Re:Facebook Indefinitely Suspends Trump
by roywiggins on Thursday January 07, 2021 @11:43AM
(#25673323)
The fairness doctrine never applied to cable channels. The only reason it was plausibly Constitutional was the use of the airways, which are considered a public resource. Private cables strung by private companies into private homes were never regulated by the fairness doctrine.
Re:Facebook Indefinitely Suspends Trump
by technofiend on Thursday January 07, 2021 @11:55AM
(#25673519)
I stand corrected about cable networks. But my thesis that allowing one-sided broadcasting of views still stands: it insulates people from contrasting views and makes them uncomfortable with having those views challenged. I'm not suggesting we go the route of state run media, but state regulation of media may come about thanks to what happened yesterday.
Re:Facebook Indefinitely Suspends Trump
by roywiggins on Thursday January 07, 2021 @12:26PM
(#25674079)
Seems to me, at least on cable, people are only as insulated as they want to be. They can always change the channel to one of any of several hundred others. There are more views being expressed on cable than were ever allowed on the airwaves during the fairness doctrine era.
Some of those channels are spewing hateful horseshit, but with dozens of channels to choose from, you can't blame the medium for people being insulated. They keep the dial tuned to Fox News because they like it.
Unfortunately I don't think it's that black-and-white. Fox News is a small part of the information bubble, which includes other sources like YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, etc. And there's evidence that social media addiction is real. So the content is feeding into a positive feedback loop that prevents people from regulating their ability to tune into something else.
This doesn't absolve the viewers from responsibility, but it also doesn't place it entirely on their shoulders.
Re:Facebook Indefinitely Suspends Trump
by klondike_ on Thursday January 07, 2021 @11:50AM
(#25673440)
Fox is broadcast over the air in many areas
Re:Facebook Indefinitely Suspends Trump
by kube-system on Thursday January 07, 2021 @12:28PM
(#25674120)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fox_Broadcasting_Company
is different than
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fox_News
which is not available on any terrestrial OTA channels
Re:Facebook Indefinitely Suspends Trump
by roywiggins on Thursday January 07, 2021 @12:22PM
(#25673988)
Yes, but the stuff that people find most objectionable- the Fox opinion shows, Hannity etc- have their home on Fox-the-cable-channel. They might get picked up on some Fox affiliates (though I doubt it, they're the special sauce that gets people to pay for cable), but the engine of the thing is the cable channel.
Re:Facebook Indefinitely Suspends Trump
by lotsofpulp on Thursday January 07, 2021 @12:00PM
(#25673610)
The programming on Fox broadcast channels is different than Fox News, which is specifically transmitted via cable or satellite and, legally, not via public airwaves. Fox broadcast channels are subject to the same laws as other broadcast channels.
What happened yesterday in Washington, DC may prove a counterpoint to 1st amendment claims that all speech should be allowed, regardless of consequences.
Edit: I see I was wrong about Fox as it is a cable network and not broadcast over public airwaves. I still think their viewers are insulated from opposing viewpoints and that's part of the problem.