Hello and welcome MarcusA,
I'm glad you found this forum.
First of all, I'd like to acquaint you with my Personal Ignore Policy 'PIP,' since my rules are more strict than the site rules. I hope this is agreeable to you:
PIP: I like civil discourse. I will give you all the respect in the world if you respect me. Mouth off to me, or express overt racism, you will be PERMANENTLY Ignore Listed. Zero tolerance. No exceptions. I'll never read a word you write, even if quoted by another, nor respond to you, nor participate in your threads. ... Ignore the shallow. Cherish the thoughtful. Long Live Civil Discourse, Mutual Respect, and Good Debate! ps: Feel free to adopt my PIP. It works well.
If this is acceptable then I hope we have many great discussions. If not, then we won't be talking long.
This sounds like a good plan; hopefully Trump and conservatives in the US and UK can have PBS, NPR, and BBC defunded, with the funding being diverted to Fox News instead.
This will help establish Fox as the new de-facto national/public broadcasting system for the foreseeable future; as opposed to dangerous left-wing views propaganda misinformation spread by other networks.
This will never happen. First of all, the public news sources in America are supported by LOTS of private donations, so even if the government were to completely pull funding, they would survive. When you tune in to PBS, there are no commercials. Instead, there are short messages from underwriters, and a long list of funds and trusts which have bequeathed donations to PBS.
Second, Fox is a for-profit entertainment business, not a news reporting agency. The material they present does provide some news, but it is laced with pretty strong right wing slant. Fox is supported by advertising profits, as it should be. Fox should receive nothing from the government. Our taxes are not meant to support narrow views. We operate public information services to inform the public in a balanced way. Fox draws viewers by presenting sensationalist stories, in order to maintain ratings and advertisement revenue. Fox is popular with the less-educated. Fox is only as reliable a news source as people think it is. Reputation is the make or break for Fox. Anyone who chooses to watch Fox is free to do so. That is their choice. The rest of the nation chooses not to watch Fox.
I'm glad Fox is out there, along with PBS, NPR and BBC, and all the rest. The media is the 4th estate, the way America exercises freedom of speech. We want to hear from all sources, and we want to have a well informed populace. The best case would be to improve education so that everyone can properly understand what they are getting in the way of information and make well educated voting choices.
It would hurt America to try to censor or defund news sources. China controls what people see. America does not do that, and for good reason. That is the difference between freedom and thought-control.
We must have freedom. Let freedom ring. Let the different voices be heard.
Diversity, freedom and unity make America great.
Polarization, thought-control, and hatred hurt America.
We don't want a conservative nation any more than we want a liberal nation.
We want a free nation, able and prepared to constantly choose between the two sides, to weigh out and decide which has the best message at the best time.
Each side acts as a check on the other so that neither side gets too full of itself and thinks it's way is the only way, and it should be forced upon the other side. Let the side that makes the best argument of the day prevail. That way, if either side gets too full of itself, and does not consider the welfare of the opposite side, then the other side can form a majority and over-rule the full-of-itself side.
Good policy needs to work for all, not just those of narrow views.
The best policy considers what is best for all, and weighs it against what is best for the individual.
