> The fairness doctrine had two basic elements: It required broadcasters to devote some of their airtime to discussing controversial matters of public interest, and to air contrasting views regarding those matters. [0]
Modern Fox News often satisfies the letter of the fairness doctrine when they invite allegedly nonpartisan figures on to interview. For example, when Andrew Ngo mischaracterizes left-wing protests in Seattle, that’s a contrasting view.
Since enforcement was left up to the ruling party’s FCC, the effects were predictable:
> While the original purpose of the doctrine was to ensure that viewers were exposed to a diversity of viewpoints, it was used by the Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon administrations to combat political opponents operating on talk radio and television. [0]
It’s very unclear how a Fairness Doctrine-like could function in today’s legal environment. SCOTUS has made it nearly impossible for any federal agency to levy fines or adjudicate rule-breaking.
> Currently no single company can own stations reaching more than 39% of TV households in America. Nexstar's proposed acquisition of Tegna would bring that combined company's reach to about 80%; double the current limit. The FCC is also expected to review a rule - tossed out by a federal appeals court in July - that a single company cannot own 2 of the top 4 TV stations in a market. In Denver, Nexstar already owns Fox 31 and Channel 2. The proposed merger would add 9 News and Channel 20. The CEO of Nexstar has said that multiple stations in the same city will be combined.
Who remembers why we are opposed to corporate consolidation in the media, given "fake news" and "media literacy" in their - the only - two corners?
From https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35676503 re: labels for state-funded and (S)PAC-funded media (and now sermons, too, of late, btw):
> Media literacy > Media literacy education: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Media_literacy#Media_literacy_...
Though these are or would be Nexstar FOX stations, this film from the tumultuous and still unpaid-for wars of the 2000s is relevant again today:
"Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism" (2004) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outfoxed :
> "Fair and Balanced"
The internet says Trump hired Fox News execs Aisles (former RNC chair, former CEO of Fox News) in 2016, and Shine (O'Reilly) in 2018. 21st Century Fox sold to Disney in 2019. Fox News is now a wholly separate company from 21st Century Fox and Fox Theatres.
Now that the federal government has de-funded The Corporation for Public Broadcasting and thereby PBS and NPR, do they still have to carry the "state-sponsored media label"?
Oligarchy > United States: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oligarchy#United_states
3eb7988a1663•4mo ago