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?
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?
IMHO the issue is preferential addresses. FR can tell the world--the part of it that finds "freerepublic.com", and reads it--why conservatism is virtue and "liberalism" is vice. But who finds FR, compared to the multitudes who find channel 2?And, tho Fox News rules as cable news stations go, VHF broadcast TV channels are highly preferred addresses and get much higher ratings.
So, IMHO, broadcast--and, in TV, VHF broadcast in particular--is the linchpin of the problem which is journalism.