[Drjones]

Breaking News from NewsMax.com

Howard Dean Wants to 'Break up' Fox News Channel

Democratic presidential front-runner Howard Dean pledged Monday night to "break up" the Fox News Channel along with other conservative news outlets owned by media baron Rupert Murdoch.

"Eleven companies in this country control 90 percent of what ordinary people are able to read and watch on their television," the ex-Vermont governor complained to MSNBC's Chris Matthews, who then asked the candidate point-blank:

"Would you break up Fox? ... Rupert Murdoch has 'The Weekly Standard.' It has got a lot of other interests. It has got the New York Post. Would you break it up?"

Dean shot back, "On ideological grounds, absolutely yes."

A moment later the "Hardball" host pressed: "Seriously. As a public policy, would you bring industrial policy to bear and break up these conglomerations of power?"

At that point Dean seemed to sense that he had gone too far and began to equivocate, saying, "I don't want to answer whether I would break up Fox or not."

The leading Democrat then explained, "What I'm going to do is appoint people to the FCC that believe democracy depends on getting information from all portions of the political spectrum, not just one."

[BB93YJ]

Looks like old Howie has that rare gift of being able only to open his mouth to change feet.....

:barf:

[Thumper]

How Stalinesque...

[dinosaur]

I like Dean. He`s the kind of guy who thinks out loud unlike the other `Rats. He should be fun to watch if he gets the nomination.:evil: All he needs is some steel balls to roll around in his hand during the debates. :D

[Leatherneck]

Dean shot back, "On ideological grounds, absolutely yes."
You and what army, pal? :barf:

TC
TFL Survivor

[Dashunde]

Although I am not particularly fond of Dean, I do agree with his perceptions of our media.

An example of why I agree would be the fact that most of the news stories brought to THR come from smaller, less restricted (in policy) types of news outlets - Like NewsMax, etc..

In reality, our media, as "free" as they are to report whatever they want, are still very much reflecting the positions and opinions (and greed) of those who own the enterprise.

It comes down to 250,000+Million Americans being spoon-fed their daily information by fewer people than it would take to fill a school bus.

We at THR are not the norm... we seek out alternative news sources, the vast majority do not and only tune into the large networks such as Fox, CNN, ABC, NBC, CBS, etc...

[ojibweindian]

In reality, our media, as "free" as they are to report whatever they want, are still very much reflecting the positions and opinions (and greed) of those who own the enterprise.

The only thing the print and broadcast media are really guilty of is pandering to its customers. If their desires are not met, ratings go down and advertising dollars are spent elsewhere.

It comes down to 250,000+Million Americans being spoon-fed their daily information by fewer people than it would take to fill a school bus.

Whose fault is that? I'll tell you; Americans as a whole are responsible. If most would get off of their fat, lazy asses and do some research, things would be much better. We all know that it isn't too terribly difficult to get to the truth; you just have to have a desire to know the truth. As long as their lives are not directly and significantly affected Americans, as a whole, just don't care.

We at THR are not the norm... we seek out alternative news sources, the vast majority do not and only tune into the large networks such as Fox, CNN, ABC, NBC, CBS, etc...

We aren't, thank goodness :D

[Highland Ranger]

There is a CLEAR liberal bias in the media . . . . so Howie picks on Fox?

These people have no shame.

[cracked butt]

Dean shot back, "On ideological grounds, absolutely yes."

The same reasoning has lead to hundreds of millions of mass murders in the last century. It amazes me that anyone thinks Dean has any kind of qualifications to lead a state let alone a country.:rolleyes:

[OF]

I love the way Dean looks at every question and tries to come up with what kingly order he would issue to solve it. The guy reminds me of a how a freshman in high school thinks about politics.

- Gabe

[HankB]

"On ideological grounds, absolutely yes." So whether or not you break up a network depends on whether or not you happen to agree with it? That's the mindset of a dictator, pure and simple.

Flip it around - imagine the uproar if Dubya said the exact same thing in response to a question about breaking up ABC, NBC, CBS, or CNN.

[tiberius]

Dean shot back, "On ideological grounds, absolutely yes."

Guys, He was joking when he said this. You could hear it in the tone of his voice if you actually hear the clip and as a lib. it is a "funny" thing to say since they have branded Fox as "conservative". Newsmax is a sensationalist source and if their goal was to be accurate they would have indicated that he said this "jokingly", but instead they went for shock value.


That being said, he is a socialist/statist and did go on to indicate that he did think that large corporations need to be dismantled to be made more controllable. It is scary that this type of man is finding so much support in America's leftist community. We can joke that his getting the nomination will be the doom of the Democrats, but you never know...... Personally I think that he is too dangerous for national office and hope he does not get the nom.

[ACP230]

I trust Dean as far as I could throw Vermont, one handed!

His "jokes" reveal exactly what he'd attempt to do it elected IMO.

[Jonesy9]

I gotta concur with Tiberius, I saw the interview. Newsmax has duped you badly. They do it all the time with no shame and I've even seen intelligent people fall for it.

They are good at getting the blood pressure up but very bad at relaying anything truthfully. You'd think if they weren't so lazy, they could find something real to use against their foes instead of constantly lying and purposely taking things out of context. Newsmax and others like Worldnetdaily do conservatives a disservice.

While I understand the need to disseminate false stories to fool the masses, conservatism is strong enough to stand on it's own with the constant lies and subterfuge, leave that to the libs.

Sites like these are even worse for our political discourse because they go beyond any normal bias like NYT, Wash Post and Fox News and drag it down to a new low.

The people who run and support these sites know full well what they are up to and it's an insult to the party and to the country that they consider a vast part of their base to be ignornat rubes who will fall for this stuff.

[OF]

Newsmax may have sensationalized the story, which would certainly not be a new tactic for them, but the fact remains that Dean wants to be King and views the presidency as his chance to become supreme ruler and create his socialist paradise through some sort of edict system that he believes he wins with the oval office. The man is a moron, has no clue what the American republican system of government even is, let alone stands for, and is the very stereotype of a liberal elitist whack job. I often wonder, with every one of his invocations of 'Democracy!' what he thinks that word actually means?

- Gabe

[Jonesy9]

GRD- you sound like a lib ranting and whining about Bush, almost verbatim! LOL!

[clubsoda22]

disagreeing with a news organization like fox on ideological grounds doesn't mean he's going to send the army to bomb rupert murdock as his first act as president. :rolleyes:

Newsmax has this way of contorting quotes, even moreso than the mainstream media.

[El Tejon]

If El Presidente Dean does shut down networks based on their ideology, at least now we know the Supremes will let it stand.:D

[OF]

Yeah, but I'm right and they're wrong. Subtle difference.

- Gabe ;)

[seeker_two]

Guys, He was joking when he said this. You could hear it in the tone of his voice if you actually hear the clip and as a lib. it is a "funny" thing to say since they have branded Fox as "conservative". Newsmax is a sensationalist source and if their goal was to be accurate they would have indicated that he said this "jokingly", but instead they went for shock value.

I'd agree w/ the "joke" part if he'd added ABC (Disney), and NBC (CNBC/MSNBC) to the punch line.....:barf:

[OF]

So, club, what about Dean's position that he is in favor of breaking up existing media corporations? Is it OK if he does it as his second presidential act?

- Gabe

[ojibweindian]

A thoughtful and intelligent person would be very carefull about the "jokes" he tells in a national media venue while vying for the presidential nomination his party.

[labgrade]

T"The leading Democrat then explained, "What I'm going to do is appoint people to the FCC that believe democracy (underscore mine) depends on getting information from all portions of the political spectrum, not just one."

Whotta idiot! & evey one else who thinks we live in a democracy.

IF there is any doubt whatsoever, please do contact anybody who does have a clue. Post a thread about "do we have a democracy"," etc.

You will be enlightened.

That's the first nit.

Other than that, the speaker is just a pure-D fool.

As if there are not alternative media outlets .....

I cannot even begin to start on this.

[Destructo6]

His elaboration indicated that he would do it if he was sure he could get away with it. Sorta like a highschool boyfriend bringing up a threesome with his girlfriend in a playful manner: if she acts offended, it's played off as a joke, but if she's receptive...

[ScottsGT]

The problem as I see it:
The liberal news media is owned by many different corporations with the same view.
All the conservitave sources of media is owned by one person.

We need more conservitave ownerships!

[cracked butt]

"Guys, He was joking when he said this. You could hear it in the tone of his voice if you actually hear the clip and as a lib. it is a "funny" thing to say since they have branded Fox as "conservative". Newsmax is a sensationalist source and if their goal was to be accurate they would have indicated that he said this "jokingly", but instead they went for shock value."

Its been my experience that when people joke about something, its usually very close to their true beliefs. If you don't believe me, make a wise crack to your wife/girlfriend about the size of her rear end, and then tell her you were just joking.

Even if he was joking, he is a politician and could possibly (though the odds are very long) be the next POTUS. If he starts making wise cracks about the Chinese, Brittish, Isrealis etc, he will probably steer our country into a brick wall because words reported in newsprint may not capture his context in other countries.

[MicroBalrog]

Yeah, but I'm right and they're wrong. Subtle difference.


ROFLMAO!

[DorGunR]

Dean leans more to the left than the tower of Pizza.:cuss:

[MrAcheson]

Its been my experience that when people joke about something, its usually very close to their true beliefs. If you don't believe me, make a wise crack to your wife/girlfriend about the size of her rear end, and then tell her you were just joking.

In my experience someone that can't laugh at the joke is usually oversensitive to the subject.

The FCC deregulated who can own media outlets. Now most tv/radio/whatever stations are owned by a handful of companies. As a result these companies really can subtly shape the consumers perception of reality on a national scale. Anyone who has complained about media bias knows what this means. Dean realizes that this is a potential problem and good for him. Is his solution right? Probably not knowing him, but to say that this isn't a problem is foolish and shortsighted.

[ReadyontheRight]

Although I am not particularly fond of Dean, I do agree with his perceptions of our media.

The thing is, they only want to break up the media owned by Rupert Murdoch -- which includes the Fox News Channel -- the only news channel that doesn't lean waaaaay left.

They are not talking about breaking up media owned by Disney (ABC), GE (NBC), Viacom (CBS) or AOL/Time/Warner (CNN).

[Moparmike]

Umm. Yeah. I want to break up CNN and NBC, but you dont see me running for president to do it either.:rolleyes:

[brookstexas]

I watched and I don't think it was that serious of a thing and more in a humorous way. Good spin put on it.

[zastros]

"They do it all the time with no shame and I've even seen intelligent people fall for it."


Thanks...I think.

zastros

[Angus MacDuff]

I like Dean's honesty. No other politician is as straight forward and non rehersed as Dean. A debate between George and Howard would be highly entertaining!