Got fed up. Wrote to NBC's Phil Griffin and Andy Lack about MSNBC grotesqueries

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27. Welcome to DU, SayItLoud!

Yeah, I'm sure I won't hear back. But I wanted that on the record (sorry, Greta, that slogan isn't just yours). I wanted that in the files. SOMEBODY there is at least going to skim through it, a secretary, an intern, an assistant.

Besides, I keep remembering what Paul Begala said back during bush/cheney, regarding the importance of weighing in - and specifically, writing in. He said "100 paper letters can change the course of a newsroom."

Reason is, anybody in these shops who's keeping track of audience feedback will make a note. Or a checked box. Or some other record of yay-or-nay. Depending on the size of the market, a single input is considered to be representative of sentiments shared by multiples of other people who just didn't let their voices be heard. The reasons for that include apathy, didn't have time, too busy, didn't think it'd make any difference, driving, wanted to but something else came up, wanted to but forgot, etc. Sometimes it's at a rate of one letter representing 10 others in agreement. Or 100. Or 1000. Or 10,000. Or higher. At a network level - a LOT higher. I read awhile back that the Gallup people have estimated that ONE person called for a public opinion survey represents 50,000 other people who didn't get called.

Staffers and interns in Congressional offices, working for representatives, Senators, or back home in the state legislature or the governor's office, have logs they keep. RING! Somebody calls in. Grouses about health care. Thank you for calling in, and goodbye. Get the log - check the box. Another opinion on health care. Or, more specifically, another support for the GOP "Hell care" or opposition to it. The volume of calls is such, by now, that they've all had to start keeping running tallies of the opinions.

Every radio station where I've worked had a request-line. Or some community switchboard line. And the folks answering the phones keep track. Used to be, before deregulation, people calling in about an issue would have an impact on what kind of public affairs programming would be planned and produced in the coming weeks. You call up and keep requesting Ariana Grande or "Come Together" by the Beatles or some such artist, and by Jove they'll make sure that artist or song is on the playlist, possibly also in high rotation, depending on the format.

Notice, too, every time you're at the store - whatever store it is. What is popular gets restocked. A popular brand will have more of its items added. What doesn't get a lot of purchases doesn't stay on the shelves. In cases like this, you weigh in via your pocket book. Look what happened when Ivanka Trump's knock-off fashion line was boycotted. Stores, some of them major, discontinued her line.

These activist events, showing up en masse at somebody's town hall, all that - it counts. None of those SOBs in the GOP would do squat regarding health care except yank it away without even batting an eye, if there weren't crowds of angry voters giving them hell, and letting them know.

It matters. It matters a lot.

If they think you don't care, they won't, either. So make sure they know you care! Whether you think it's gonna make any difference or not. What if YOURS is the one letter that finally tips the scale?