It seems the U.S. is pretty solid on requiring the proprietors of goods to accurately label what they are selling. Warnings on tobacco products, warnings on food products, warnings on explicitly sexual products.
Why not have warnings on our media products?
It seems to me that a big problem with the dissemination of information to the public is that it's filtered through these big conglomerates (GE for example) that own our media. Why not make them identify themselves and make clear what is "news" and what is "commentary."
Fox News Corporation = "Fox News" - but is it news?
CNN = Cable News Network - but is it news?
From what I see in Texas is that people take whatever is disseminated through Fox News or CNN to be, well, "news." And that's a travesty. You have fairly uneducated people tuned in because of their religious or social beliefs and they are sure that what the people on these programs are telling them is "true."
Now there are facts and there is commentary. What the house and senate are voting on is news. How particular people are voting is news. The "why" of how they are voting is commentary. I think if we could make the distinction clear to people, it would help the voting populace understand what their interests are and what will help them understand the true import of policies up for vote.
I know that to have an FCC license you must be "serving the public good." And yet there has been little outcry about the squeezing out of liberal programming in major metropolitan listening areas. If we could somehow label programming as "news" vs "commentary" I think it would go a long way in helping to distinguish the two, and perhaps make listeners aware that whatever they may be listening to is "factual" or "opinion."
Limbaugh would hate this. Hannity would hate this. Maddow would LOVE this. Olbermann would be in the middle. I love his commentary!! :)
It's just a thought. Seems like people should be easily helped to determine fact from fiction. And labeling would make it clear.