According to a 2015 report by the nonpartisan Politifact, 60% of the statements made by Fox News presenters were factually inaccurate, compared to 21% by their CNN counterparts. A 2011 Farleigh Dickinson University survey found that people who regularly watched Fox News actually had less knowledge of current events than people who watched no news at all. And although that data may be nine years old, given the soon to be ex-president’s close relationship with Fox News and his truly remarkable willingness to brazenly lie, I think it’s safe to assume that today’s Fox News viewers are no better informed than those from years past.
That said, it isn’t surprising a Fox News viewer would inaccurately decry a hotel owners’ decision to not permit that particular channel to be broadcast on televisions in hotel common areas, such as a breakfast dining room, as “censorship.” Private businesses have the right to decide what programs are shown on televisions within their establishment, just as they may choose to display partisan political signage, or serve one brand of soft drink rather than another. Restrictions on television programs broadcast in a common area are not a denial of service due to a person’s political views, which would be illegal; although such behavior doesn’t seem to bother most conservatives, when, for example, a baker objects to selling a wedding cake to a couple whose genders offend him.
In any case, the constitutional guarantee of free speech means the government may not dictate what television stations a person watches; it does not obligate business owners to provide equal air time to all television programs any more than it obligates them to ensure they have both Coke and Pepsi available for purchase.
Russell Fitzgerald Gardner III, Murray