FCC Endorses Junk News, Calls Fox's TMZ and 700 Club 'Bona fide Newscasts'

[Commentary] Hard-hitting journalism is nearing extinction on television, and the Federal Communications Commission just threw another shovelful of dirt on its grave when it recently ruled that Rupert Murdoch's broadcast of TMZ and Pat Robertson's 700 Club meet the test for "a bona fide newscast." Bona fide newscast? Here's why the FCC decision matters. According to a Pew study,sixty percent of Americans get their primary election news from TV. That's a scary thought when you consider the level of "quality" journalism coming from the nation's networks, and the dearth of diverse opinions being offered about our biggest concerns. Remember this after the next election when millions of hard-working Americans are once again duped into voting for political candidates who actively work against their very interests. Media companies get their broadcast licenses for free. In return, the FCC says that if a TV show is not a bona fide newscast, and it airs a story about a political candidate, "it must afford equal opportunities to other such candidates for that office." Congress defines bona fide newscasts as those that hold "genuine news value" and are not intended to boost or aid any particular political candidate. This provision is supposed to keep ideologues like Robertson in check, not allowing them to blatantly toe the line for their own corporate and political interests while labeling it "news." But instead, the FCC let them off the hook by adding TMZ and 700 Club to the list of bona fide newscasts.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/josh-silver/fcc-endorses-junk-news-ca_b_10...