The FCC should add warning labels to news programs

1) Bias in the media"Most Americans if polled would acknowledge that while these programs have a particular angle, overall they provide a fair (unbiased, objective) portrayal"Is there any evidence that suggests that could even remotely true? The most recent polling data taken literally just a few days ago suggests that for any given news channel on tv right now, less than half of Americans even SOMEWHAT trust ANY news network, and the percentage of Americans who trust the same networks 'A Great Deal' never once tops 20% for any individual channelhttp://www.quinnipiac.edu...Its false to claim that most Americans if polled believe that these programs are fair and unbiased, because the most recent polls literally indicates that only half of Americans barely trust any news network to begin with, let alone strongly trust one.... 2) Distinguishing between truth and bias"The real question is how is how would the FCC differentiate bias and truth, abstract categories into this rating system"There are several different ways in which the biased nature of programs can be measured. One tactic is to take a single person or recurring news story and see how each program portrays the person or story. If a program is truly unbiased and neutral, then it is reasonable to suggest that the coverage of a person or an event by that program would be predominantly mixed, with positive + negative also shown in an equal amounthttp://www.pewresearch.org...^ In the polling above, - Fox News casted Obama 48% in a mixed light, 46% in a negative light, and 6% in a positive light. - MSNBC on the other hand casted Romney 25% in a mixed light, 71% in a negative light, and just 3% in a positive light. - CNN portrayed Obama just about as unbiased as possible, But when evaluating Romney even there you can see that it starts to shift into a more biased appearance. Just by evaluating how news stations portray a person or event, you can get a general idea of whether or not that station leans towards a particular side on the political spectrum in reporting stories, and based on how far they swing towards one side, you can get an immediate idea of the bias in those news networks. Another way you could evaluate a program is to just check the politifact file (or some other fact sheet) of the shows and see if they have a good record. http://www.politifact.com...^ From observing the sheer frequency of lies or misinformation that is spread, you can see that Fox News has a clear problem in portraying information accurately, while MSNBC is a tad better but still in need of work, while CNN is right where it needs to be. This system of measurement can even be combined with other tactics of evaluating general bias to determine if a news station shows bias or is objective. "I would like my opponent to demonstrate the application of the FCC label based on the detailed summaries I wrote up"Well, the FCC label for a program wouldn't be based off of a single episode of her program, it would more likely be based off of either a comprehensive examination or a more random examination of several episodes taken throughout the year, and evaluate the bias and the accuracy of her as a host based on:1 - Whether or not the information she presents on a regular basis is factual2 - Whether or not she draws reasonable conclusions from the evidence she presents3 - Whether or not she uses those same conclusions to advocate for some sort of agendaIf she presents accurate information on a regular basis from multiple episodes that are examined, makes reasonable and sound conclusions based off of that information, and does NOT use those conclusions to advocate for some sort of action to be taken, then she would by all means deserve to be given an A as a rating for her show. If she slips up on several occasions in many of these categories, then she might be more deserving of a C rating, where viewers would be advised to watch with caution. If she is a leftist propaganda machine who bases wild conclusions off of little to no hard evidence and urges people to take action over it all the time, then her program would likely be given an F, and for good reason. 3) Competency of the FCC "how would the FCC resolve these complication issues?"The FCC doesnt have an agenda or any incentive in advocating for gay rights, or abortion rights, privacy rights, etc. so their evaluations of programs that report on divisive issues would only focus on the use of facts, conclusions off those facts, and agenda advocation, not the FCC's personal preference about the issues being argued over. Basically: The controversial nature of some topics discussed on news programs does not hinder the FCC's ability to objectively evaluate those news programs, since the FCC would only be looking at whether or not the facts are true, if conclusions made off those facts by the programs are legitimate, and if the pundit uses those conclusions to advocate an agenda. Not whether or not the FCC agrees with the leanings of the pundits. "regulating indecency for the putative protection of children well-being is an entire different matter from establishing a standard regulation delineating the categories outlined [truthfulness, bias, competent, sensual] thus far"Its not as different as you are making it out to be though, because the way that the FCC would likely evaluate tv programs would be based purely off of the accuracy of the information that is presented on the show and conclusions based off of that information, not the personal preferences and stance of the FCC on those same issues.The fact that the FCC allows so many different tv shows to broadcast all sorts of different and varying stances on controversial issues in the first place shows that the FCC remains objective and unbiased when granting broadcasting permits to tv channels and programs that advocate different agendas then what the FCC would prefer. Therefore, if the FCC can remain objective in granting broadcasting permits in the first place, then it can reasonably be expected to remain objective when evaluating the accuracy of information in news programs. Furthermore, the FCC has nothing to gain in showing a prejudice towards a news program. The FCC wouldnt get any bonus for changing or lowering the accuracy rating of a news program, and because the FCC is made up of republicans and democrats alike, since it is an actual rule that only 3 of the top 5 commission leaders can belong to the same partyhttp://www.fcc.gov...There is reason to believe that the FCC can and will remain objective when evaluating the accuracy of tv news programs, since it has already remained objective in granting broadcasting permits to tv shows with differing agendas and views in the first place. I extend arguments 3-6 about how there is a great need to take steps to reduce the political divide in this country, that TV programs play a huge role in this country, and that people can still choose to watch those shows that get low accuracy ratings.