Media Obligations
Do you feel that Media Sources should publish political antics when asked or is it up to them to choose which stand they take?
TV Station Refuses to Air Anti-War Ad
AP - A Utah television station is refusing to air an anti-war ad featuring Cindy Sheehan, whose son's death in Iraq prompted a vigil outside President Bush's Texas ranch.
Ref. https://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor...bush_ad_refused
I feel it is the media's job to report news, period. The idea of only reporting on more popular topics is lame and should be highly criticized by the American public. To add to that, an anti-war commercial should not be censored and should be allowed to air. That is suppression of freedom of speech simply because they don't like it or they think its unpopular. For some reason of late, protesting against war has been spoken out against harshly as something that makes you unpatriotic. But these people are clearly against the war and clearly on the side of the soldiers. Its our soldiers sacrifice for what they feel is an unjust cause that is prompting the protest. They are in their very essence, supporting our troops to the point of protesting their un-needed deaths. I feel sorry for the woman whose son died, and I am even more sorry that no one wants to listen to her tale. I am even more sorry that when she pays for a commercial to express her concern and outrage, that the media wont even take her money to let her speak. Its a shame when only popular ideas are allowed to be aired in the media and the downfall of free speech. In fact, despite the fact that I voted for Bush, I have seen more unpopular protests and speeches denied by the media during this administration than ever before. I hope that when he is out of office that his type of thing stops.
David Sirota: Only One Thing Left to Conclude: The Media Want the War
HuffingtonPost.com - Back in May when ABC News openly justified the media's refusal to cover the Iraq War, I thought it couldn't get worse. Then, a few months later, I saw that it could, as the Washington Post began trying to intimidate Democratic politicians and prevent them from standing up to voice opposition to the war. I figured that was rock bottom, but in recent days, we've seen that yes, the braindead insulated elitists in the Beltway media have found an even lower road to take than even this.
Ref. https://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor...huffpost/006102
I think the media should be forced to reveal its political alignment where appropriate.
There should be some form of legislation that forces media outlets to reveal when they are casting an opinion or news. Fox news is a prime example of why there needs to be tighter regulation of biased reporting.
If politicians and company directors are accountable for misleading their stakeholders by law (even though this isn't always the case), then the media should similarly be forced to reveal its bias to ensure it can not mislead the public with agenda driven comment.
You will never stop outlets from chasing higher rating stories, after all media outlets are businesses, but what you can do is provide a better framework for the public to digest information.
International Level: Negotiator / Political Participation: 453 45.3%
Fox's NY affiliate refuses Bush 'no clothes' ad
Reuters - A local affiliate of the Fox television network has rejected a campaign advertisement for a Democratic politician that lampoons President George W. Bush by superimposing his head on a naked torso.
Ref. https://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor...nm/media_fox_dc