Westside Steve Posted December 23, 2013 Report Share Posted December 23, 2013 this was a part of the welcome new guys thread but I thought it was interesting enough to have its own space. Does anyone remember the Fairness Doctrine? Wikipedia does an OK job of describing it: 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. Stations were given wide latitude as to how to provide contrasting views: It could be done through news segments, public affairs shows, or editorials. The doctrine did not require equal time for opposing views but required that contrasting viewpoints be presented. To my understanding, what the Fairness Doctrine really accomplished was establishing a firewall between the news room and the investors. That is, the monied interests that held stock in a broadcasting company could not dictate what kinds of news stories were covered or not covered, that was left to the editors/journalists for the most part. Not anymore, the Fairness Doctrine mostly went the way of the dodo during the Reagan Era. Now we live in the age of the never-ending editorial that daily promotes the interests of investors, whether they be left or right. The little guys are hosed....it was not really about "fairness" as in left or right, it was "fairness" as in rich or poor. Does anyone else now wonder about Fox's tagline "Fair and Balanced"? Kind of ironic it came out after most of the Fairness Doctrine had been abolished. MSNBC does the same shit too...of course. Morale of the story? Don't be a little guy...and, if someone brings up reinstating the Fairness Doctrine, you might want to give it some consideration. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MLD Woody Posted December 23, 2013 Report Share Posted December 23, 2013 Anchorman 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Westside Steve Posted December 24, 2013 Author Report Share Posted December 24, 2013 Two thoughts. First of all I don't see how you can make a fairness doctrine work. There are more than two legitimate standpoint for any issue you can imagine. Does that mean every crack pot with an idea gets equal time? That could take all day. And I will repeat I have no problem with Fox News. I have no problem with MSNBC save for the fact that I disagree with them most of the time. I would imagine that anyone who gets his or her news from one or the other of these stations is first probably more informed than 95 percent of the population and second quite aware which shows are opinion shows and which are news reporting. I understand that Sean Hannity Rachel Madow Bill O'Reilly and Al Sharpton are pundits. Unfortunately The New York and LA Times and the network news cast aren't nearly as transparent as those two cable outlets. But they lean left. Yet they all share a common goal, mainly to sell soap cars investments video games and rubbers. WSS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schopenhauer Posted January 16, 2014 Report Share Posted January 16, 2014 Two thoughts. First of all I don't see how you can make a fairness doctrine work. There are more than two legitimate standpoint for any issue you can imagine. Does that mean every crack pot with an idea gets equal time? That could take all day. My reading of the link I shared is that an opposing viewpoint is shared, not ALL possible viewpoints. Point is, things are not said that are not challenged by an opposition. Also, the doctrine did work for nearly 40 years. Many people on this forum reference that period of time as the good ole days, America's Heyday, etc. A single working parent could support a family... The key for me is the wider issues in society. It's tough to find a specific example of this, yet ethics programs were dropped from a high number of business schools during the 1970s. Many attribute it to "liberal education" (as in liberal arts) diverging from "professional education". In any case, it had a serious effect on business practice. It's the type of thing that made Oliver Stone's "Wall Street" possible with its "greed is good" ethos. The Fairness Doctrine was deactivated in this context...possibly because it was working as planned? And I will repeat I have no problem with Fox News. I have no problem with MSNBC save for the fact that I disagree with them most of the time. I would imagine that anyone who gets his or her news from one or the other of these stations is first probably more informed than 95 percent of the population and second quite aware which shows are opinion shows and which are news reporting. I understand that Sean Hannity Rachel Madow Bill O'Reilly and Al Sharpton are pundits. That quite an imagination you have there my brother. Mine differs from yours. The opinions are embedded in the news. Put another way, the "news" presents the opportunity to insert the opinion or, put another way, the way the news is framed IS an opinion... Were you aware that Bain Capital owns ClearChannel for instance? That means Mitt Romney basically owns both...so, with Bain Capital related to genetically modified crops, do you think ClearChannel is going to present the opinion that GMOs are bad? That's where "fairness" comes into play. Ever hear anyone compare Romney and Gordon Gecko from "Wall Street"? They do...for a reason. Unfortunately The New York and LA Times and the network news cast aren't nearly as transparent as those two cable outlets. But they lean left. Yet they all share a common goal, mainly to sell soap cars investments video games and rubbers. WSS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DieHardBrownsFan Posted January 16, 2014 Report Share Posted January 16, 2014 Herr Schopenhauer only mentions the bad republicans. Not members of the Obammy/Holder Nazi's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Westside Steve Posted January 17, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 17, 2014 I don't think it's imagination whatsoever to expect people who regularly watch Fox News or MSNBC are more informed than 95 percent of the population. Of course I just pulled the number 95 out of my ass but you understand. People who choose to spend time watching political shows probably care a lot more than your average voter. Anyway the fairness doctrine seems to be an end run around freedom of speech but its pretty easily defended against. As a matter of fact if I owned a station and was doing the news and I wanted to make one side or the other sound better or worse it's easy to do without any great obvious writing. an example might be placement of the opposing viewpoint. Tell the story you want believed to go after your lead story as a rebuttal. Leaves the audience with the rebuttal in mind. If you have two opinions select someone charismatic for the one you like and less so for the one you don't. Fair and balanced, I assume, prefers to the old days when almost every news outlet including the 3 networks and almost every newspaper cleaned left. You never even heard the stories that fox airs. People with a particular viewpoint will seek out news outlets that support their beliefs, not vice versa. PS I have absolutely no fear, 0, zip, zilch none of Bain Capital. They are just the boogeyman of the left. WSS WSS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MLD Woody Posted January 17, 2014 Report Share Posted January 17, 2014 Thanks to this forum I read more right wing news than left, lol . Aren't there studies out there about how informed to viewers of certain networks are? Edit: http://www.businessinsider.com/study-watching-fox-news-makes-you-less-informed-than-watching-no-news-at-all-2012-5 There it is. Or at least an article referencing it (I'm on my phone) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DieHardBrownsFan Posted January 17, 2014 Report Share Posted January 17, 2014 I find the foreign news much more accurate and way less biased. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Westside Steve Posted January 17, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 17, 2014 For the record Woodrow I watch Fox and MSNBC as well as some CNN and the sunday morning talk shows. Well Fox Sunday morning and George Stephanopoulos. PBS too. WSS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Westside Steve Posted January 17, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 17, 2014 I find the foreign news much more accurate and way less biased.That could be, die hard. They don't really have a political agenda for us besides how it affects themselves. We tend to dwell on the minutae of American politics that probably don't matter at all to the rest of the world. Still I would imagine, & I don't know because I don't read the French papers, most of what they write about is Francocentric so I wouldn't care about it either. Also they have their own list of prejudices and enemies which don't necessarily mirror ours. WSS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schopenhauer Posted January 17, 2014 Report Share Posted January 17, 2014 Lead you horses to water and you piss in it. Stay thirsty my friends!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Westside Steve Posted January 17, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 17, 2014 Thanks to this forum I read more right wing news than left, lol . Aren't there studies out there about how informed to viewers of certain networks are? Edit: http://www.businessinsider.com/study-watching-fox-news-makes-you-less-informed-than-watching-no-news-at-all-2012-5 There it is. Or at least an article referencing it (I'm on my phone) http://dailycaller.com/2012/04/22/science-say-gop-voters-better-informed-open-minded/#! WSS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schopenhauer Posted January 17, 2014 Report Share Posted January 17, 2014 Herr Schopenhauer only mentions the bad republicans. Not members of the Obammy/Holder Nazi's. Actually, I am pretty timely. Notice in this article from December 2013 that it mentions the GOP resisting bringing back the fairness doctrine. Wonder why? Hmmmm. Cuz they BENEFIT from it not being around? BTW, don't see you praising any lefties either in this forum. Pot meet kettle. Are you still steaming cuz Alberto Gonzalez had to resign during the Bush presidency? Permit me to say, guys like you need to stay inside your comfort zone...that is the reason for your meaningless one liners, and your rejection of things you know nothing about...and your need to project your behavior on others to put them down. You really are pretty messed up. Good luck with that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DieHardBrownsFan Posted January 17, 2014 Report Share Posted January 17, 2014 Heil Schopenhauer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MLD Woody Posted January 17, 2014 Report Share Posted January 17, 2014 Steve, I ended up taking this quiz http://www.pewresearch.org/quiz/the-news-iq-quiz/ while looking at what you posted and surfing the interwebz. I got 10/13 right. There is a breakdown at the end of who got stuff right and who didn't. I also took an IQ test and did pretty well. Ha! lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MLD Woody Posted January 17, 2014 Report Share Posted January 17, 2014 http://dailycaller.com/2012/04/22/science-say-gop-voters-better-informed-open-minded/#! WSS I'm not sure what that means in reference to what I posted. Also, I don't really care about Dems or Reps. I think aligning yourself with a political party and then blindly following it is dumb. Also, I can find a bunch of studies that people on this site wouldn't like... http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/02/26/liberals.atheists.sex.intelligence/ that is CNN referencing a study showing liberals and atheists have a higher IQ http://pss.sagepub.com/content/early/2012/01/04/0956797611421206.abstract that is the abstract to a study stating the low IQ is linked to racism and socially conservative ideals So I mean, take them for what you will. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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