As news breaks from the Associated Press that "they" have declared the next President of the United States, it awoke me to the reality that we have allowed a fourth branch of government to arise that is:
- Predominantly controlled by one party
- Is neither elected nor appointed by the people
- Has the power to control information, swaying elections and national opinion, regardless of fact.
- And are protected under the Constitution by the First Amendment.
This power has eclipsed the level of monopolization controlling not only information presented as "news" but also all other forms of social and streaming media. Through technology, they listen to and monitor our citizen's habits, conversations, purchases and streaming to position themselves in control of what we see, listen to, and have access to.
And now, most recently, "they" have gone into the business of censorship of opinion and speech of individuals by blocking content, posting what "they" determine are the facts and warning us of potentially damaging information.
So, how do we reign in this unchecked and unbalanced organ of government? Yes, Fact Checkers, when you control the citizens, you are acting as a form of government.
One suggestion would be to form a Congressional Subcommittee made up of one Republican and one Democrat from both Houses of Congress. This governing body would direct the FCC to produce new licensing requirements for all media organizations. Should an organization want to self identify as a news outlet (radio, cable, T.V., social media or print), they would only be permitted to share news stories without prejudice or bias. As a result, all commentary and opinion would be regulated to a subchannel clearly identified as such.
In other words, if CNN, FOX, ABC, NBC, CBS or NPR want to identify a channel as "news" (similar consideration to other forms of media), that would be that channel's sole license. Don Lemon and Sean Hannity would only be allowed to have their segments on separate commentary channels.
Likewise, networks like ABC, CBS, NBC, etc., would have to have all non-news media and entertainment separate from their news channel.
Since the FCC is led by five commissioners who are appointed by the President of the United States, the Congressional Subcommittee would ensure their appropriate application and regulation as it pertains to unbias news reporting.
Finally, the Subcommittee would revamp Section 230 of the Telecommunications Act to prohibit media platforms from limitations and interference of free speech by individuals. This means no more "fact checking" statements or other such opinion limits where possible. It would, however, still limit and protect from threatening statements (threats of violence, terror, etc.), or indecent or predatory posts and access to minors. But, all other controls would be on the individual level. As such, if you did not like a post that someone uploaded to your feed, you could remove the post from your feed, block the post sender from your feed, or pause posts from a particular sender for a set period of time.
Do I have all of the answers? No. But, should something be done? Absolutely. And with urgency. Otherwise, the media giants will become nothing more than a one party (aka. state) run media under the protections of the freedom of the press.
