FCC Study of News Gathering Raises First Amendment Concerns - Yahoo Voices
1. FCC Study of News Gathering Raises First Amendment
Concerns - Yahoo Voices
COMMENTARY | According to Fox News, conservatives and civil libertarians are alarmed at a
proposal by the FCC to insert researchers in news rooms across the country to find out how news
stories are selected and reported.
The purpose of the study is to, "identify and understand the critical information needs of the
American public, with special emphasis on vulnerable-disadvantaged populations."
The fear is that this is an attempt by the Obama administration to pressure news organizations to
cover stories that it favors. Even just having researchers in the behest click through the following
document of the FCC, which hands out licenses to radio and TV stations, asking questions of
reporters and producers is seen as exercising not so subtle pressure. It is a small step from that to
having government minders in every news organization, approving and disapproving what goes on
the air or gets into print.
The question arises, how is it that anyone thinks that this is a good idea? The answer lies in the
record of the Obama administration of flouting the Constitution, ranging from IRS harassment of tea
party and conservative groups, NSA spying, and the president's tendency to be his own legislative
branch with his pen and his phone.
The news media has undergone a revolution in recent decades, with a wide variety of viewpoints and
way in which the news is seen, ranging from the left with MSNBC and NPR to the mainstream right
with Fox News, talk radio, and certain parts of the Internet. Just about everything that can be
covered is covered somewhere. All one has to do is to google and see.
So, in a sense, this my sources proposal is a study of a problem that doesn't actually exist. The media
universe is a vibrant, sometimes contentious place, with lots of argument and lots of diversity. That
may be the actual problem, from the point of view of the Obama administration. Too much media
diversity means too much criticism of the current regime and its policies. Clearly they need to find
out why that is and, if possible, put a stop to that.
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