This is how we keep the less fortunate uninformed.

[SmittynMo]

Wait.....Got me thinking..... The most power man in this country is having a national speech about immigration, which is a very big deal, AND is not broadcast on any local channels, free of charge? WTF is that all about? The poor in this country that can't afford cable, etc, need their local channels as a news source. And WE THE PEOPLE won't broadcast it to the people, free? OMG, I'm still freaking out about this. Have we sunk that low that "Big Bang Theory" has a higher priority than THE PRESIDENT? (And nothing about Big Bang - I love the show) Who is making these decisions for these stations? Republicans? Suppress the vote, now, restricting viewership? No wonder no one votes. We just denied millions of people in this country the right to become educated on major political announcements. Unbelievable!!!!

[RufusTFirefly]

1. In the old days to retain your FCC license, you had to demonstrate...

... that you were operating in the public interest.

Silly us. We were so naive back then.

And now for these commercial messages....

[Suich]

2. It was covered on a lot of channels here.

I think the networks changed their mind when they got so much blowback about not covering it.

[Doctor_J]

3. on another one of the twenty five or so threads on this, one duer said that

every radio station in the US should be required to cover the address.

Can we please not get stupid about this?

[noiretextatique]

4. it's mid-season finale, week of course.

grey's anatomy, the biggest loser, and bones season finales!!! also, a new episode of the big gang theory!!! + the speech was deemed "political." read all about it here:

http://www.ibtimes.com/immigration-reform-2014-why-big-tv-networks-wont-broadcast-obama-speech-1727159

[SmittynMo]

5. I mean, this is really getting scary

How can fake dramas and comedy, broadcast on public television, possibly be more important than the President of the United States? Seriously? Is this a first? Something fishy here, for sure?

I read the other week that the GOP was purchasing a lot of local stations across the country with their dark money. Is this the result? Makes you wonder.

More proof not to believe anything the media is puking at us. It's all one sided.

The bottom line here was denying millions of viewers the right to view the President. The question is why.

[noiretextatique]

6. what a lot of people do not seem to grasp is this

those who claim this is not a problem, that is...

Still, the fact that the big four networks have taken a pass is not inconsequential: While cable television penetration has grown, there are still more than 200 million Americans without cable and more than 18 million who have a television but don’t subscribe to any pay television outlets, according to data from research firm SNL Kagan.

The major networks' decision not to broadcast Obama's speech also seems to fly in the face of precedent. In 2006, President George W. Bush's speech announcing his efforts on immigration was carried by all four networks.

and this...

“We’re in sweeps month, the networks have big programs that they want to get on the air at their original time and you have a lame-duck president and the declining influence of these speeches. It’s very unfortunate the timing for President Obama, because it puts on a billboard that he’s a lame-duck president with low approval ratings and he can’t even leverage a tool of the White House that has always been effective.”

Airing a presidential speech without commercial interruption has rarely been popular in network boardrooms, and this is not the first time a president has been rebuffed when asking for prime-time access. Obama’s timing may have played a role in the networks’ decisions. The midseason finale of the ever-popular ABC drama “Grey’s Anatomy” is scheduled for 8 p.m. EST Thursday, as are finales for NBC’s “The Biggest Loser” and Fox’s “Bones.” CBS is airing a new episode of its hit “The Big Bang Theory” at the same time as well.

Taking aim at immigration also may not have helped matters. Politico reports that because the speech is seen as largely political rather than informative, networks felt comfortable running scheduled programming instead of the presidential address.

http://www.ibtimes.com/immigration-reform-2014-why-big-tv-networks-wont-broadcast-obama-speech-1727159

[DAMANgoldberg]

7. 3 of the 5 local stations that have news departments on OTA TV aired his speech.

Charlotte News Watch ?@CLTNewsWatch

President Obama's address aired on WBTV Ch. 3 cbs, WCNC Ch. 36 nbc, and WJZY Ch. 46 fox. WJZY, BTW, is a Fox Owned and Operated Station.

Also, WTVI Ch. 42 local pbs, WNSC Ch. 30 SC pbs, and WUNG Ch. 58 NC pbs, as well as TimeWarner Cable News 14 aired the speech.

[Cal33]

8. This is all the more reason why DUers should support the idea of trying to

get wealthy Dems. known for their philanthropy to fund an independent source
of news in the thread further down this same page, "Americans are Half Starved
to Death for a Source of News that is Truly Independent from...."

[lame54]

9. then those same stations trumpet their bs responses 24/7

[former9thward]

10. No one was denied anything.

It was carried on the PBS stations everywhere. Anyone who wanted to listen or watch the speech could have. In my city (Phoenix) it was carried by all the network stations.

[SmittynMo]

11. You were one of the very few that received it.

It was national news that MOST local channels refused to air his speech. ABC, NBC, CBS. These are the channels people go to for free TV.