Blog

A few days ago, CNET nominated Dish Hopper DVR for the ‘Best in Show’ award at the 2013 CES convention. However, CNET’s corporate boss, CBS discarded the nomination because it is embroiled in an ongoing litigation against Dish Hopper. In other words, CBS forcefully censored CNET. As a result, CNET has been deprived of the honor of holding ‘Best of CES’ awards.

The decision was made by Consumer Electronics Association (CEA). CEA is the organization that brings together Consumer Electronics Show (CES) each year and also backs the ‘Best of CES’ awards. Although CEA sponsors the events, it normally appoints a third-party to produce and organize those. In the past, CNET had signed a contract with CEA which allowed the tech news site to produce the ‘Best of CES’ awards.

But now, according to CEA, the recent episode related to the Dish Hopper nomination shows that CNET is not free enough to express an unbiased opinion and is rather influenced directly by CBS.

According to CEA President, Gary Shapiro, “We are shocked that the ‘Tiffany’ network which is known for its high journalistic standards would bar all its reporters from favorably describing classes of technology the network does not like.”

Shapiro further criticized CBS rather bitterly over its opposition to Dish Hopper. Dish Hopper, he said, essentially makes technology easier and more affordable for the users. And that CBS needs to understand that is not a crime. In his own words, “We believe that the Dish Hopper DVR is fully covered by the Supreme Court’s ruling in Sony Corp. of America v. Universal City Studios Inc. The simple fact is making television easier to watch is not against the law. It is simply pro-innovation and pro-consumer.”

Courtesy: Arstechnica

[ttjad keyword=”htc-phones”]