Is there a way that Media outlets could be fined for repeating falsehoods

and perhaps for selectively using only part of a quote to give the wrong impression?

http://www.crooksandliars.com/2008/06/08/judge-dismisses-lawsuit-against-fox-news-for-reporting-bogus-story-calls-doocy-kilmeade-gullible/

http://www.relfe.com/media_can_legally_lie.html

This is why I regard everything on FOX News as a lie.

country to be the kind that the media would have to be held accountable for their Goebbels Propaganda Machine.

is to go outside the system. If you want to bring about change.

That is the real question that each person needs to answer.

You really want the government to tell us what's "true" and what's not and to be able to punish those in violation?

For example, when FOX news said the Chinese are drilling off the coast of Florida when they are not and it can be proven easily then hell yes they should be fined for that. You can't just pull shit out of your ass and call it truth and get away with it. We as people should be able to sue them for fucking up our country with their propaganda.

or it could be fined for willful behavior, provided that the FCC restablished the regulatory systemm it had in place for 50 years prior to the middle of the Reagan Administration.

Nothing like Fox "news" or hate radio would have become established or persisted with impunity- not only because of regulatory concerns, but because industry standards (and consumer expectations) wouldn't have permitted it.

If you want to see what that looks like, travel to any other western nation and watch and listen to their news =then comapre and constrast it to what you see or hear every day in the US. Or ask someone from abroad who's been in the states for awhile what they think of what Americans have to choose from.

Fox news is a cable network, not subject to federal regulation.

The idea that the government should ensure "truth" is a scary one.

"We are owned by people in an elite club" then our masters will do just as you fear the government will do. After all, they own the government, not us. We are screwed either way. At least if there is a court of law we could argue our case. Seems to me there could be some kind of checks and balance system set up to allow people to sue the media for lies.

it's called the remote control. Don't watch it.

But the notion that the government should have the power to make the media be "truthful" is just a scary one, and contrary to the most basic ideals of this country.

and there's no reason why the Cable Act of 1984 shouldn't be substantially revised- as it hasn't (and never really did) fulfil its major purposes.

And no, it's not "scary" that governments set up adversarial processes to ensure that corporate media oligopolies (or monopolies) don't willfully spread false statements of fact- unless of course you're also afraid of say- the FTC regulating false advertising, or the FDA regulting false medical claims, etc. It's essentially the same thing.

Bottom line is that Americans have a dysfunctional system in place due to the lack of responsible regulation and objective standards that's far more dangerous and dysfunctional to democracy and rational public policymaking than anything that would EVER have been imagined in the 1980's (before the "free" market fanatics corrupted the long time staus quo).

Like I said, if you want to see what it might be like- travel to another western nation, say Australia or Britain and have a look at what their citizens get to watch.

which is generally understood to refer to the cable news network.

But I just think people are nuts if they think the government can or should or will make the media more to their liking.

And if they get a right wing judge appointed by the Bushes or Reagan it might work.

Is this based on some independent arbeiter or whom? Watch out...this is slippery slope material.

The best way to punish a network...don't watch.

with the same sets of due process rights that everyone else gets....

The government determining what is a falsehood, or what the right impression for a quote is? This doesn't sound like a good idea at all ...

there is a responsibility for a news show, a level of integrity it is supposed to maintain. This would mean that when they found they were wrong, they would report that and apologize. It would mean they wouldn't call an election because a Bush relative who was working there during the election "just talked to Jeb and he says we're gonna win florida!" which then was reported as news.

We should complain about this and they should be fined for it because they are not upholding the rules of journalism. They don't source things anymore and they report rumor as fact. I'm not talking about "opinion" shows -- but news shows.

Is that going to happen? No way -- they've got all of those folks in their pockets. MOCK them publicly for the sham they are. It is an outrage to me that they can lie to the American people under the guise of news and the acceptance of this kind of behavior is not helping. I don't mean that to pick on what anyone else said here; I mean that we have been so worn down through gradual reduction in standards that we forget what it should be. It is akin to abuse of any kind. this is just one part of the puzzle, but it is an important part of it without which they could not function effectively and would be brought to account for their actions (the crooks and liars; abusers of American people).

Journalists are supposed to care about their integrity and in that way, self-regulate. The audience, in the past, would no longer find someone credible who lied and reported things based on rumor -- so it self-regulated. Shame is out of style now in journalism and so we find people being rewarded for shrillness.

We should still object and demand better. It matters because it poisons the minds of voting Americans and generates hate based on inaccurate and often untruthful representations of events. Write them, object vocally, take your eyeballs elsewhere and let them know WHY.

the government should not fine them for failing to uphold the rules of journalism. That's absurd.

They're selling a product. If people stop buying it, they'll change.

There aren't simple bumpersticker solutions to serious problems, and this is just one more facile attempt to resolve a complex problem with no regard for the real consequences.


The media have never been unbiased. Ever. Expecting the government to fix it is just naive and ultimately scary. I don't want the government to have the power to rule what is true and what is not, and to sanction people for speaking what they decide is untrue. A few minutes thought about what this could lead to would disabuse most people of this silly idea.

any type of regulation against the cable networks. The regular network operates as though they are cable. They should have their licenses yanked.

But who regulates the newspaper? Is that the FCC as well? Doesn't seem like it would be. :shrug:

Are you serious?

Did you go to junior high? God, this place is scary sometimes.