To echo President Biden's accurate assessment of Putin: This Fox News cannot remain in power.

[LaMouffette]

We need to shut them down. But how?

[brooklynite]

1. 1. You Can't. 2. It wouldn't make any difference if you could.

1. You cannot legislate or regulate it out of existence (see the other thread currently available). It is fully protected by the First Amendment. The only option would be to convince cable operators to drop it, which won';t happen because it actually has an audience willing to pay for it.

2. If you could get Fox removed, the only thing that would happen would be that it's audience gravitated to another cable platform that said the same things or something worse.

[Omnipresent]

13. Exactly!

They would just go someplace else, that’s shiny and steeped in the talking points, that angers their blood.

[uponit7771]

18. Unnnn, the rest of US media could STOP TREATING them as a valid news outlet.

[FarPoint]

2. I suspect Fox will dial it down for a while...

Try to take the focus of their true propaganda lie messaging....throw in a diversion....but they will resume...it is known.

[Autumn]

3. You can buy it and close it down. Of couse another one will pop up so...

[tritsofme]

4. These authoritarian fantasies to suppress speech we don't like are absolutely disgusting.

What the hell is going on here? It has seemingly become fashionable to use the First Amendment as toilet paper around here.

[LaMouffette]

10. Well, I absolutely agree that we do not want an authoritarian suppression of free speech, but

the propaganda they're brainwashing people with is dividing our country and destroying our democracy. Short of shutting them down, what can we do to reduce their influence?

[mahatmakanejeeves]

12. "We" don't have to do anything.

You have to turn off your TV.

Maybe your neighbors can show you how that's done.

[brooklynite]

15. Have you heard of these things called "newspapers"?

They used to exist in every city and town, and had huge biases, which people used to decide what to read. This kind of journalism goes back centuries.

[Ocelot II]

5. It can't be shut down, at least not by the government.

And that's the way it should be. If some private entity bought it and changed its programming that would be fine, but the craziness would pop up somewhere else (it already has on a smaller scale, see OANN) as long as there's a market for it. This is a demand side problem. The people who watch Fox and OANN have to be persuaded that they are being lied to, but right now, unfortunately, it's a closed loop.

[ificandream]

6. The answer is to stop treating it like it means something

We all know that Fox is not a legitimate news source. The time has come to start paying any attention to it. That doesn’t mean we occasionally reporting on it. But giving it all the attention it gets is exactly what they want. We need to stop pretending that it’s legitimate. That it means something. Stop looking at it seriously. We need to humiliate it.

[RKP5637]

7. Then, what do you do about this endless list, all owned by Rupert Murdoch who gave you Fox News?

And this was 2015. Not all, but some are similar.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2015/06/11/what-rupert-murdoch-owns/71089066/

[nycbos]

8. You'll run into problems with the first amendment.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

9. Not this again.

"We" have to do this. "We" have to do that.

Why don't you just not watch it?

[Stinky The Clown]

22. Don't watch! Yeah. That's the ticket.

Do you really think there are Fox viewers here? And they should be scolded? But yeah. "Don't Watch"

Great advice.



See, here's the thing. Fox News IS a problem. They are, indeed, protected by the First Amendment. That protection doesn't reduce the problem. I am also not at all sure how to counter their effect on our society. They are currently a social poison with no antidote.

"Don't Watch"

Who you talking to? Surely no one or at least damned few on DU.

[Wednesdays]

24. It's like saying to 1930's Germans

"Don't like what Hitler and Goebbels is saying? Just stop listening to them!"

[mahatmakanejeeves]

28. "Do you really think there are Fox viewers here?"

Yes, I do. There are days when the posts at DU make me think that 95 percent of Fox News's viewers must be members of DU.

Based on the posts here, I think there are DUers who have nothing better to do than to watch Fox News so that can immediately report on what they saw and how much they didn't like it.

Again, thanks for writing.

[Sympthsical]

33. Democrats watch Fox News

This has been shown again and again. Maybe it's like the Howard Stern effect where his audience that hated him watched him more than the average listener.

https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2022/02/02/democrats-fox-news-entertainment-conservative-liberal-00004843

I know I discover all kinds of things that are on Fox through DU posts. I didn't ask, I don't particularly care, I never want to know. But I certainly hear about it an awful lot.

Cable news in general is poison. It is a religion among some of us. Why? I don't know. Laziness? Finding articles and reading laterally among several sources is some semblance of work or effort. We just had a massive post that was a blatant, easily disproven falsehood. I see it all the time. Articles - usually pulled from Twitter - that don't quite sound right. I look into the information. Oh ho! The article is either false or heavily spun as to be active misinformation.

The problem is a lot bigger than Fox.

Which many Democrats seem to be watching just fine. So yes, maybe some people do need scolding if they're actively supporting the network, which they clearly are.

[Hoyt]

11. Now that's how we advance DEMOCRACY.

[SmallFry]

14. Our last President said similar things about media outlets he didn't like.

Don't see any difference in arguments being made.

[Mr. Sparkle]

16. I would charge them with mass murder, for the roll they played in spreading fake news about covid19.

where 100,000s died with the belief it was a hoax to hurt trump

[Ocelot II]

17. Good luck with that.

[Mr. Sparkle]

21. ...

[mahatmakanejeeves]

26. Wait! That's from Fox! NT

[Mr. Sparkle]

29. Who are now owned by Disney!

Foxnews on the other hand is still owned by the devils scrotum

[mahatmakanejeeves]

30. I missed something.

The Simpsons shows up on Fox Broadcasting. In DC, that's channel 5. Did the animation group get sold to Disney? I don't keep up with everything.

Thanks.

[Mr. Sparkle]

31. Disney bought 20th century Fox and all their hit tv shows but not the news side

Disney ends the historic 20th Century Fox brand

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-53747270

[mahatmakanejeeves]

32. Gee, and it was only two years ago, so no wonder I haven't caught up with everyone else yet.

As I said, I don't keep up with everything.

Thanks.

[Greybnk48]

19. Fox cable news entertainment has become a threat to US national security.

That's not only true, it's a reason to pull their broadcasting license.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

20. There is no FCC license for Fox News, because Fox News is not a broadcast entity.

You even said so yourself.

Fox cable news entertainment has become a threat to US national security.

That's not only true, it's a reason to pull their broadcasting license.

It didn't do any good the last time, but in the desperate hope that maybe just one person will listen, I offer this explanation:

"So, 246 local FOX news channels throughout the US are controlled by Murdoch."

{snip}

Once again, you are mistaking FOX News for FOX Broadcasting. They are separately run organizations. Rarely, you will see FOX News content on a FOX Broadcasting affiliate, but the shared programming is limited. I've noted those instances in the excerpts from Wikipedia.

I watch hours of programming on my local FOX Broadcasting affiliate, WTTG, and I do not see FOX News content other than on Sunday mornings. It seems that there is an hour or two on Sunday mornings. I don't know how long the show is, as I don't watch it. That's when I exercise my right to hit the channel up or down buttons on my remote. The station comes in with a strong signal, so sometimes it's my choice for watching the State of the Union.

I have yet to see a weather report or local news story on WTTG that told me how I should vote.

You can go ahead and believe what you want. For people who are interested in learning the distinction, I offer this:

Fox Broadcasting Company

The Fox Broadcasting Company (often shortened to Fox and stylized in all caps as FOX) is an American commercial broadcast television network owned by Fox Corporation and headquartered in New York City, with additional offices at the Fox Broadcasting Center in New York and the Fox Television Center in Los Angeles. Launched as a competitor to the Big Three television networks (ABC, CBS, and NBC) on October 9, 1986, Fox went on to become the most successful attempt at a fourth television network. It was the highest-rated free-to-air network in the 18–49 demographic from 2004 to 2012 and 2020, and became the most-watched American television network in total viewership during the 2007–08 season.

Fox and its affiliated companies operate many entertainment channels in international markets, but these do not necessarily air the same programming as the U.S. network. Most viewers in Canada have access to at least one U.S.-based Fox affiliate, either over the air or through a pay television provider, although Fox's National Football League broadcasts and most of its prime time programming are subject to simultaneous substitution regulations for pay television providers imposed by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to protect rights held by domestically based networks.

{snip}

News

See also: Fox News

Unlike ABC, CBS, and NBC, Fox does not currently air national news programs (morning, evening or overnight) or newsmagazines choosing to focus solely on its prime time schedule, sports and other ancillary network programming. The absence of a national news program on the Fox network is despite the fact that its parent company, Fox Corporation, owns Fox News Channel, which launched in October 1996 and currently maintains near-universal distribution within the United States via pay television providers. Fox News is not structured as a news division of the Fox network, and operates as a technically separate entity within Fox Corporation through the company's Fox News Group subsidiary. However, it does produce some content that is carried by the broadcast network, which is usually separate from the news coverage aired by the cable channel; in particular, FNC anchor Bill Hemmer anchors most prime time news presentations on the Fox network, especially during political news events (which are anchored by Bret Baier on Fox News Channel).

Specifically, the Fox network airs coverage of the State of the Union address, presidential debates, national election coverage, as well as live breaking news coverage currently branded as a "Fox News Special Report" ( also branded as a "Fox News Alert" or sometimes a "Fox News Red Alert" ); carriage of such special coverage of a breaking news story may vary from station to station, and is often limited to events that occur during the network's usual prime time block (for example, unlike the Big Three, Fox does not often provide coverage of major political convention speeches, which usually occur during the 10:00 p.m. (Eastern Time) hour during which most of its affiliates air local newscasts; however, the majority of Fox's owned-and-operated stations and affiliate groups do carry weekday breaking news briefs). The political discussion show Fox News Sunday also airs on the Fox network on Sunday mornings and is rebroadcast later in the day on FNC. Fox also operates an affiliate news service called Fox NewsEdge, which launched with Fox News Channel in 1996, and provides national and international news reports, and feature stories for Fox stations to use in their own local newscasts.

{snip}

News programming

Fox has fewer stations that have an independent news operation than those of ABC, NBC and CBS; as of October 2015, 70 of Fox's 236 stations (including all 18 owned-and-operated stations) maintain in-house news departments (compared to roughly 5⁄8–7⁄8 of the stations of each of the three other major broadcast networks, whose newscasts are either produced in-house or in conjunction with another station). WJW (channel 8) in Cleveland (which was owned by the network from 1997 to 2008) and WXIN (channel 59) in Indianapolis have the highest weekly total of news programming hours among Fox's stations, at 65½ hours.

{snip}

[Stinky The Clown]

23. Do you really think no one on DU knows this?

Do you really think anyone took the time to read what you posted?



This has been going on for decades. But please. Continue to educate we members of the Great Unwashed.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

25. "Do you really think anyone took the time to read what you posted?"

It's possible. Maybe just one person will read it and say, "is that so?"

Of course, maybe that Nigerian prince who's trying to send me the ATM card preloaded with $12,0 million dollars $US is on the up-and-up too.

I just have to keep trying.

Thanks for writing.

[Stinky The Clown]

35. "I just have to keep trying."

Knock yourself out, Hoss.

See ya around campus.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

36. The task provides full employment.

Last edited Mon Apr 4, 2022, 02:41 PM - Edit history (1)

I like your posts. Seriously. Please keep in touch.

I'll be here.

[LaMouffette]

49. I'm the OP, and I read it! Thanks! It did clear up some confusion on my part and, I think, showed me

I don't have to hate on my local Fox affiliate, the one that gives us local news. At least that's what I gathered from this part:

Fox News is not structured as a news division of the Fox network, and operates as a technically separate entity within Fox Corporation through the company's Fox News Group subsidiary.

And after reading everyone's responses, I think instead of writing, "We need to shut them down," I should have written: "We need to inoculate Americans against disinformation from any media," but I have a feeling that will be even harder than shutting down Fox News (especially if I use the word "inoculate"!).

[Ocelot II]

44. I read it.

[Stinky The Clown]

45. Great. What did you learn that you didn't already know?

Serious question

[Ocelot II]

46. Many details.

But that isn't the point. The information is there for those who want to know more, and posting it here made it available without anyone having to search it out elsewhere. That's useful, I think. Those that weren't interested or already knew all of it could just skip it.

[Stinky The Clown]

47. I am enlightened.

[Ocelot II]

48. Glad to hear it.

[Bonx]

27. A sternly worded letter

[Mr.Bill]

34. The only thing we can do

is boycott their advertisers. The only thing they understand is money.

[Mariana]

38. Then it's best to stop giving them money.

Anyone who subscribes to a cable or satellite TV service that carries Fox News Channel is directly subsidizing Fox News Channel.

https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/tucker-carlson-s-fox-news-host-salary-bankrolled-you-n1283754

[Mr.Bill]

39. Well, I'm not going to give up my TV.

I wish I could pick and choose what channels I buy, but they are packaged. To remove Fox News I would have to give up a lot of channels I watch.

[Mariana]

41. It's a nice little system they've set up for themselves, isn't it?

That’s right, only about 3 million Americans watch Fox News on a daily basis yet the nation’s estimated 65 million cable-connected households are forced to fund Fox News, allowing Fox to reap an estimated $1.8 billion in revenue per year in carriage fees.

[Mr.Bill]

43. Yep. If I could pay just for the channels I use

at, say, two dollars a month per channel my bill would be about $10 a month.

And don't even get this Atheist started about all the religious channels I also pay for.

[LaMouffette]

50. I agree 1,000 percent with you on this, Mr.Bill. I wonder if there are any cable providers now that

offer "cafeteria-style" subscriptions. We're late adopters in my household. We get DISH, but don't even have a DVR or streaming or anything like that. I need to do some googling and see what else is out there.

[Mariana]

37. First, we'd have to repeal the 1st Amendment, which would require an new Amendment.

Good luck with that.



Note: I am not in favor of abolishing the First Amendment. I was answering the question of "how".

[Iggo]

40. Turn it off.

[tavernier]

42. The suckers who are easily conned

Will be just as easily conned by someone else if Fox is shut down. Truth will out. It always does.