We Speak For Earth

usagov:

Is it a violation of the FCC rules for the TV Media to knowingly falsify a news report. And if so what rule is that? Thank you

Anonymous

The Communications Act of 1934 created the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and provided the basis for how it works. It is a violation of the Act for broadcast media to knowingly falsify a news report. The FCC may penalize broadcasters for doing so.

However, another important goal of the Act was to protect free speech. So, the FCC must have real proof that the broadcaster lied on purpose before it can take action. An example of this kind of evidence might be sworn testimony from “insiders” with direct personal knowledge of an intentional falsification of the news. That’s a high bar, but Congress’s intention was to make it very hard for the government to intimidate or control broadcasters.

Learn more about how the FCC works to balance free speech and regulations or file a complaint against a broadcaster.

Ask usagov a question #communications #laws

USA.gov’s tumblr addresses a GREAT freaking question (here)… for some reason, it’s not rebloggable - So I just copy/pasted it.

Now, it’d be interesting to look at our current rules, compare them to former legislation (like the “fairness doctrine”), and to perhaps consider other ways of evaluating ill intent - or ill consequence - by news corporations (e.g. that their viewers are somehow much more ignorant of certain topics than the rest of the news). Maybe News Corporations could be graded by taking those evaluations into consideration. Wouldn’t it be interesting to see a “B” or “A+” or “D” when certain news shows start-up, which would inform viewers to be wary of its objectivity and accuracy?

I wonder if any News Corporations come to mind…

Oh, and let’s fix that reblog glitch by reblogging the hell out of this. Let’s raise this issue - cause there’s no reason why people shouldn’t discuss how to improve the accuracy of information fed to the public as “fair and balanced” news.