Letters to the Editor: How to punish Fox News for the grave damage it has inflicted on our country
To the editor: I appreciate Harry Litman’s opinion regarding the destructive nature of Fox News. But, his message and indeed the entire discussion miss the big point: the need for accountability.
I’ve heard many Democratic lawmakers get on TV and wring their hands about the travesty of Fox News hosts knowingly lying to their audiences. But they are remiss in their own duty to the public.
There is one simple solution to hold the Fox Corp. and its talking heads accountable: Threaten to take away the company’s broadcast license, which is in the hands of the government. Those licenses are supposed to be a privilege and in the public’s interest.
The revelations about Fox Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch knowing that his hosts were lying are outrageous. He and others say it’s just about money. No! It’s about power and undue influence, and they are cynically lying to the public.
Murdoch and others who demonstrate that they don’t deserve to be trusted should have their broadcast license revoked, suspended or at least put on probation. A broadcast license should be a privilege that requires some level of honesty to the public.
Stephen Sideroff, Los Angeles
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To the editor: The usually competent Litman fell prey to media hype with his observation of Tucker Carlson’s remark that he “passionately hates” former President Trump.
The issue in the Dominion Voting Systems defamation case is not whether someone likes Trump or not. Rather it is whether Fox allowed false and malicious statements about Dominion.
During the 2008 campaign, John McCain was confronted with a false statement by someone who claimed Barack Obama was an Arab. McCain responded that Obama was a decent man with whom he just disagreed.
Cary Adams, North Hollywood
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To the editor: Litman decries all the lies and misinformation that Fox News has been guilty of for decades. These pronouncements are the ultimate “too little, too late.”
The painful truth is, The Times and other mainstream media have let Murdoch and his company get away with it with minor slaps on the wrist. In reality, no other act of treason or spying for our enemies has done more harm than what Fox News has accomplished all for ratings and money.
No punishment could ever change the fact that our country is so divided that it may take generations to reconcile.
Richard Kopelle, Los Angeles
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To the editor: Maybe Dominion Voting Systems’ defamation lawsuit will expose Fox News for what it really is — a right-wing propaganda creator and distributor.
Dare we hope that Fox News viewers will stop and ask themselves what else they have been lied to about over the years? Asking for the future of our country.
Bethia Sheean-Wallace, Fullerton
