I previewed this topic in not one, but TWO videos that previewed "Need To Know" this week and news events kept from me presenting this story BOTH TIMES! Thank goodness for this blog!
Congressman Steve King goes through a lot of airports (I've bumped into him in airports and on planes on multiple occasions). And he sees a LOT of CNN on the TV screens. And he doesn't like it. He's proposed a amendment that would prevent what he calls the "CNN airport monopoly."
How it would work, according to a news release from Representative King's office:
The amendment would also prohibit airport owners or operators and broadcast/cable television news networks from making agreements in which the content on airport television equipment is controlled.
You might have heard the story of my flight to Europe on my show. Like many travelers, CNN boomed at me from every screen. Which meant: Russian collusion at my first airport; Russian collusion at my stopover; and Russian collusion ALL THE WAY BACK.
According to the King news release:
“It’s time that travelers in airports were allowed to turn the channel on CNN,” said King. “My amendment would allow greater broadcast choice for the nation’s travelers by eliminating CNN’s efforts to create an ‘airport monopoly’ through the use of agreements that restrict content to only its programs. Competition is good for the marketplace of cable news. Competitive pressures will encourage every network to produce a quality product that people will watch because they choose to do so, not because they are a captive audience forced to do so.”
I am not saying that Congressman King is "unserious" about this amendment but I served with him in the Iowa Senate, and we were not above trolling our ideological opponents.
You've probably heard me joke that if weren't for airports and hotel lobbies, CNN would have no ratings at all. That said, is this monopoly busting or an affront to the First Amendment?