On Thu, Nov 10, 2011 at 7:28 PM, Kevin M. <[email protected]> wrote:
> Over the air broadcast stations have a license to transmit on public > airwaves. They are granted these licenses in exchange for providing > certain things to the public. Etc. > I think the point though is that it is the local broadcast station that gets licensed, not the national network. I don't know if NBC can use its national news to justify the licenses for its O&O stations, if so, that would be part of the connection between their journalistic practices and a license of some kind. In the end, what should regulate the unethical behavior of network news is the cost of lowered credibility. The problem is that the public does not seem to inflict this cost, so television news has little or no incentive to avoid unethical practices. The public should say to itself - "hmm, NBC News engaged in checkbook journalism with their interview of the Michael Jackson doctor; from now on, I am not going to trust anything reported on NBC News, since it is more likely they are engaging in such practices in covering other stories that I just have not heard about yet". Instead, the public has so little experience with quality television journalism that it hardly ever inflicts such a cost. -- TV or Not TV .... The Smartest (TV) People! You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TV or Not TV" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en
