Should it be against the law for news networks to lie?

[Selatius]

117. Well, you know, we kind of tried the liberal media thing.

You think Current TV is ever going to get the same ratings as FOX News, for instance? They don't have the capital to push themselves into that level of competition with all the major corporate networks, and unless billionaires became liberals and started throwing the same kind of cash behind it that is behind FOX or CNN or NBC, it likely won't change. It's a reality Ted Turner found out the hard way; one of his greatest regrets was selling off CNN in the first place to Time Warner. He calls their coverage crap nowadays.

Also, look at the market for radio networks. Liberal radio networks have been tried. Right-wing stations still absolutely dominate the market here, and it isn't going to change any time soon because pushing pro-business messages that benefit the bottom line is going to be a lot more profitable to the average shareholder looking to invest in networks than networks that push a message that includes higher taxes on the rich (including large shareholders) and more regulation on the markets and in investments.

I'm not saying that I favor an anti-lying provision inserted into the First Amendment, but I think the responsibility rests with the individual to find out the truth. Finding independent media sources and examining studies from left-wing think tanks appears to be the best solution to the problem. You're likely not going to find studies that are peer reviewed coming out of the Heritage Foundation, but you might if you looked at entities like the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities or the Brookings Institute.

Throwing money trying to establish left-wing equivalents to FOX News and right-wing radio is, in my opinion, a really bad investment. You're outgunned and outnumbered there. You don't go toe-to-toe with a behemoth on the battlefield and expect to win. You need to fight it like a guerrilla war instead.