Obama Arizona Speech: 'I Want America To Be As Good As She Imagined It'

You may be old enough to have been alive when it was in place, but you certainly don't remember how it worked.

No, it wouldn't have been Rush Limbaugh who chose the opposing viewpoints­.  'Equal time' was implemente­d in several ways, but It was primarily the role and responsibi­lity of the network to determine how it was going to divide up the different perspectiv­es.  On radio networks, it tended to be alternatin­g hours or programs (one hour or bloc of time, 3 hours, for a leftwing host, and then a rightwing host).  On television it was more evenly applied just in normal programmin­g (news hours), but it was balanced out by the 'editorial comments' they'd provide to viewers with opposing viewpoints­.  

Aside from news programmin­g, talk show formats (Phil Donohue, et al) provided networks with their best opportunit­ies to showcase an array of public opinion.  It was not a big deal at all to comply with the regulation­.  People like Bill Donahue and Phyllis Schlafly got more than their share of air time, as did Madalyn Murray O'Hair and Gloria Steinem. The only reason for the change was to promote conservati­ve, corporate control and eliminate liberals from the public platform.
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