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1. The scarcity argument. Is conservative dominance of commercial talk radio
distorting the national debate about public policy issues?

- Americans have never enjoyed so many professional sources of news and
opinion. Americans can choose from a dozen or more daily network television
news shows, 10 separate 24/7 cable news and public affairs channels, 1,400
daily newspapers, and more than 2,200 radio stations airing news/talk

- The Internet has exponentially increased the availability of news sources.
Thanks to the Internet, Americans are no longer limited to local media. Any
St. Louis resident with a modem can read the Sacramento Bee and listen to
political talk radio stations in Washington, D.C. The World Wide Web has
pushed the number of daily news sources available well into the thousands for
anybody with Internet access, and 70 percent or more of Americans are on line.

- Only 7 percent of American adults consider radio to be their main source for
news and information. Fifty-five percent rely primarily on television news,
a ratio of nearly 8 to 1. The Newspaper Association of America says 57 percent
of American adults read a newspaper every day.

2. The censorship argument. Are Americans hearing both sides of debates about
controversial public policy issues, or are liberal voices being shut out?

- Liberal voices are well represented in talk radio, and are available to anyone
with a modem or an FM radio. Six of the top 25 commercial talk radio hosts
are liberals. The commercial Air America network, created to spread liberal
ideas, has 55 stations broadcasting over the air. Twenty-six of these stations
also stream over the Internet, as do hundreds of public radio stations.
Noncommercial public radio has more than 800 stations with a total weekly
news/talk audience of 14 million. At least 850 of the nation’s 2,200 talk stations
air mostly liberal programming.

- Radio is only one slice of the pie. Major liberal-leaning sources of news and
opinion reach a far greater audience than conservative-leaning sources.
Audience reach and circulation statistics illustrate the liberal domination of the
five major information media, two of which have no conservative sources:

> Broadcast TV news, millions/day Liberal 42.1 Conservative 0
> Top 25 newspapers, millions/day Liberal 11.7 Conservative 1.3
> Cable TV news, millions/month Liberal 182.8 Conservative 61.6
> Top talk radio, millions/week Liberal 24.5 Conservative 87.0
> Newsweeklies, millions/week Liberal 8.5 Conservative 0

3. The public interest argument. Would the Fairness Doctrine increase or reduce
discussion about public policy issues? History says speech would be curtailed.

- When the Fairness Doctrine was in effect, talk radio avoided controversial
topics. Most stations programmed only general talk and advice.

- Politicians repeatedly have used the Fairness Doctrine to chill speech. John
F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson both used the Fairness Doctrine to stifle
criticism, suppress the speech of political adversaries, and force radio stations
to provide free air time.

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Palin asked the students to pray for the troops in Iraq, and noted that her eldest son, Track, was expected to be deployed there.
"Our national leaders are sending them out on a task that is from God," she said. "That's what we have to make sure that we're praying for, that there is a plan and that plan is God's plan."

A video of the speech was posted at the Wasilla Assembly of God's Web site before finding its way on to other sites on the Internet.

Palin told graduating students of the church's School of Ministry, "What I need to do is strike a deal with you guys." As they preached the love of Jesus throughout Alaska, she said, she'd work to implement God's will from the governor's office, including creating jobs by building a pipeline to bring North Slope natural gas to North American markets.

"God's will has to be done in unifying people and companies to get that gas line built, so pray for that," she said.

"I can do my job there in developing our natural resources and doing things like getting the roads paved and making sure our troopers have their cop cars and their uniforms and their guns, and making sure our public schools are funded," she added. "But really all of that stuff doesn't do any good if the people of Alaska's heart isn't right with God."