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Every mainstream newspaper, tv and radio channel has to have a state-issued license to operate. This means that state can always find a reason to dismiss the li
by oleganza 13y ago
Every mainstream newspaper, tv and radio channel has to have a state-issued license to operate. This means that state can always find a reason to dismiss the license and make business shut down. This fact creates a great bias towards discussing something safer in the eye of the state. Talking about Snowden character is so much safer than speaking openly about how NSA spies on everyone by forcing companies to give them access to communication channels and hardware and then forces them to lie to their customers about privacy.
"Free speech" exists only when there is no license to get and no armed SWAT team that will come if you don't have one.
- brown9-2 13y agoA license to operate a newspaper? This sounds far fetched as there are no limited resources like airwaves being occupied.
- nitrogen 13y agoThere are business licenses, code inspections, and changing zoning requirements. Not quite the same as a spectrum license, but there are still many ways for a government to exert pressure on a newspaper.
- maxerickson 13y agoSurely there is some crank website documenting all the newspapers that have been driven out of business by federal pressure. The major newspapers play silly access games, but just throwing out speculation that they are getting pressured is pointless.
- nitrogen 13y agoRight, I'm not playing conspiracy theory or saying there is coercion, just responding to the comment that newspapers don't require any licensing. What with the IRS targeting political groups, you can't be too careful these days ;-).