Feb 20, 2021
Rush Limbaugh’s death on Wednesday brings to an end not only an era of conservative broadcasting that may never be matched, but also opens the door for Congress to try again to put an end to the genre that Limbaugh created.
From humble roots as a disc jockey in Western Pennsylvania, Rush ushered in a new era of broadcasting, taking advantage of a unanimous 1987 decision by the Reagan FCC that abolished the Fairness Doctrine, a 1949 rule that essentially prevented radio and television stations from airing programming that failed to represent opposing views.
Dennis Patrick, chairman of the commission that voted to repeal the doctrine, said, “We seek to extend to the electronic press the same First Amendment guarantees that the print media have enjoyed since our country’s inception.”