News Democracy can only work effectively if the people voting

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A democracy relies on informed voters, but media bias complicates this process. In the UK, regulations prevent television and radio stations from showing political bias, while in the US, media can be biased, leading to distorted information that influences public opinion and voting behavior. The discussion highlights the media's significant, often unchecked power, raising concerns about the potential for manipulation without press censorship. Suggestions include separating news from commentary to clarify facts versus opinions. However, enforcing media fairness could lead to government bias, complicating the issue further. The BBC is cited as a model for maintaining some independence from political influence, yet concerns remain about its funding and potential biases. The conversation also touches on the challenges of ensuring unbiased news in a competitive media landscape driven by ratings and advertising revenue, with participants expressing skepticism about the feasibility of achieving true impartiality.
  • #31


russ_watters said:
The only part of the Constitution that lists things the government can't do is the bill of rights. The rest of the constitution is a structural document, outlining the structure, functionality, and duties (powers) of the government.

Anyway, yeah, the Constitution doesn't specifically discuss regulating corporations and none of the founding fathers ever mentioned it AFAIK. The US was originally based on a highly free version of capitalism, with the intention to have very little regulation. That wasn't much of an issue back then, as the industrial revolution hadn't happened yet and there was little need to heavily regulate corporations.

To expand on that thought...local newspapers (when reporting on local news) tend to function in the way the founders envisioned. However, national/international TV/cable news (plus the internet) and their thirst for ratings to derive advertising funds were not considered.
 
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  • #32


jacksonpeeble said:
It really is too bad that the average American can't be relied on to find accurate news for themselves now. I think there does need to be some way to get unbiased (or at least as unbiased as possible) news, but I can't fathom how it would be done.


The BBC or PBS is probably your best bets. It actually refreshing once in a while to tune into what seems like "real" news, instead of the meat-grinder BS that spews forth from the likes of a FoxNews or MSNBC...pure crap!
 

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