Lapdog That Didn't Bark: FCC Intrudes on Newsrooms
by John Nolte 20 Feb 2014, 10:54
AM PDT
The mainstream media's relentless
left-wing bias is maddening. This,
however, is scary -- not the idea
that the Obama Administration is planning to place federal officials in
newsrooms. Government wants to control things. That's what they do. No, what is
scary is a mainstream media that would be apoplectic if a Republican
administration did the same while being content to roll over when Obama
threatens their freedom.
In an effort that would make
George Orwell spin a few turns, Obama's Federal Communications Commission has
named the act of sending researchers to monitor newsrooms and grill editors and
reporters over their editorial choices the "Multi-Market Study of Critical
Information Needs."
The Wall Street Journal reports:
The purpose of the CIN, according
to the FCC, is to ferret out information from television and radio broadcasters
about "the process by which stories are selected" and how often
stations cover "critical information needs," along with
"perceived station bias" and "perceived responsiveness to
underserved populations."
How does the FCC plan to dig up
all that information? First, the agency selected eight categories of
"critical information" such as the "environment" and
"economic opportunities," that it believes local newscasters should
cover. It plans to ask station managers, news directors, journalists,
television anchors and on-air reporters to tell the government about their
"news philosophy" and how the station ensures that the community gets
critical information.
The FCC also wants to wade into
office politics. One question for reporters is: "Have you ever suggested
coverage of what you consider a story with critical information for your
customers that was rejected by management?" Follow-up questions ask for
specifics about how editorial discretion is exercised, as well as the reasoning
behind the decisions.
The WSJ points out that
participating in the study is voluntary. But with the FCC holding your
broadcast license over your head, " the FCC's queries may be hard for the
broadcasters to ignore."
No one should be pleased that our
government is meddling in this way, but again no one should be surprised. This
is what governments do, especially with Democrats in charge.
What is truly worrisome, though,
is that the news of this study broke over two weeks ago and the American media
is still not screaming holy hell.
As subservient as our media is to
President Obama, Democrats in general, and the power of the federal government,
you can usually count on them to at least fiercely protect their own freedoms
even as they fight for the government to strip us of ours. Not this time.
I'm only late to this story
because I was out of the country. After first learning of the FCC's plans
yesterday (thanks to Fox News of course), a chill went down my spine when I realized
that the mainstream media is still not storming the White House with pitchforks
and torches.
Is the media now so enamored with
the idea of federal power that they are willing to give up even their own
freedoms? Or is the media so worried about the effect another scandal will have
on Obama that they are willing to let this outrage pass without mention.
It's got to be one or the other.
Sadly, it is likely both.
Hey, I hate the media with the
power of a thousand suns. But I don’t want to see anyone controlling them
outside of market forces and unbridled competition. Apparently, this is another
area where the media and I disagree.
Federal
Communications Commission (FCC)
Newton N.
Minow was the chairman for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC),
a senior counsel for Sidley Austin LLP, and a member of the Commercial
Club of Chicago.
Note: Mark D.
Schneider was an associate general counsel for the Federal
Communications Commission (FCC), and is a partner at Sidley Austin LLP.
R. Eden
Martin is counsel at Sidley Austin LLP, and the president of the Commercial
Club of Chicago.
Michelle
Obama was a lawyer at Sidley Austin LLP.
Barack Obama
was an intern at Sidley Austin LLP.
Newton N.
Minow is a senior counsel at Sidley Austin LLP, and a member of the Commercial
Club of Chicago.
Linda
Johnson Rice is a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, and a
director at the United Negro College Fund.
Reed E. Hundt
is a director at the United Negro College Fund, and was the chairman for
the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
Colin L.
Powell was a director at the United Negro College Fund, is an
overseer at the International Rescue Committee, an honorary director at
the Atlantic Council of the United
States (think tank), and Michael K.
Powell’s father.
Foundation
to Promote Open Society was a funder for the International Rescue
Committee, the Aspen Institute (think tank), and the Brookings
Institution (think tank).
George Soros
was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society, and is the
founder & chairman for the Open Society Foundations.
Open
Society Foundations was a funder for the Atlantic Council of the United States
(think tank).
Michael
K. Powell is Colin L. Powell’s son, a trustee at the Aspen
Institute (think tank), and was the chairman for the Federal
Communications Commission (FCC).
Blair Levin
was the chief of staff to the chairman for the Federal Communications Commission
(FCC), and is a fellow at the Aspen Institute (think tank).
James S.
Crown is a trustee at the Aspen Institute (think tank), and a member
of the Commercial Club of Chicago.
Lester Crown
is a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, and was a lifetime
trustee at the Aspen Institute (think tank).
Julius
Genachowski is a senior fellow at the Aspen Institute (think tank),
was Barack Obama’s law school friend, and the chairman for the Federal
Communications Commission (FCC).
Kathleen
Q. Abernathy was the commissioner for the Federal Communications
Commission (FCC), and a partner at Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer &
Feld, LLP.
Amy L.
Nathan is the senior counsel, strategic planning & policy analysis for
the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and was an attorney at Akin,
Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, LLP.
Vernon
E. Jordan Jr. is a senior counsel for Akin,
Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, LLP, an honorary trustee at the Brookings
Institution (think tank), Valerie B. Jarrett’s great uncle, a director at
the American Friends of Bilderberg (think tank), and a 2008 Bilderberg
conference participant (think tank).
Cyrus
F. Freidheim Jr. is an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution
(think tank), and a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago.
Linda
Johnson Rice is a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, a
director at the United Negro College Fund, and is a friend of Valerie
B. Jarrett.
Reed E. Hundt
is a director at the United Negro College Fund, and was the chairman for
the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
Valerie
B. Jarrett is Vernon E. Jordan Jr’s
great niece, a friend of Linda Johnson Rice, a member of the Commercial
Club of Chicago, and the senior adviser for the Barack Obama
administration.
James
T. Heimbach was a special assistant to the president for legislative
affairs for the Barack Obama administration, and a legislative affairs
director for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
Thomas
E. Wheeler is the chairman for the Federal Communications Commission
(FCC), a member of the President's Intelligence Advisory Board, was
a fundraiser for the 2008 Barack Obama presidential campaign, and a
fundraiser for the 2012 Barack Obama presidential campaign.
Chuck Hagel
was a co-chairman for the President's Intelligence Advisory Board, the
chairman for the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank), and
is the secretary at the U.S. Department of Defense for the Barack
Obama administration.
Judith A.
Miscik is a member of the President's Intelligence Advisory Board,
and was a director at the International Rescue Committee.
Colin L.
Powell is an honorary director at the Atlantic Council of the United States
(think tank), an overseer at the International Rescue Committee, and
Michael K. Powell’s father.
Michael
K. Powell is Colin L. Powell’s son, a trustee at the Aspen
Institute (think tank), and was the chairman for the Federal
Communications Commission (FCC).
Blair Levin
was the chief of staff to the chairman for the Federal Communications
Commission (FCC), and is a fellow at the Aspen Institute (think tank).
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