Slashdot Mirror
Dish Pulls Fox News, Fox Business Network As Talks Break Down
An anonymous reader writes Fox News and Fox Business were pulled by Dish Network over the weekend, as both continue to argue over a fee agreement. From the article: "Dish said in a statement early Sunday morning that 21st Century Fox had blocked access to the two networks after Dish balked when rates for other networks owned by the media conglomerate were made a part of the negotiations. Tim Carry, executive vice president of distribution at Fox News Channel, countered in a statement that "Dish prematurely ceased distribution of Fox News in an attempt to intimidate and sway our negotiations. It is unfortunate that the millions of Fox News viewers on Dish were used as pawns by their provider. Hopefully they will vote with their hard earned money and seek another one of our other valued distributors immediately."
Fox news did not report it.
This is far from limited to just Dish customers, as each major cable provider has to renegotiate regularly.
I've noticed a common theme, though... no matter who you talk to, it's the other greedy bastard who's being unreasonable.
Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know.
Ernest Hemingway
Perhaps if the story'd been more fair and balanced?
Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know.
Ernest Hemingway
When Turner Networks pulled their newschannels like CNN, CNNi, and HLN during the negotiations with Dish, Dish substituted for Glen Beck's Blaze channel and Al-Jazeera America. This time, Dish only substituted Beck's Blaze for one of the Fox News channels. I'm guessing that putting Al-Jazeera in as a substitute for Fox News would have caused a substantial portion of Dish customer's heads to explode. So kudos for Dish for thinking of the cranial integrity of their customers.
I actually don't like the idea of being a faceless member of a collective, or causing a great divide between management and workers. But right now we have a situation where one side is organized and using its leverage to drive a tough bargain (with companies growing ever-larger, and more profitable), and the other is just lying down.
You need Fox news so Democratic administrations are held accountable.
You need MSNBC so Republican administrations are held accountable.
There are blowhards and static on both channels, but there is some useful information to be gleaned amongst the chaff.
My Other Computer Is A Data General Nova III.
I don't really understand the issues. How much was Dish charging Fox News to deliver their content to Dish viewers? And what sort of fee increases was Dish asking for?
Have gnu, will travel.
Look who's bored. Dish customer?
Up next on Fox News: Climate Change: Hoax of the century or are all scientists just stupid? Later, BENGHAZI!!!!! followed by the IRS "scandal." Then after the break it's the economy, year six of inflation being just around the corner, with special guest the president of Goldline who will talk about the great investment opportunity that gold represents. But first, Barack Hussein Obama: how the Kenyan Marxist Socialist Islamist Communist faked his birth certificate, his plans to destroy America, and the source of his anti-white rage.
Nobody watches MSNBC.
Damn, the Republicans are up early this morning. Church let out already? Run out of abortion clinics to firebomb?
Do differing viewpoints upset you?
There is nothing wrong with Fox News as a source for people who go looking to hear the news from a particular viewpoint. The problem with Fox News is that they pretend - smirkingly because they're smart enough to know the truth - that they are "fair and balanced." And some (many, actually) people who are naive or intellectually uncurious actually believe this is an even-handed depiction of reality instead of an editorialized view. This leads these people to think that everything in the world that is wrong is due to muslims, liberals or Obama (who is both). And that in turn leads to extremism and fosters ever more deep and toxic political divides.
I have no problem at all with differing viewpoints. I only have a problem with those - and this includes "news" sources across the spectrum from the New York Post to Adbusters - that are willing to actively mislead the reader in order to advance their particular editorial slant and agenda. While it may be fun as entertainment for the knowing, it is deadly poison for the health of the community as a whole for those who really believe it. Think about someone who has a 100 IQ... and then realize that half the country is dumber than that.
"95% of all Slashdot
Wasn't that the bigger issue actually? FOX/Newscorp trying to push a whole slew of their channels on DISH for fairly high rates, and using FOX News as the leverage, when those other channels aren't popular and aren't worth the money that was being demanded of them?
Personal opinion on the merit of FOX News aside, I can see where it has fiscal value as it's turned on and left on all over the goddamn place. Lobbies, break rooms, waiting rooms, all seem to have left CNN for FOX News and it's rare to find other stations on these days. But, it sounds like it's FOX News that's worth something, not the other, lesser channels, and even then, FOX News' value might itself be overinflated if it's serving as background noise more than actually being watched by the people in those lobbies, break rooms, and waiting rooms.
We don't have any subscription TV because we didn't want to pay for channels that we don't watch. This licensing model that is being pushed on DISH in turn forces DISH to push on to consumers, as if DISH has to pay for twenty channels to get one or two that people want to watch, they must charge for those twenty channels and push them to consumers, even if no one watches them.
I didn't expect to hear myself say this, but good on DISH for standing up to FOX/Newscorp for now.
Do not look into laser with remaining eye.
While I'm definitely not a fan of their ouvre, Fox News is the fourth most popular cable channel, behind only Disney, Nickelodeon, and Adult Swim. As much as you may not like that, they certainly do have a "large enough following".
looks like someone is hurt
Who's hurt? I have no problem with Fox News per se and I have no problem with people who agree with Fox News. If that's what you like, that's fine, especially if you understand Fox News to be an editorial product. But it is clearly disingenuous at best when it claims to be "fair and balanced," and some people either trust Fox more than they should, or are not possessed of enough critical thinking skills to see if for what it is, which is bad for society.
fox news is number one in viewers and ratings for every 1 cnn hln etc viewer there is 100 to 10,000 watching fox news . if it was fud then other news networks would eat them alive
I think you are equating being "popular" with being "good," and that is a pretty serious mistake. I think it's also a mistake to recognize that it may well be popular entirely because it's FUD. Many, many people - conservative Fox viewers, liberal MSNBC viewers, whatever - want someone to pick all their news for them in advance so that they don't have to encounter any news in the world that doesn't agree with their beliefs. That's their right but I think we would be less of a toxically polarized society if we listened to more two-sided views, or at least acknowledged the biases that were driving us to want to only consume a politically slanted news message.
"95% of all Slashdot
I must admit, I wasn't really on the band wagon of making the comments. I came here looking to read the humor.
:)
I personally don't depend on any of the networks because I have had the displeasure of having the opportunity of learning how broadcast journalism actually works. As a result, I have absolutely no use for their media. I certainly don't wish to be a target for what passes as journalism today.
The government operations (like the Senate, House, etc...) are broadcast an televised. We're choosing candidates as members of a team. We pick a team like Fox or CNN and they broadcast play by play or blow by blow reports of how they interpreted events in the government. We don't choose politicians to represent our best interests. We choose politicians to be a member of one team or another. We want our teams to win and we don't care what they have to do in order to do it. We love the technicalities too. Like, "My team doesn't like what the president did. Look here, there's a little rule in the rule book which says we can throw a card and sue the president for doing his job the best he can".
I must admit, I put little faith in the silliness you seemed to come here to attack. I have far less use for a drone like yourself who seems to think that just because someone won a popularity contest and was voted CEO (which actually doesn't mean what you think it does) he/she or they are special by some means.
Comments here are a waste of time and effort, but for many of us provide an outlet for our frustrations with the system. It's probably no more productive than talking sports at a bar, but it at least keeps us from being drunk all the time. If you're not interested in the Slashdot method of communicating, why would you bother coming here? Of course, I guess maybe you're just using the comments as a place to be a dick and unload a bit. More power to you. Enjoy, Slashdot is here to offend and we are its little helpers