It's Time for Media Control

Townhall.com ^ | December 23, 2012 | Derek Hunter

[Kaslin]

Was there anything about the Sandy Hook massacre the media got right on the day it happened? In their rush to be first, they ignored their obligation to be right. Nearly every detail they disseminated Friday was wrong, even down to the name of the killer. Their desire to sensationalize had them shoving microphones in the faces of children who couldn’t possibly comprehend the events of the day. This was just the latest example of how out of control and dangerous the media has become, and it’s time government did something to protect us.

You’re probably asking yourself, “What about the First Amendment? Freedom of the press means we can’t regulate them, right?” Technically, yes. But since they, en masse, want to ignore the Second Amendment, to claim since it was written in a time of muskets, it is outdated and doesn’t apply to new guns, let’s apply the same to the First.

The First Amendment was written in a time of movable type printing presses and quills, not 24-hour cable news channels and the Internet. Using the media’s logic, the First Amendment doesn’t apply.

I’m not suggesting we should simply outlaw any media outside of print, but if we can limit the Second Amendment however we like, we can do the same to the First.

Congress should impose massive fines on those who get facts wrong. Not newspaper reporters – that’s dealt with a different way. But TV. As liberals love to remind us, broadcasters make their living over “public airwaves.” Conveying false information over them is a violation of the trust placed in those institutions by the public and should be punished.

The media would like to punish innocent gun owners for the actions of a tiny amount of guilty ones, so all media should be regulated because of the actions of a few bad ones.

NBC News, which I’m told was once a respected news organization, deliberately edited the 911 call in the Trayvon Martin case to make George Zimmerman sound racist when he was simply answering the dispatcher’s question. In the same case, the New York Times created a new race of humans – the “white Hispanic” – specifically to sensationalize that case into a racial issue. Although The Times is in print and thus protected, it also published that story on the Internet, which is not. Let’s punish The Times.

Zimmerman is suing NBC News and should win easily. But government could impose a minimum fine of, say, $1 billion for each offense. Doing so would bring about the end of the race to be first and restore the drive to be right. It also would ruin NBC News.

Media regulation could also be used to stop networks from conferring the fame on these the monsters they so desperately seek. They’re dead, but their name lives on in infamy, which is exactly what they want. Mentioning their name could be outlawed too.

All of this, of course, is absurd. The American people never would stand for it. We all exercise our free speech rights on a daily basis, and we’d never sit by and watch government outlaw speech. But many do exactly that with other parts of the First Amendment, particularly the religious freedom clause, and the Second.

No one would tolerate the creation of some sort of “special circumstances” where the Fifth Amendment wouldn’t apply and someone could be forced to testify in a criminal case against themselves – but somehow the Second is fair game.

How many laws did the Sandy Hook monster break in committing these murders? Why did he not respect the gun ban in the school? Because he was crazy. (That’s not to say he was stupid. Stupid and crazy, often used interchangeably, are two entirely different things.) Why aren’t we looking to see what warning signs were ignored by those around him and alert people to be on the lookout for those in others rather than the knee-jerk response of infringing on the rights of innocent Americans?

Liberals have a tradition of vilifying innocent people with the guilt of others. When Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, Democrat FDR had Japanese Americans rounded up and essentially imprisoned for the sin of being Japanese. At its core, that’s what’s happening here.

Rather than focus on why this madman committed this heinous crime so we can prevent similar acts by equally ill people in the future, elected Democrats are ready yet again to impose government into areas the document they swore an oath to preserve, protect and defend expressly forbids. And the media, draped in the protections of that document, stands ready to be their willing accomplice in infringing upon others.

The American people cannot allow any of their rights – even if they choose not to exercise some of them – to be stripped away to appease an emotional mob being manipulated by politicians and fellow travelers in the media simply because unbalanced people abuse theirs. If we do, we might as well just surrender all of them now.

[Lurker]

The American people wouldnt stand for it? Only an idiot would bet that way.

[Casie]

Let them print anything they want. Then let them be sued for every single lie or clever omission of the truth. Have an independent group issue honesty ratings for individual news hosts and journalists. If they have no ethics or integrity perhaps they have fear of being discredited, sued or branded a self serving liar. I hope Zimmerman's lawsuit nets him everything he dares to ask for. And I hope it opens a flood gate.

[hosepipe]

Duuugh the federal givernment already HAS media control..

[Mr Ramsbotham]

You could very well say that the desire for media attention was the primary cause of the massacre.

[timestax]

[timestax]

PRINT OUT AND STICK ALL AROUND TOWN !

[timestax]

[timestax]

[Teacher317]

Treat media outlets like churches. They MUST be non-profits, or else they get taxed HEAVILY, and cannot call their programs or publications "news". Remove the profit incentive, and many of them will actually share well-investigated and factual information.

Ah, to dream...

[conservatism_IS_compassion]

Zimmerman is suing NBC News and should win easily. But government could impose a minimum fine of, say, $1 billion for each offense. Doing so would bring about the end of the race to be first and restore the drive to be right. It also would ruin NBC News.

NBC wasn’t alone in promoting the belief among a substantial population that Zimmerman - and members of his family!! - should be lynched. So that suit should allege damages in eight figures, and it should include the Associated Press and all of its members as named defendants. As well as the FCC for licensing NBC et al, and promoting the fatuous conceit that broadcast journalism functions in the public interest. And the suit should be a Civil RICO suit for treble damages. Bringing the total claim into the hundreds of millions of dollars.

BTW, it isn’t “the media” - it is wire service journalism in particular - and most especially the AP for corrupting its membership by homogenizing their coverage.

[conservatism_IS_compassion]

Zimmerman is suing NBC News and should win easily. But government could impose a minimum fine of, say, $1 billion for each offense. Doing so would bring about the end of the race to be first and restore the drive to be right. It also would ruin NBC News.

NBC wasn’t alone in promoting the belief among a substantial population that Zimmerman - and members of his family!! - should be lynched. So that suit should allege damages in eight figures, and it should include the Associated Press and all of its members as named defendants. As well as the FCC for licensing NBC et al, and promoting the fatuous conceit that broadcast journalism functions in the public interest. And the suit should be a Civil RICO suit for treble damages. Bringing the total claim into the hundreds of millions of dollars.

BTW, it isn’t “the media” - it is wire service journalism in particular - and most especially the AP for corrupting its membership by homogenizing their coverage.

[Graybeard58]

Treat media outlets like churches. They MUST be non-profits, or else they get taxed HEAVILY, and cannot call their programs or publications "news". Remove the profit incentive, and many of them will actually share well-investigated and factual information.

Like N.P.R.?

[Quickgun]

Neutralizing the propaganda machine should be very high on the list of first accomplishments of a second American Revolution.
I could go on all day about the negative impact they have had on our ethics, our Constitution, Morals, and the willingness to promote more violence by by giving popularity to violence and tragedy.
I gave up my satellite TV service several months ago. I urge others to do the same. If you must have a local channel, get an antenna. Cut out the cable and the satellite TV. I refuse to fund the enemy. I can get my news here,and Breitbart. I am a member of forums that I select for my entertainment and information. I have not missed the TV.

[New Jersey Realist]

The media truly believe they can have it both ways. When it suits them they charge out and disregard any consequences of their actions. Yet on topics that hurt The Precious Leader they stiffle any reporting on matters that are far more serious - Fast and Furious and Benghazi for instance.

It is a sad thing, I served this country for 22 years in the Navy because when I was 18 (a long way back) I truly loved this country. Today I hate it and it just pisses me off so bad I don’t know what to do. I think about why or how the country changed and the answer is obvious to me but the rules of this forum prevent me from truly speaking my mind.

[Flick Lives]

Liberals have a tradition of vilifying innocent people with the guilt of others. When Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, Democrat FDR had Japanese Americans rounded up and essentially imprisoned for the sin of being Japanese. At its core, that’s what’s happening here.

Liberals are practitioners of "group guilt". There is no individual in their calculus. That's why locking up all Japanese Americans made perfect "sense" to FDR; and a willing MSM of the time. Just as today the MSM applauds politicians proposing to confiscate access to arms by lab abiding citizens because of the actions of one deranged individual.

This sort of marxist pathology of "group guilt" starts early in schools when the teacher punishes the whole class for the actions of a single student.

[DH]

We already have media control. It’s the media itself!

It is an absolute fact that the majority of all media (in all forms) is ultra liberal and that they take their “marching orders” from the Ministry of Propaganda directly.

We will never cure this liberal disease simply because the owners of the majority of media in the U.S. are downright socialist/Marxists.

As our government (on all levels) turns it’s back on the Constitution and states rights, whatever the majority (women, blacks, hispanics, and every other type of minority) wants is promoted by the media and any trace of conservatism is demonized and shown as a danger to free choice without responsibility.

[jonno]

bookmark

[Big Mack]

Yes! We all see how well that idea has worked with public broadcasting.

[Cringing Negativism Network]

The media operates independently, yet their major media voices count on government control.

That is the problem.

Media controls not only their own message, they also control who their competition is.

THAT is the problem. I do not know what the solution is, but we do not currently have an open competition.

We have a closed system. That is not what the Constitution spoke of.

Making it less free is not the solution.

Making it MORE free is the solution.

How does one make media more open to free and fair competition?