No, Bobby Jindal, you do NOT "remember when TV networks believed in the First Amendment."

[alp227]

Wow. Is the governor of Louisiana who's been considered to run for president and who was the chief executive of his state's public universities back in the early 2000s really that ignorant about American media?

I was about to bring up examples of The Ed Sullivan Show censoring performers, with regards to not showing Elvis Presley shaking his hips during a performance, having The Rolling Stones change a song to "Let's Spend Some Time Together", and banning The Doors after performing "Light My Fire". But since Jindal is only 42 I'll cut him some slack there.

But seriously Bobby.

Did ABC, CBS, and NBC believe in the first amendment when they sidelined coverage of the Downing Street Memos (a story that would be potentially damaging to the Bush White House) in favor of non-stop Natalee Holloway disappearance and Michael Jackson trial coverage back in the spring/early summer of '05?

Or in 1995 when CBS refused to broadcast a Mike Wallace interview with a tobacco industry whistleblower for 60 Minutes?

Or when CBS delayed a segment questioning rationales for the Iraq War following the Killian documents controversy?

Or when Sinclair Broadcast Group stations refused to carry a Nightline show where Ted Koppel read the names of soldiers who died in the Iraq War?

Or when NBC edited out a part of a "Will & Grace" episode after Christian groups raised hell (and since when did conservative Christians watch Will & Grace anyway?)

Jindal is full of crap as usual. Scholars and Rogues and Business Insider also deliver great "NO" slaps to Jindal.

[grasswire]

1. Does Jindal remember the Smothers Brothers? nt

[Aristus]

2. Let's cut Bobby some slack.

He's just playing to the cheap seats, and the cheap people sitting in them...

[arcane1]

3. He's an idiot who thinks the 1st Amendment applies to television networks.

That level of ignorance about the Constitution should disqualify him from any federal office.

[Gothmog]

4. The First Amendment only applies to State Actors

Unless a governmental entity is doing the censorship, the First Amendment does not apply. Here the TV network is free to take whatever steps they want and there is no violation of the First Amendment. This is basic constitutional law.

[Warren Stupidity]

5. broadcast tv is a grey area.

The airwaves are owned by the government, so a state actor is involved. The fact that the government has abnegated it's responsibilities w.r.t it's airwaves except to keep allegedly dirty words and genitalia off the air is a separate but related issue.

[Gothmog]

6. A&E is a cable channel

A&E does not use any of the broadcast spectrum and so this is not an issue

[Warren Stupidity]

9. It refers to Jindal's comment "remember when".

I agree A&E is not relevant, the point is that Jindal accidentally has a point, just not the one he thought he was making.

[onenote]

7. to a degree, the government can tell a tv station what it can/can't say

but that doesn't mean that a TV station can't decide not to employ someone because of things that person has said. The first is state action; the second is not.

[DeschutesRiver]

11. Yep. What astounds me every time this comes up is how misunderstood the first amendment is...

By people in politics. Sarah Palin is still doing it, and now Jindal.

And of course by all the right wingers who bleat that it is everyone else who is unable to follow or understand the Constitution. Ironic...

[winter is coming]

8. Idjit. The freedom to speak doesn't imply an obligation to be heard by others. n/t

[pnwmom]

10. Or, well within Jindal's adult memory, when the networks

didn't fight the government's decree not to show coffins of soldiers during the Vietnam war?

[frylock]

12. Bobby Brady was never censored.

[KamaAina]

13. And why do you suppose Booby has such a hard-on about this?

Because the repukes in Louisiana have been thinking about running the Duck Dynasty guy for Congress. That's why.

[theHandpuppet]

14. The right to free speech...

... does not include the right to a "reality" TV show on cable. I checked.