Du Broy wants to start a new Christian station, WORD FM, aimed at the growing radio audience older than 45, many of whom want Christian programming, but not the racket of rock music.

It would offer more than two-thirds spoken-word broadcasting with programs such as Billy Graham's Hour of Decision and James Dobson's Focus Weekend.

Religious music needn't be offset with other faiths, but the broadcast regulator, the Canadian Radio- television and Telecommunications Commission, does require that spoken-word programming offer differing views. However, it is up to the applicant to propose just how this would be done.

Denis Carmel, the CRTC's director of public relations, said "It's unlikely that a single-faith station could be balanced (without some programming on other faiths)." Is it possible to get a licence without outside faith programming? "I'm not going to respond to that." Mr. Du Broy figures the CRTC will want at least one hour and 11 minutes a day devoted to other faiths. To get that figure, he multiplied 67 per cent (the amount of talking on air) by 7.35 per cent (number of non-Christians in the Ottawa area) to come up with 4.9 per cent of the 24-hour broadcast day, or 71 minutes.

The problem is, Christian radio listeners don't always care for the outside programming.

Many have enjoyed CHRI's Reflections on the Torah but Their Days, five-minute segments on Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism, have been less of a hit.

Mr. Du Broy says in his submission to the CRTC, "... on a regular basis we receive complaints from core listeners that a non-Christian message does not belong on a Christian radio station. Many listeners have told us that it is too good and may seduce young people into following other religions." Counterbalancing religious points of view may sound like taking political correctness to extremes, but it comes out of a tumultuous history of religious broadcasting, stretching back the 1920s, when fiery radio preachers thought nothing of insulting other faiths over the airwaves.

A royal commission banned religious broadcasting, formed the forerunner of the CBC, and established strong federal control over the airwaves until the 1980s when the broadcast universe exploded with new channels and radio frequencies.

What isn't working in Canada certainly has no place in America, does it? Look at the impact of governmental intrusion into broadcasting. If this doesn't hammer the point home, your Radio Equalizer doesn't know what could.

While reinstating America's version isn't on the table for now, it's highly likely to return under a Democrat president and Congress, especially at the point when the terms of Bush's FCC appointees have expired.

Is this really constructive for the US or any other country? Just ask a Christian in Canada.


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