What Happened to News?

Tech, Regulation Changes Make News Unrecognizable

What the heck happened?

That's really all people want to know about news today.

Older generations refer to what they were taught in school -- "news is supposed to be fair and objective"?-- while younger generations generally have no idea what news is. For now, let's leave the young ones out of this.

Simply put, a lot has happened.?

First up, the regulations surrounding news have changed considerably. Some of those regulations have disappeared entirely. Why? For a very long time, the Federal Communications Commission has held a laissez-faire attitude toward news, leaving it up to the marketplace to determine the fate of America's broadcast?news outlets.?

No more Fairness Doctrine. No more Cross-Ownership Ban. A very relaxed approach to what news may be owned by whom -- which enabled all those who filed a waiver to buy a news outlet that gave them too much control of the news within a market to continue to own that news. The answer to this problem was to raise the ownership cap.?

In general, FCC rulings only make sense when you realize that the ultimate goal is to keep as many news outlets in business as possible.

These behind-the-scenes?changes changed the news. But there's more to it.

Technology has birthed new formats for news outlets. These go beyond over-the-air (OTA) broadcasting, which requires an FCC license, and comes with a big book of rules OTA broadcasters must follow. (In today's world, it may shock people to find out those?FCC-licensed airwaves belong to the public, not the news outlets that operate them.)

Thanks to technology, we've got cable and satellite and the Internet, and they all carry their own content, which is not subject to FCC regulations.?

Even with a dumbing down of their own rules, the FCC still provides that FCC-licensed news outlets must work in the "public interest, convenience, and necessity."?This puts OTA broadcasters at the top of the food chain. The other formats have no such mandate.

By introducing?cable, satellite, and internet news, technology has made it incredibly?challenging for the public to find news formats?that match their expectations of what news should be.

The thing is, the different types of formats are not spelled out for people. In fact, most of them appear side by side, yet are completely different. It's just assumed people know, but that's not what you were taught in school, is it?

Being able to distinguish between the formats is critical. And it's only the first step toward?understanding what the heck happened to the news.

-- Jaci Clement, CEO & Executive Director, Fair Media Council

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Be a voice to improve the news.

Apply now and join the roster of highly distinguished business and community leaders who participate in the Fair Media Council's Folio Awards, a program unlike any in the country. No experience is necessary, and no journalism background is needed. Our scorecard judging method enables the public to judge the media and?the process?shows?how to dissect news stories to understand what to look for in quality, credible news.?Our social media judging process focuses on how to gauge effective social media work.?? The Folio Awards is a cornerstone in our programming to advocate for quality news and work to create a media-savvy society.

Donating your time will help us improve the media landscape for all.?Apply now through Jan. 20, 2024.?

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Since 1979, we've worked to keep local news local and responsive to the public it serves. Our work has expanded over the years, and today we advocate for quality news on all levels?and work to create a media-savvy society.?Fair Media Council is a 501c3 nonprofit organization headquartered on Long Island, with more than 130,000 members.?Join us and get media savvy.

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