That's insane. We're talking about the government threatening a station if they air an interview with a political rival.
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That's fine context, but doesn't make any of this less insane.
CBS didn't air Rep. James Talarico interview out of fear of FCC
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Re: CBS didn't air Rep. James Talarico interview out of fear of FCC
#42Smacks of state media control don't it?
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Re: CBS didn't air Rep. James Talarico interview out of fear of FCC
#43Re: CBS didn't air Rep. James Talarico interview out of fear of FCC
#44That's insane. We're talking about the government threatening a station if they air an interview with a political rival.
Tbh, in this case the fault lies more with CBS for obeying in advance. The FCC hasn't actually made the rule change yet.
Correct. CBS is now owned by Larry Ellison's son. They are big supporters of the current administration. This act, among others, shows that they are willing to silence dissenting voices on media properties they own.
Re: CBS didn't air Rep. James Talarico interview out of fear of FCC
#45Recall it was the same lawnmower^W Ellison-owned CBS that last minute pulled a 60 Minutes report on CECOT. They didn't blame that one on the government. Given that, I believe the higher ups at CBS wanted this to happen, but are colluding with the executive branch or misrepresenting the situation to shift responsibility.
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You can't say "unobjectionable" and then link to three sources full of objections.
Re: CBS didn't air Rep. James Talarico interview out of fear of FCC
#46That's insane. We're talking about the government threatening a station if they air an interview with a political rival.
Tbh, in this case the fault lies more with CBS for obeying in advance. The FCC hasn't actually made the rule change yet.
The chilling effect is the entire point. An FCC source literally told CNN, "the threat is the point." CBS isn't being randomly skittish. Paramount needs regulatory approval for its WBD acquisition, paid $16 million to settle a Trump lawsuit right before needing FCC approval for the Skydance merger, and canceled Colbert days after he criticized that deal. ABC suspended Kimmel after FCC threats. The FCC opened an investigation into The View just for having Talarico on.
And yes, Larry Ellison is a hardcore Trump supporter, but even if he weren't, this is how every network is behaving. Disney's Bob Iger is a Democrat and ABC still paid Trump and suspended Kimmel. When the government holds regulatory leverage over your business, "obeying in advance" isn't cowardice you can blame on the network, it's the intended mechanism of state pressure.
Re: CBS didn't air Rep. James Talarico interview out of fear of FCC
#47we'll need more facts but if there is substance to this then the reaction from Bari Weiss (now cbs news editor-in-chief and a long-time public advocate of free speech) and team will be interesting.
It will not be interesting because she has never been an advocate of free speech.
She has always and consistently advocated for free speech when it was beneficial to her or her allies/benefactors
Re: CBS didn't air Rep. James Talarico interview out of fear of FCC
#48That's insane. We're talking about the government threatening a station if they air an interview with a political rival.
This is a terrifying level of chilling effects. What are we to consider about our nation at this point? "Free speech" has long been a term with contested definitions, but this certainly sounds like its death in every sense.
The shift from democracy to dictatorship isn't a cliff that a lot of people imagine it to be. It's a gradual slide with no abrupt changes in between. If you're waiting for a signal, you'll get it at the bottom of the ramp.
Re: CBS didn't air Rep. James Talarico interview out of fear of FCC
#49[flagged]
In FCC DA 26-68 they gave public notice of their change of interpretation/enforcement of the equal time rules to apply to this situation.
Re: CBS didn't air Rep. James Talarico interview out of fear of FCC
#50Recall it was the same lawnmower^W Ellison-owned CBS that last minute pulled a 60 Minutes report on CECOT. They didn't blame that one on the government. Given that, I believe the higher ups at CBS wanted this to happen, but are colluding with the executive branch or misrepresenting the situation to shift responsibility.
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> unobjectionable editorial reasons
The bulk of their staff objected to it, either on or off the record.