(10-15-2013 10:56 PM)chargeradio Wrote:  Laws in this country against libel and slander should be strictly enforced. When an anchor has to start writing significant checks for misreporting facts, it will get his/her attention.

We did that once and the civil rights movement happened.

The New York Times was sued for writing crap about a Southern official in Alabama and now we pretty much have what we have.

(10-16-2013 08:59 AM)HeartOfDixie Wrote:  

(10-16-2013 01:05 AM)dmacfour Wrote:  If we limited the media to facts, say goodbye to CNN, MSNBC, and Foxnews. The media is capable of doing more than just taint something with a liberal or conservative tone. It's pretty easy to make an issue look like a 50/50 deal by manipulating airtime, when in reality, it's almost completely one sided.

Most of the people posting here would like you to believe that your facts are opinions, and that their opinions are fact. I have no reason to believe that regulation would lead to Americans actually getting untainted facts.

Also relevant to the discussion: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hostile_media_effect

Neutral reporting is often seen as having a hostile bias by partisans on either side of an issue. If we just report the facts, who's to say that people won't just see it as bias anyways?

So the answer would be for schools to teach the difference between fact and opinion but that would require schools to teach.

The problem is that our schools are also operated by the spin doctors.

(10-16-2013 09:03 AM)oklalittledixie Wrote:  

(10-16-2013 08:59 AM)HeartOfDixie Wrote:  

(10-16-2013 01:05 AM)dmacfour Wrote:  If we limited the media to facts, say goodbye to CNN, MSNBC, and Foxnews. The media is capable of doing more than just taint something with a liberal or conservative tone. It's pretty easy to make an issue look like a 50/50 deal by manipulating airtime, when in reality, it's almost completely one sided.

Most of the people posting here would like you to believe that your facts are opinions, and that their opinions are fact. I have no reason to believe that regulation would lead to Americans actually getting untainted facts.

Also relevant to the discussion: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hostile_media_effect

Neutral reporting is often seen as having a hostile bias by partisans on either side of an issue. If we just report the facts, who's to say that people won't just see it as bias anyways?

So the answer would be for schools to teach the difference between fact and opinion but that would require schools to teach.

The problem is that our schools are also operated by the spin doctors.

No argument there.

We cannot regulate speech. We cannot censor our media. We must learn to get our messages out and learn what is bias. We must learn to think for ourselves.

Maybe regulated to only give facts.......

For instance:

Today, Hurricane Katrina made landfall in New Orleans.

Not:

Today, a global warming powered Hurricane Katrina made landfall in New Orleans. There is widespread damage and death, mostly because of President Bush.

(10-16-2013 10:24 AM)Lord Stanley Wrote:  Maybe regulated to only give facts.......

For instance:

Today, Hurricane Katrina made landfall in New Orleans.

Not:

Today, a global warming powered Hurricane Katrina made landfall in New Orleans. There is widespread damage and death, mostly because of President Bush.

The truth is you can't regulate the inferences people draw from information presented to them.