"Simply reinstating the Fairness Doctrine will do little..."

Following up on another thread of this morning, perhaps it's time once again to review this pivotal report on media accountability that Free Press and the Center for American Progress published last year. An excerpt:

Simply reinstating the Fairness Doctrine will do little to address the gap between conservative and progressive talk unless the underlying elements of the public trustee doctrine are enforced, in particular, the requirements of local accountability and the reasonable airing of important matters. The key principle here is not shutting down one perspective or another – it is making sure that communities are informed about a range of local and national public affairs...

http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2007/06/talk_radio.html

NGU.

there were 3 major networks, a viable PBS, and, literally thousands of competing radio stations.

Two things happened that make it unworkable today.
a) the inter-tubes
b) massive corporate consolidation and buyouts.

If we do nothing, here's what happens: the MSM of today continues to die a very slow, painful death, starting with their print outlets. Viewership of boredcast and cable news programs will continue to wither and die, and radio listening will become a thing of the past, or in an emergency, temporarily only, the present. People will continue to flock to the tubes (the intertubes) for information, AND for the first time, communication. That latter ability has really put the knife into the aorta of corporate owned MSM.

What is really funny is their response to a growing economic problem. They dug a ditch, putting News together with entertainment. The ditch got much wider when they consolidated, created media monsters never before imagined, and then they began to dig. Deeply, endlessly, forcing news to become profit centers. In the process, they fucked over the ability to gather, investigate, and report the news. Now that profits are falling, they fail to recognize that their product is what sucks. Instead, they respond with more cuts.

Think of a toilet just used, and now flushed. The water comes up a bit,then it begins to rotate, spin, and woosh, all gone. That perfectly describes MSM today. the flush is about halfway done, the worst is yet to come.



Corporations have killed their own golden goose. For them, federal rules like the fairness doctrine provide them with a tiny opportunity to increase profits. IF the govt. pays them for "lost revenue" to air the competing voices. No fairness doctrine. Let them die their own death.

People need and want news, and will pay for it. Once they shed off papers, radio, TV and more, those individual entities will start up, and do a far better job than the megacorpse of today.

...localize the media than to reinstate the FD.

NGU.

The idea that the FD isn't a simple one step fix does not prove that it will be bad and have negative consequences. Therefore, there is no reason to not have it reinstated, as long as people realize that more steps should be taken.

I read it back when it first came out, but I recall the point being that the FD will really do little, compared to other more fundamental changes.

NGU.

I have no issue with that.



Its like, if we found a way while research hydrogen powered vehicles to make all cars go 2 MPG extra...and people say, no, thats just a little compared to the hydrogen powered vehicles and won't fix anything...whats the point? I think we should take whatever we should get really. With a looming democratic congress and president, lets not fall in the trap of being told what not to pass, not because its bad, but because its not good enough. This country is in a dark crevice, and it would be sad to squander any of that power, period, that we may use to fix this mess.

Just that it isn't the panacea that the left thinks it is.

NGU.

without the free speech issues.