Re:TikTok’s Chinese owner offers to forego stake to clinch U...
by MiroF on Saturday August 01, 2020 @12:21PM
(#24021648)
> But there's little precedent for media companies to take action in US politics overtly
Sorry, but are we in the same country?
Re:TikTok’s Chinese owner offers to forego stake to clinch U...
by qppo on Saturday August 01, 2020 @12:11PM
(#24021552)
There is extreme precedent, media companies have been political for their entire history. They're pretty tame today for what it's worth, William Randolph Hearst started a war to sell newspapers.
Re:TikTok’s Chinese owner offers to forego stake to clinch U...
by rileymat2 on Saturday August 01, 2020 @12:18PM
(#24021615)
> But there's little precedent for media companies to take action in US politics overtly.
Newspapers routinely make political endorsements, that is overt.
But there's little precedent for media companies to take action in US politics overtly. (IANAL, but I suspect there are legal impediments as well). Taking a political stand, or providing support for one side, might force big tech companies to resolve the ambiguity as to whether they're media companies or not.
EDIT: Actually maybe there is nothing stopping tech companies from choosing a side; apparently media companies do make political contribitions: https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2010/08/news-corps-million-...
EDIT 2: I can see I've accidentally opened a can of worms about biased coverage and editorials; but my usage of "support" was intended as overt and consistent involvement in political campaigning, generally through donations. And to my surprise, that does occur.