Posted on 10/12/2017 8:39:21 AM PDT by EagleUSA
President Trump's suggestion that NBC should potentially have its broadcast license challenged has prompted a wave of condemnation from both sides of the aisle, with many saying that such a move would violate the First Amendment.
Trump lashed out at NBC News on Wednesday after the outlet reported that Trump had suggested increasing the nation's nuclear arms stockpile during a meeting with top Cabinet officials.
"With all of the Fake News coming out of NBC and the Networks, at what point is it appropriate to challenge their License? Bad for country!" Trump tweeted.
(Excerpt) Read more at msn.com ...
Like cat chasing a laser pointer - MSM we aren’t laughing near you we are laughing at you.
No backlash from me.
They lied.
And they knew.
NBC and other broadcast networks do not have licenses that can be pulled. The licenses belong to the individual network affiliates, most of which do not belong to the network. Not to mention that their cable channels and internet broadcasts do not fall under FCC jurisdiction.
I believe Trumps comment strikes at the core of the whole broadcast license concept. You get caught knowingly lying, you need to lose that license.
“has prompted a wave of condemnation from both sides of the aisle”
except the article didn’t list a single member sitting on the Pub side of the aisle condemning Trump, so yes, MORE fake news!
Plus it seems like with 2018 rapidly approaching and Bannon breathing down the necks of the RINO/GOPe branch of the party, they’ve learned to STFU.
NBC as a network is not licensed. However, NBC does own television stations, which ARE licensed. Trump is issuing an implied threat to their O&O stations here.
The White House, without input from the Department of Justice, Congress or the Judicial branch needs to investigate NBC and implement appropriate adjustments in their news content up and into the same conditions that Obama placed on General Motors.
If the FCC were to make a determination that NBC Nightly News is too fake to count as news for the public good, a lot of affiliates would be scrambling to meet their requirement some other way.
Sounds far fetched, but if NBC is willfully and repeatedly making false statements, at some point they aren't a 'news' organization anymore.
I’m trying to remember where ‘lying’ is a protected free speech . . . can’t seem to do it.
Trump lays out a big juicy piece of bait, and all the fools come running, tripping over themselves to fall into his trap.
Those constitute a small number of their total affiliates. Also the FCC does not fall under the authority of the Executive branch. He can fire the head, but that’s about it. He can’t give orders to pull anyone’s licenses.
Trump is issuing an implied threat to their O&O stations here.
He strikes where it hurts, and should, out in the countryside, not in the fortified corporate castle.
Braveheart reincarnated.....
It’s not always a formal thing - maybe they can look at the NFL and ‘get a clue’...
This begs the question: Why grant a broadcast license to any company that has a history of knowingly lying and/or intentionally distorting facts? To do so would imply that there are no standards of integrity and zero expectation of any acceptance of responsibility for content that is distributed to millions of people.
In other words, why issue a license to an entity that has no regard for truth or facts, or has any intention of acting in a responsible manner?
It’s interesting to learn about the early history of radio and licencing by the FCC. This was discussed in a chapter of Randy West’s book “Johnny Olson: A Voice in Time” in which back in the 1920s (at the very start of then young Johnny’s career in broadcasting).
Apparently, a Catholic priest simply wrote to the FCC requesting one and was granted it easily. And there were other interesting stories about the early development of broadcasting and the government’s efforts at regulating it (cases of people operating radio stations in their attics with signals so strong that they practically drowned out the signals of other stations on nearby frequencies).
Ha..The Donald certainly knows how to stir the pot!
Sometimes I think he is throwing the Left more red meat just to keep them in a state of trembling rage all of the time.
When the boil dies down, he throws in another big piece of
Rage-Roast in the stewpot.
Good question.
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