Quotes & amp;amp; Notes

by Inlander Staff


40,000


Number of hours of conservative broadcasts on the radio every week nationally, according to a June study by Democracy Radio





3,000


Number of hours of liberal programming, as gauged by that same study





3


Number of conservative pundits who have -- so far -- been found to have been paid by the Bush administration to support the president's policies in their columns and programs





"Did I violate journalistic ethics by not disclosing it? I don't know. You tell me."


-- columnist Maggie Gallagher, who cashed a $21,000 check from taxpayers to promote the president's pro-marriage policies and never told her readers about it, as quoted in the Washington Post





"Our agenda ought to be able to stand on its own two feet."


-- President Bush on Jan. 25, after denouncing the payments to pundits and saying the practice will stop





"I haven't taken a journalism class since high school. But even then, I think they said you shouldn't be on the government payroll. It's KGB-ish."


-- James Pinkerton, a Newsday columnist who worked


in the White House for six years under Reagan and Bush I





1949


The year the Fairness Doctrine was created, requiring that holders of broadcasting licenses ensure that fairness and balance be achieved in their programming





1987


The year the Fairness Doctrine was dropped as a requirement by the Federal Communications Commission





77


The percentage of Americans who believe the Fairness Doctrine should be reinstated, as found in a study commissioned by Media Matters for America





$7.7 million


The amount of fines levied by the Federal Communications Commission in 2004 -- not for lack of fairness in the media, but for indecency





Publication date: 2/03/05