[cgbg]

What could the Constitution do about bad journalists?

Ah, but regardless of what you think of the FCC (and I for one would like to see them abolished yesterday) they do regulate broadcasters. They have permitted broadcasters to become left-wing propaganda machines for fifty years.

They could simply require that any broadcast on a regulated carrier claiming to be "news" eliminate all opinions. "News" is who, what, where, when, etc. not political correctness, not adjectives characterizing individuals--just the facts, facts, facts!

It is not that difficult.

Here is an example:

Objective (since you never hear it any more this may prove fascinating :-) ):

Jack Smith and Jill Jones sledded down the hill at 9:45 AM yesterday in Ashtree, Vermont.

Now for the Dan Rather, Tom Brokaw, etc. version.

Right-wing extremist Jack Smith, second cousin of religious extremist John Smith, was seen on a sled with tobacco lobbyist Jill Jones yesterday. Highly placed but unnamed government sources indicate that they were making new plans on how to poison America's children.

[Timesink]

It is not that difficult.

It is, however, completely unconstitutional. Our First Amendment freedom of the press (which is really the freedom for all of us to compose and distribute what we consider to be the facts, as well as our opinions) is near absolute. The FCC can regulate broadcast stations because the available spectrum is limited (and this is going to change in the not-too-distant future), but they cannot violate the Constitution in the process.

And they have very little say over cable TV, and zilch over the web. What does it really matter if we could order "NBC Nightly News" to be "just the facts," when MSNBC cable and MSNBC.com could go on just like they always have?