As Kurt Vonnegut used to say, Brian Williams joined all the dishonest folks “slurping at the Money River,” when he gave such a glowing undeserved and unobjective intro. to Melinda Gates. Big money buys big lies. Newsreporting and media are so important they cannot be left to their own professional ethics as far as corporate power is concerned.

Forty-two years ago I graduated from college with a BA in journalism, and because of what I learned in that major, I stopped reading newspapers and trusting what I heard from the TV or radio news. The reason for this distrust was while earning that degree, I learned how misleading, biased, and flawed the private sector corporate media can be. I learned that a free media protected by the U.S. Bill of Rights doesn’t mean honesty and truth.

I think most Americans are also slowly learning this painful truth—that the corporate media can’t be trusted anymore than the Chinese trust China’s state controlled media, Xinhua. But at least in China, almost every citizen, even the 80+ milllion CCP members—expect that when the state run Xinhua media reports on a hot-button issue, the opposite is usually the truth while in America, according to Gallup only 60% distrust the private sector corporate controlled media—90% of the mass media is owned and controlled by six global corporations and the 2nd largest in the world is Media Corp that’s is under the dictatorial thumb of known neoconservative Rupert Murdock.

Gallup reports, “Prior to 2004, Americans placed more trust in mass media than they do now, with slim majorities saying they had a “great deal” or “fair amount” of trust. But over the course of former President George W. Bush’s re-election season, the level of trust fell significantly, from 54% in 2003 to 44% in 2004. Although trust levels rebounded to 50% in 2005, they have failed to reach a full majority since.”

According to Gallup, trust now stands at 40%.

http://www.gallup.com/poll/176042/trust-mass-media-returns-time-low.aspx

But there was a time, when the federal government attempted to hold the private-sector, corporate mass media responsible for reporting a balanced story on important issues. It was called the Fairness Doctrine. It was a policy of the United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC), introduced in 1949, that required the holders of broadcast licenses to both present controversial issues of public importance and to do so in a manner that was, in the Commission’s view, honest, equitable and balanced.

In 1969, In Red Lion Broadcasting Co. v. FCC, 395 U.S. 367, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld (by a vote of 8-0) the constitutionality of the Fairness Doctrine in a case of an on-air personal attack, in response to challenges that the doctrine violated the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

But in 1985, under FCC Chairman Mark S. Fowler, a communications attorney who had served on Ronald Reagan’s presidential campaign staff in 1976 and 1980, the FCC released a report stating that the doctrine hurt the public interest and violated free speech rights guaranteed by the First Amendment.

In June 1987, Congress attempted to preempt the FCC decision and codify the Fairness Doctrine, but the legislation was vetoed by President Ronald Reagan. Another attempt to revive the doctrine in 1991 was stopped when President George H.W. Bush threatened another veto.

In other words—to Republicans and other extremist groups at both ends of the political spectrum—free speech includes the right to mislead, lie and be biased—-honesty was not important and these extremists still hold the upper hand with help from the likes of Bill Gates, the Koch brothers, The Walton family, and Eli Broad in addition to a few others.