Reply #8: My first thoughts were of a new set of FCC regulations... but I think that could backfire. [View All]

Possibly laying heavy fines on any show, or network, that uses "NEWS" in it's title, yet doesn't adhere to journalistic ethics standards.

Standards like:
Don't mix editorial with facts. All too often these days, the bare facts are not presented by themselves, like they should be. They are often garnished by a mix of speculation, and colored by opinion. When presented in this fashion, it is difficult to distinguish between what is pure fact, and what is speculation.

Example:

Pure fact is the straight scoop. No embellishments. "the sky is blue now, this morning it was a mixture of reds purples, and oranges."
Pure fact = "President Barack Obama will be delivering a televised address about education. It will be aired in public schools nationwide."

Speculation is essentially a guess. It is usually identified by key phrases like "I'll bet" or "I'm guessing that"...
Speculation = "The press release says it's about education, but I'll bet he will sneak a bit about healthcare reform in there somewhere."

Opinion is a personal belief, or thought. it is usually identified by key phrases like "I think" or "I believe".
Opinion = "I believe this is nothing but a blatant attempt to push his agenda on us by influencing our children."

Opinion and Speculation delivered as fact is really confusing, and sometimes purposely misleading. There are no key words or phrases to identify the statements as opinion or speculation. There presentation, though not based on fact, are delivered as such.
Opinion and Speculation delivered as fact = "Barack Obama is leading a bunch of Muslim Nazi Communists in a coup against our government! He's going to indoctrinate our children! You need to panic and lock yourselves in your basements and wrap your family up with plastic sheeting and duct tape."

If you have an opinion about something, save it for the editorial segment. You know, the part that was usually preceded by a statement like "The following opinion does not necessarily reflect the opinion of this show, this station, or our sponsors..etc"


A simple standard like that could be enforceable. It would also curb Fox's ability to mislead others... no doubt they will still try.