Are there any cable companies that allow you not to take Fox "News..."

[WCGreen]

I mean really, I would love to block that right wing propaganda out and not have some of my cable fees going to pay for that kind of crap...

I'm offended that this is offered as a part of the basic package and I have no say in what is available and what isn't.

[mediaman007]

1. Been blocked at this home since the summer of '62!

[damntexdem]

20. Wow, since long before cable or Faux News.

;-)

[mediaman007]

25. Well, I just knew it was coming!

In reality, since Summer 2002. :-•

[C_U_L8R]

2. I block it too

don't want to accidently stumble across any of that crap.

[Jetboy]

3. Why don't we have ala cart cable tv?

I would only need a few channels.

[zbdent]

9. because the religious right and the Right Wing media would suddenly find

themselves losing much profit because people would decide not to have propaganda channels that constantly lie.

Also, who needs 30 percent of your channels to be "home shopping" or "infomercial" channels?

[WCGreen]

12. Behold the glory of Cable...

24/7 shopping and endless streams of infomercials.

[zbdent]

28. and don't forget ... the government mandated that Religious programming be

allowed a certain amount of time ...

[onenote]

29. Link?

[zbdent]

31. I'd love to find one ... but I recall that, established long ago, broadcasters were required

to have x amount of time for "community based" programming ... code for Religious broadcasting ... which was why Sunday morning TV sucked royally before you had a choice ... (I remember a comedian saying "and if the President was on, you were screwed!")

They definitely fight "a la carte" cable services, because they fear that they would not get enough subscribers to sign up for their channel ... and thus, the Government drops the fight for forcing cable companies to do so ...

[onenote]

32. Not exactly

The FCC didn't mandate a specific amount of time for "community based programming". What it did, in furtherance of the requirement that broadcasters serve the public interest, was mandate an ascertainment procedure where stations were required to consult with community groups to determine whether programming was meeting the needs and interests of the as wide a spectrum of the community as possible and to demonstrate in their renewal applications that they were serving the community's needs and interests. This actually was a good thing. Deregulation -- promoted by repub administrations -- effectively killed this aspect of the FCC's role.

[Kindigger]

13. Same here...

CSpan 1 & 2, PBS, MSNBC. I'm paying for the 1 year special -- $19.99 regular $58 and those are the only channels I watch.

In a couple months I go to 'basic' at $23. What a racket.:crazy:

[damntexdem]

21. But that would only pander to consumer choice.

And we just can't have that in a market-based system, now can we?

[RockaFowler]

4. I just block it

They usually lump all of the news channels together, so it's hard to just get one channel dropped from their service. I remember the good old days when I worked at Comcast and all we had was CNN. FOX News was nowhere to be found. I have no idea when they added that filth of a channel, but I'm glad that the block feature works so well on my TV.

[WCGreen]

6. I know I can block it, but I don't to pay for it with my fees...

[JuniperLea]

5. "Favorites"

Saves us from a lot of garbage. I like a lot of Fox entertainment so I don't exclude them, but we have many fast fingers ready to surf on and away when the Faux Gnus show their ugly mugs on my tube. Groaning generally ensues as well.

[Lars39]

7. That was one thing I really liked about DirecTV.

You could make channels totally disappear...you wouldn't see 'em, wouldn't even know they existed.

[WCGreen]

8. But you are still paying...

I want them off, totaly. I don't want to pay anything to fox news...

[Lars39]

10. True...I don't either.

I've heard that people in Japan only pay for the channels they want. I would love that system. :)

[WCGreen]

11. Me too...

I certainly don't want to pay for all the MTV's or the religious shit...

[Critters2]

15. I can do this with my remote now, with cable.

But still paying for it.

[Critters2]

14. Most remotes have add/delete functions that allow you to delete

it from your own lineup, even if your cable carries it. Of course, you still end up paying for it, which sucks. But you won't have to see it.

[WCGreen]

23. I want to have a choice if I find something offensive to not pay for it...

[themaguffin]

16. a la cart cable would be just as pricey if not more as

each network would likely charge more for subscription

[Thrill]

17. I've actually made 2 Bank of America's in Charlotte stop playing Fox

It use to be on all the time in the bank. I bitched about it for 2 weeks. And now they have it on CNN. So I think any thing is possible.

[mnhtnbb]

26. I made BB&T in Chapel Hill stop playing it. Bitched to corporate headquarters--only took 1 letter!

[backscatter712]

18. That's part of the reason why I got rid of cable.

Granted, when I move to my new place, I'll have to get cable back because I'll need something for high-speed Internet, and I do want to watch Olbermann and Maddow, but for me, it's not enough to merely not watch FOX News, or to block FOX News with my cable box.

I want to not pay for FOX News.

Every time you pay your cable bill, some of your money goes to Rupert Murdoch to pay for it. I want to say to Comcast "I'll take MSNBC, and CNN, but not FOX News."

[WCGreen]

24. I don't want it on my basic cable tier. They should set a news tier that you

pay for.

[backscatter712]

27. Better yet, they should do a la carte cable channels.

That way, I can say "I'll take MSNBC, CNN, Discovery Channel, Cartoon Network, Sci-Fi Channel. No, I don't want FOX News - I'm not wasting my money on fascist propaganda! While you're at it, skip the Hallmark Channel, the Lifetime Channel, and all the Jesus channels!"

Pay only for the channels you want. Cable companies hate that idea.

[onenote]

30. a la carte may happen some day, but today it would cost consumers a lot of money

and/or lead to a lot of channels disappearing. The economics just don't work at present. Most cable networks rely on fees and advertising, A la carte would choke them off. Sci FI (now actually SyFy) would have a hard to time surviving; MSNBC would cost a couple of bucks if it made it at all. Plus, most consumers would need additional equipment for $4 or $5 bucks a month to make a la carte selections.

Eventually, as more advanced television sets become the norm,some of these costs will come down and some form of pick and pay may become viable. But not yet.

[damntexdem]

19. It's generally in the basic package.

But it's easy enough to block, as we do.

[JI7]

22. i have fox news but i can easily avoid it by not tuning in to it