Rep. Mike Flood, R-Neb., told Newsmax on Saturday that DirecTV's "dangerous" decision to drop Newsmax from its satellite television service last month hurts rural Americans who have limited access to broadband internet and rely on satellites to get information.
"I can tell you from the middle of America, we don't have broadband or cable access in a lot of these rural areas," Flood said during "Wake Up America" on Saturday. "What do we rely on? We rely on satellite dish services. And when one of those two platforms starts reducing the amount of channels that give us the diversity of thought, it really does hurt people that live in rural areas because there aren't any other options."
Flood said he was one of 40 other lawmakers who wrote to DirecTV and its parent company AT&T expressing his concerns about their decision to remove the conservative news channel from its offering to around 13 million subscribers late last month.
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"It's not like we can go to YouTube or we can get on the cable system," he said. "Those things don't exist when you're 16 miles away from town. And so it really is a dangerous decision that puts Americans in the middle of America in a in a worse spot."
The media service provider said at the time that it was dropping Newsmax, several months after dropping another conservative news outlet, One America News, because of a "carriage fee dispute."
Newsmax CEO Chris Ruddy said in a statement at the time that DirecTV was paying 22 other liberal news outlets while not giving Newsmax any payment for the content it provides, and that the move was made more because of the views expressed by the network.
Several other Republican lawmakers immediately responded with their concerns shortly after the channel was dropped from DirecTV's lineup in late January.
"I am deeply troubled by DirecTV's decision to remove Newsmax from their lineup of channels," Rep. Wesley Hunt, R-Texas, said in a statement to the Washington Examiner. "Deplatforming Newsmax is the latest development in the left's ongoing campaign to purge voices they disagree with from the public sphere. This decision by DirecTV and TPG Capital will cut off tens of millions of viewers who rely on Newsmax for their news and information."
According to the news outlet's report, Hunt was part of the 40 members in Congress to send the letter to DirecTV.
"Newsmax is one of the most watched cable news channels in America; millions of people turn to Newsmax as a source of trusted information. Now more than ever, the American people need access to a free and fair press," he said in the statement. "I am sure that DirecTV will claim that removing Newsmax from their lineup of channels was purely a business decision, but that is hard to accept when liberal news channels like Vice Media continue to remain on the air. Vice is a ratings failure for DirecTV, yet they continue to profit from their relationship with DirecTV."
Actions to Take Now
1. DirecTV customers call toll free at 877-763-9762 to complain, demand Newsmax is back on air!
2. Call your congressman or senator at 202-224-3121 and demand they stop AT&T/DirecTV's censorship of NEWSMAX — ask them to give you a date on the hearings!
3. Go to our online petition and get more info: iWantNewsmax.com.
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