Well, Gregory J. Martin of
Emory University and Ali Yurukoglu of Stanford University through the
National Bureau of Economic Research have just issued a Working Paper which
looks at that very topic.
Seem insignificant? It’s not. The
paper shows that had Fox News not began four years before the
2000 presidential election George W. Bush’s popular vote would have been 1.6
percentage points lower.
Imagine the persuasion power it has
now nearly 20 years later being the top rated cable “news” source in the game.
The contrary is also true regarding
MSNBC viewers who are more likely to be persuaded to agree with liberal ideals.
It also seems that viewers are more
likely to watch a news source that is conveniently placed in the cable line-up.
A major problem stemming from these
corporate news channels is a monopoly of very few voices over what people are
actually viewing and getting their information from.
Martin said:
“If we maintain some diversity, then we can maintain some optimism that things will wash out. but if everything is concentrated in the hands of one owner, that’s going to be a problem.”
The Federal Communications
Commission (FCC) used to be much better at making sure things were legitimately
fair and balanced, not just used as a tagline for a network that quite
obviously sways to one side of the political spectrum.
In 2011, the FCC basically
completely scrapped The Fairness Doctrine, which was designed to keep things on an
even playing field where “programs on politics were required to include
opposing opinions on the topic under discussion. Broadcasters had
an active duty to determine the spectrum of views on a given issue
and include those people best suited to representing those views in their
programming.”
Not to be confused with the Equal Time Rule,
which is still supposedly in play.
FCC chairman Julius Genachowski said
in a statement:
“Our extensive efforts to eliminate outdated regulations are rooted in our commitment to ensure that FCC rules and policies promote a healthy climate for private investment and job creation. I’m proud of the work we are doing toward our goal of being model of excellence in government. This includes our recent commitment to act in accordance with the recent Executive Order on Regulation and Independent Agencies, which is consistent with the values and philosophy we apply at the FCC.”
“… promote a healthy climate for
private investment and job creation.” In other words, news, truth, honesty, and
fairness be damned… we need to make a dollar.
God bless the United States of
Corporatism.