Kerry wants to ban NRA tv channel

[Gatekeeper]

Damn, MtG, you took the words right out of my mouth!

Speaking as a journalist, the *last* thing we need, IMO, is a special interest group passing itself off as a legitimate source of journalism. I worked hard to earn my degree, and I'll be *damned* if a group — be it liberal, conservative or some crazy in-between or even further out on the edge— that has no real interest in providing real news is going to besmirch my profession.

Let the NRA send its press releases and so on, but, by God, don't ever let them get away with what they're proposing to do.

Gatekeeper

[Imran Siddiqui]

forgive diplomat

Why?

[Shi Huangdi]

Why can't they run their own network? Why shouldn't they be allowed to deliver the news if people want to hear it from them?

[Imran Siddiqui]

Why can't they run their own network? Why shouldn't they be allowed to deliver the news if people want to hear it from them?

Because there are an interest group. If you allow the NRA to run a propaganda channel (and it will be), you have to allow EVERY interest group to run a channel.

[The Mad Monk]

Originally posted by Gatekeeper
Damn, MtG, you took the words right out of my mouth!

Speaking as a journalist, the *last* thing we need, IMO, is a special interest group passing itself off as a legitimate source of journalism. I worked hard to earn my degree, and I'll be *damned* if a group — be it liberal, conservative or some crazy in-between or even further out on the edge— that has no real interest in providing real news is going to besmirch my profession.

Let the NRA send its press releases and so on, but, by God, don't ever let them get away with what they're proposing to do.

Gatekeeper

Damn straight! We should leave the besmirching to the professionals!

[Sprayber]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui

Why can't they run their own network? Why shouldn't they be allowed to deliver the news if people want to hear it from them?

Because there are an interest group. If you allow the NRA to run a propaganda channel (and it will be), you have to allow EVERY interest group to run a channel.

As long as the cable company doesnt force me to pay for the NRA channel or the ACLU channel, i dont care what they do. TV was ruined when the Golf channel came on. And who knows it may be entertaining. Next thing you know you'll be surfing the channels and see the PETA channel.

[Imran Siddiqui]

As long as the cable company doesnt force me to pay for the NRA channel or the ACLU channel, i dont care what they do.

Yes, but it wants a media exemption to be able to be called a news station, so it can get around McCain-Feingold.

[Drake Tungsten]

this guy tells it better than i could ever imagine

Since when is...

Betty Cuniberti

... a guy?

[Imran Siddiqui]

Betty was a guy in 'Kung Pow: Enter the Fist' .

[Shi Huangdi]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui

Why can't they run their own network? Why shouldn't they be allowed to deliver the news if people want to hear it from them?

Because there are an interest group. If you allow the NRA to run a propaganda channel (and it will be), you have to allow EVERY interest group to run a channel.

Why not? If there is a market for a Union Channel, an NAACP channel, or an ACLU channel, so be it. I can't see why there would be a problem with people sending out information to people who want to see it.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Why not? If there is a market for a Union Channel, an NAACP channel, or an ACLU channel, so be it. I can't see why there would be a problem with people sending out information to people who want to see it.

You let them all have 'news' channels with the campaign finance exception then you've basically gutted McCain-Feingold through a loophole. That's the only reason the NRA wanted to do this in the first place.

Kerry is right. Let the NRA play by everyone else's rules and not be able to mention candidates 30 days before the elections and not try to get a loophole by their own channel.

[:) Smiley]

Either way this isn't the right way to fix the problem. So long as most people don't give a whatever, elections will be easy to mess around with.

Anyway, are political parties not allowed to own TV stations in the U.S.? It's a common practice elsewhere.

[Imran Siddiqui]

are political parties not allowed to own TV stations in the U.S.?

Some would say that the Republicans own Fox , but no, political parties are not allowed to own TV stations. Or at least they aren't indirectly, because they have to give equal time to opponents views .

[Ned]

There appears to be a difference between a cable channel that one must both subsribe to and intentionally watch, and "issue" adds that appear on TV during shows that you want to watch that have nothing to do with politics.

After hearing this debate, I side with the NRA, ACLU or UNION channels. The will be essentially the same thing as the Christian TV channels, will they not?

[Gatekeeper]

Originally posted by The Mad Monk
Damn straight! We should leave the besmirching to the professionals!

Y'know ... perhaps you're simply too jaded to care about much anymore, or maybe you've been burned once too often, but I do take my profession seriously. It's not just a 9-to-5 job (in my case, a 3-to-midnight job). I don't take the responsibilities I'm given as a member of the fourth estate lightly. Neither do the men and women I work with. The vast majority of us strive to do the right thing, and we've been imprisoned for it, tortured for it, and *killed* because of it. Most of us don't make big bucks, nor do we get the publicity the media "superstars" get.

It *enrages* me when public relations flacks and those with agendas masquerade as journalists. It also disheartens me beyond belief when people cannot or will not make the distinction between real, honest to God journalists and the *fakes* when leveling criticism or throwing barbs. But you know what? We persevere, because if we didn't, then *you* would find out what it's really like to live in a society where freedom of information is truly lacking.

If what I say makes me look like some naive dumbsh*t in certain matters, then so be it. Life isn't a popularity game.

Gatekeeper