A few suggestions for the media

This is excerpted from a discussion on another social media forum from November 2016.  Some of these are written off the cuff, so please don't hate on me, as I haven't thoroughly edited and thought through every single possible consequences of implementing these ideas... they're points for consideration and discussion.

Broadcast news - guess what? 

You are aiding and abetting the ultimate goal of our enemies; you are working to increase anxiety and destabilize the fabric of American life. YOU are doing the terrorists' work for them.

STOP IT.

The FCC should penalize any media outlet for knowingly sharing or promoting blatantly misrepresented news and statements made which are in stark contrast to provable reality without an explicit, running disclaimer.

This should include penalties for providing airtime to intentionally misleading news stories, promoting opinion pieces not labeled "Opinion" in the same fashion as a news article on facebook, allowing unfounded, unmonitored public comments to be found on the same page, or giving air time to talking heads who blatantly lie, or spin the truth to create false impressions, or disseminate libelous facts.

For example, neither chyrons nor headlines should include text that, when taken out of context with audio muted, could lead a reasonable person to assume that HRC is molesting children in the basement of a pizza parlor.

Networks should be held responsible for the statements made by anyone they bring on-air, as they are considered to be 'experts' or 'journalists' by most laypersons... 'they wouldn't be able to say it if it weren't true.'

Any networks providing a forum for speech that to any reasonable person could imply a threats or incitement of violence, whether including or excluding hate speech, should be held as complicit in any subsequent acts of violence.

For these violations, press credentials should be impacted, and fines should be assessed accordingly.

Ideas for a few simple solutions for news networks to use:

1. Manage the discussion

   Turn off mics when someone is not supposed to be speaking. Encourage and require civil, respectful discourse. Don't allow linguistic power dynamics - interruptions, name calling, etc. - to be played out on screen: that unfairly impacts public perception of one side versus the other, because the asshole will always 'win...' and when the rest of the nation starts emulating that 'winning' behaviour, you end up with a nation full of assholes, Q.E.D.

2. Take some time, think about it first

   Run on a 3- to 5-minute delay for all news content that isn't TRULY breaking news, allowing the control room to take appropriate action in muting or applying warnings to opinion/speculation/etc on the part of talking heads, those being interviewed, etc.
   

3. STOP saying everything is "Breaking News."

   It started after 9/11, and has continued through to today. If you can sit around in a studio, talking about it on camera without live footage rolling in the background, it's NOT breaking news.
   
   If you know the outcome enough for a script to be written, it is NOT breaking news.
   
   Constantly heightening viewers' anxiety is undoubtedly a large contributing factor to the perception of increasing crime rates, etc.  Subconsciously driving up fear, the constant stream of "Breaking News" makes  Americans even more susceptible to the lies and other tools used in perpetuation of mass MAGAlomania.

First amendment: any idiot should be allowed to say whatever they want on a street corner so long as it doesn't lead to someone being harmed.

But every citizen should be able to stay informed on the state of the nation without being forced to bring that predatory idiot's ignorant, vindictive, or hateful comments into their home.

The government does regulate many aspects of interstate communications, and this is one very valid reason why.

No one should be licensed to broadcast misrepresentations, outright falsehoods, and either subtle or direct incitements to or calls to violence coast-to-coast under the guise of 'news.'  It's not news - it's more like existential, ideological fraud. Airing this crap without requiring any verification or fact-checking is a choice that networks make in the interest of driving market share or increasing profit, and it needs to be brought under control.

I know this is sensitive territory, that defining 'truth' is nearly impossible, and that an implementation of these ideas to suit any one political agenda could lead to a very ugly reality; some form of oversight reflecting the diversity of political and cultural views in this nation would be required.

Please know that the pursuit of totalitarianism and fascism is the furthest possible thing from my intent, so please, be civil in your comments and know that my interest lies in rebuilding a healthier nation for all, not just a select few asshats.

:)