Why hasn't someone organized an 'anti-media' movement?

[Kathy in Cambridge]

The media is the biggest enemy of the truth. There have been anti-war marches and anti-Bush marches, but I think it's high time we start protesting the media. They have been negligent in performing their basic duties to the American people, and are partially responsible for the mess this country is in right now. Because of their lack of journalistic standards, the voice of the American people is being stifled. If Bush wins in November, it is the media's fault for not holding this criminal administration accountable, and it is the media's fault for not reporting the truth.

The big media conglomerates are based in NYC. Why aren't they being regularly harassed? Why isn't there an organized marketing or 'astro-turf' letters campaign by the DNC, Move On, or other alternative organizations? The only way to expose the American people to different opinions is to beat the corporate media at their own game.

[sniffa]

1. we can be the new "grover norquist"

"i just want to shrink media down smaLL enough that i can drag it into the bathroom and drown it in the bath tub."

[dweller]

13. would not

small enough to flush down the toilet be more fitting?

dp

[EST]

17. Yup, you got it!

n/t

[Eric J in MN]

2. Media Matters for America might be what you're looking for

www.mediamatters.org

[cprise]

6. That is just a watchdog/complaint site

It won't "get rid of" media, although it is good that sites like them are documenting the abuses.

RationalRose: What would you replace the media with?

[Kathy in Cambridge]

9. Not replace the media-hold them ACCOUNTABLE

people's voices aren't being heard and the media is presenting one viewpoint with a few exceptions. Talking about Kerry's hair or Kerry's need to apologize is not journalism. It's an unpaid attack ad for the Bush adminsitration.

[cprise]

25. One viewpoint

Don't you think that's because our country has only one kind of mass media?

[Pallas180]

3. Here's where to complain: Federal Communications Commission

HOW TO COMPLAIN TO THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION




Here's the FCC info in case you want to complain about stations such as Sinclair Broadcasting propaganda which needs to lose their license . (the ones who wouldnt show Nightline reading the names of 800 dead American soldiers and who canceled CBS rather than show
Dan Rather.


WRITE,CALL,COMPLAIN about any lying propagandizing station to the FCC here:


How to Contact the FCC

To Contact the Commissioners via E-mail

Chairman Michael K. Powell: [e-mail]
Commissioner Kathleen Q. Abernathy: [e-mail]
Commissioner Michael J. Copps: [e-mail]
Commissioner Kevin J. Martin: [e-mail]
Commissioner Jonathan S. Adelstein: [e-mail]


To Obtain Information via E-mail

General information, inquiries & complaints: [e-mail]
Freedom of Information Act requests: [e-mail]
Comments on FCC Internet services: [e-mail]
Elections & political candidate matters: [e-mail]


To Obtain Information via Telephone

1-888-225-5322 (1-888-CALL FCC) Voice: toll-free
1-888-835-5322 (1-888-TELL FCC) TTY: toll-free
[phone] TTY: toll
[phone] FAX
[phone] FAX on Demand
[phone] Elections & political candidate matters
FCC Phone Directory


United States Postal Service First-Class Mail, Express Mail & Priority Mail

Federal Communications Commission
445 12th Street, SW
Washington, DC 20554


Hand-Delivered or Messenger-Delivered Documents

For more complete information on filings, please see our Filing Location Public Notice, our Rulemaking Process page, and the Office of the Secretary web site.

Hand-delivered or messenger-delivered paper filings for the Commission's Secretary:

Secretary
Federal Communications Commission
Office of the Secretary
c/o Natek, Inc.
236 Massachusetts Avenue, NE
Suite 110
Washington, DC 20002
(8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.)

Other Messenger-Delivered Documents,
Including Documents Sent by Overnight Mail
(other than United States Postal Service Express Mail and Priority Mail):

Secretary
Federal Communications Commission
Office of the Secretary
9300 East Hampton Drive
Capitol Heights, MD 20743
(8:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.)


Internet Address

http://www.fcc.gov


Freedom of Information Act Requests

The Freedom of Information Act, commonly known as the FOIA, was enacted by Congress in 1966 to give the American public greater access to the Federal Government's records. You do not have to file a FOIA request to obtain information which is routinely available for public inspection, including records from docketed cases, broadcast applications and related files, petitions for rulemakings, various legal and technical publications, legislative history compilations, etc. Much of this information is already available on the FCC website, but if you would still like to file a FOIA request, follow the instructions on our FOIA web page.

[Monte Carlo]

4. Here's where I think DU is really squandering itself.

We have all these politically motivated people here, and they all want to affect some change in the media. Yet, DU just doesn't seem to coordinate. It's missing a huge opportunity.

[Kathy in Cambridge]

10. With the anti-Kerry smears going unanswered and unchallenged by the media

a larger group like Move On or even the DNC needs to get involved. Bush is being given a free pass, and if he manages to steal an election again in November, the media should be held accountable.

[AspenRose]

16. I agree

eom

[Guaranteed]

15. I sent out 2 or 3 hundred emails yesterday to media people

using the media blaster. I think people just need to take it upon themselves to get active. It's too easy for this to turn into entertainment.

[cprise]

18. Right on!

The problem is, when you mention 'media' here, people go into a neurosis and recite all the transgressions from the last 48 hours. Democrats aren't thinking about media except at a rudimentary level. They want the return of all the comfortable behaviors of their familiar media brands. "Get rid of them" is about as focused an idea as you'll see on here.

I have gone on with constructive criticism and ideas for improving the news culture. But in person I get blank stares and on here its crickets chirping. The words and concepts are too boring or too foreign or both. Mention "public service" and "populist demographic" and "conflicts of interest" and the eyes glaze over and they're suddenly playing with the SpongeBob ringtones on their cellphone. And forget about "media reform"; that one is a total non-starter here.

I, for one, take comfort in the fact that a media comprised of private conglomerates are trying to brainwash people with Right-wing propaganda and ignoring reality. Hello? That's their natural inclination, to do whatever it takes to advance the interests of their shareholders. Is your goody-2-shoes CEO (Ted Turner) in the way?... get rid of him. If they didn't do this then I would really start to worry.

[cprise]

36. (I hear the SpongeBob theme again...)

:eyes:

[BootinUp]

37. They do not own the airwaves though

You seem to overlook that.

As far as debate on media reform, instead of insulting people, you might realize that folks are a little preoccupied with the presidential election. I for one would be happy to debate, and work for media reform once I can focus on it a litte more.

[cprise]

44. Who cares? The FCC is in their pocket.

Virtually no one holding office will espouse the virtues of public service. So no longer does anyone articulate worry over newscasting purely for profit/self-interest.

Want a leftist media network? Why, just start another private broadcasting corporation that will turn on its founders, and the left, 5-7 years. That's the American way.

[KurtNYC]

5. Freedom of the press belongs to those that own one

I think the best we can do is turn more people on to alternative media like AAR and the internet.

[Kathy in Cambridge]

7. Thanks but I'd like to see a Move On or PFAW start orgainizing

anti-media demonstrations, and letter writing campaigns. That's the way the RW does it-but they have more $$ to actually pay astro-turf writers.

[ClassWarrior]

11. Join MoveOn.org's Media Corps. They send out weekly...

...coordinated letter-writing alerts.

23.

[goodhue]

32. FAIR has been issuing action alerts for a long time . . .

http://www.fair.org/activism/action-alert-archive.html

Join list here . . .
http://www.fair.org/emaillist.html

[ClassWarrior]

8. I definitely think we should organize around this issue, Rose.

23.

[zbdent]

12. Who would cover it?

I mean, it's like you have evidence that Rupert Murdoch killed nuns on videotape. You think that Fox would broadcast the tape?

[Rockholm]

19. That's what I was thinking.

If you protest the media and they don't cover it, was there a protest at all?

[zaj]

14. http://mediamatters.org/

[AspenRose]

20. You could even use the famous line from the movie "Network"

"We're mad as hell and we're not going to take it anymore."

Perfect!

[PoiBoy]

21. Vote Kerry..

..and let the new Kerry appointed FCC Chairman rip the corporate media a new orifice... I believe that besides the obvious reasons for backing Bush that the corporate media have, they understand that "payback is a bitch", and a Kerry victory will be disastrous for them.

When Kerry wins :-), I believe that the corporate media will begin an all out non-stop Clintonesque type blitz to discredit him from day 1... if we make it to Inaguaration Day unscathed (which I personally doubt, but that's another thread), and Kerry gets to appoint a new FCC chairman, the job of undoing the evil work of BushCo and Michael Powell will begin, and media reform may see the light of day...

:hi:

[Rockholm]

22. Rose, What we should do is......

I hate to post this cause trolls read this shit and the adapt our ideas into theirs.
We have all seen the "John 3:16" dude with the rainbow afro that attends big sporting events. Maybe there should be a new movement to do the same. Chances are slip that they would ever appear on the tube, but you never know. The stealth folks hat show up at the Today Show and other live feed shows for now are our best bet.

[Viking12]

23. I would prefer a "Responsible Media" Organization

I would prefer a "Responsible Media" Organization to an "anti-media" organization. The media is necessary to keep informed. Media Matters and other organizations are on the right track. I'd like to see more bi-partisan pressure on all media sources to produce accurate thoughtfully analyzed information.

[BootinUp]

24. Try this one

http://adbusters.org/metas/psycho/mediacarta/
http://adbusters.org/metas/psycho/mediacarta/signmanifesto.jhtml

Sign the manifesto

We the undersigned , are troubled by the way information flows and the way meaning is produced in our society.

We have lost confidence in what we are seeing, hearing and reading: too much infotainment and not enough news; too many outlets telling the same stories; too much commercialism and too much hype. Every day, this commercial information system distorts our view of the world.

We have lost faith in the institutions of the mass media. A handful of corporations now control more than half the information networks around the world. At a time when people worldwide face hunger, social disruption, war and ecological collapse, only those who know how to walk the walk, talk the talk or pay big bucks are getting their message across.

We have lost hope that our national media regulators will act in the public interest. Essential rules limiting media ownership and concentration are being scrapped, while rules protecting local content and access are diluted.

We have lost patience waiting for reform.

We imagine a different system – a media democracy. We see great promise in the open communications of the internet and want that openness expanded into every form of media. We envision a global system of communications that has as its foundation the direct, democratic participation of citizens. To this end, we demand the timely transfer of key media sources back to the people.

As a start, we demand the right to buy radio and television airtime under the same rules and conditions as advertising agencies. We ask our media regulators to set aside two minutes of every broadcast hour for citizen-produced messages. We want the six largest media corporations in the world broken up into smaller units.

What we ultimately seek is a new human right for our information age, one that empowers freedom of speech with the right to access the media. This new human right is: The Right to Communicate.

We hereby launch a movement to enshrine The Right to Communicate in the constitutions of all free nations, and in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

[cprise]

30. That is plutocratic media, not democratic

What a pathetic idea.

[BootinUp]

31. I see it as a grassroots effort

to get a debate going.

So there. PHBBBBBBBBBT!

[Karenina]

42. Forget debate.

SURROUND THEIR HQs WITH TORCHES AND PITCHFORKS!!!! :evilgrin:

[BootinUp]

38. Where did you get plutocratic

out of that petition I posted anyways? Care to explain instead of hurling insults?

[cprise]

45. They want the right to buy ad time for any message that pleases them

Not exactly "one dollar, one vote" -- its more like "one dollar, one decibel".

We may be able to win a battle or two this way, but the right WOULD win that war.

[BootinUp]

46. I still don't see how you can call it plutocratic

If both (all) sides can buy ad time it would result in a lot more free speech in this country. I don't see your objection at all.

The frequencies are leased by the public. They make a fucking fortune with those licenses. I don't think Americans would see a problem with these proposals myself. Sure the media conglomerates wouldn't like it, but who gives a shit.

[goodhue]

26. Media Reform Advocacy Groups

http://www.corporations.org/media/#reformgroups

Media Reform Advocacy Groups:

Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting (FAIR) (the #1 media watchdog group)
http://www.fair.org/

Media Channel (check out their Issue Guides)
http://www.mediachannel.org/

Media Tank
http://www.mediatank.org/

Media Access Project
http://www.mediaaccess.org/

Media Alliance
http://www.media-alliance.org/

OpenAirWaves.org (from the Center for Public Integrity)
http://www.openairwaves.org/telecom/

Take Back the Media (consumer pressure group fighting corporate-friendly mass media coverage)
http://www.takebackthemedia.com/index.shtml

Free Press
http://www.freepress.net/

Action Coalition for Media Education (ACME)
http://www.acmecoalition.org/

Media Watch (challenges racism, sexism & violence in media)
http://www.mediawatch.com/

Media Transparency: The Money Behind the Media
http://www.mediatransparency.org/

Rocky Mountain Media Watch (takes on the TV "news" media)
http://www.bigmedia.org/

Media Geek
http://www.mediageek.org/

Media Tranparency (exposes the right-wing foundations and institutes that influence much of when ends up in the mass media)
http://www.mediatransparency.org/

Media Tenor (media content analysis of media around the world)
http://www.mediatenor.com/

[cprise]

34. freepress.net is pretty good

That group is actually organized around reform (not whining about what they saw on Fox this morning).

Here is a great media reform page on Third World Traveler:
http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Media_Reform/Media_Reform.html

This article is particularly good:
http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Media_Reform/Bldg_Media_Demo.html


Also very important--

Citizens for Independent (i.e. REAL) Public Broadcasting
http://www.cipbonline.org/

[WilliamPitt]

27. Adbusters

www.adbusters.org

[BootinUp]

29. I was first with that ;)

just sayin

[Kimber Scott]

28. It took years of systematic effort for the RW to take over the media

and the only way to get it back is to do the same thing they did. Offer scholarship funds for journalism students, keep working to expand the liberal talk shows, turn conservatism into an undesirable word, (Rush Limbaugh is an idiot. Rush Limbaugh is an idiot. Rinse. Repeat.) Demand and esteem high journalistic standards. Show the world liberals have money, too. Money talks bullshit walks - no matter your country, culture or religion. He with the most goats wins. We have more goats, they're just not all owned by the same few people. The power is with the people. We just have to put one foot in front of the other, SYSTEMATICALLY, and get it back.

[Kathy in Cambridge]

35. In order for us to SYSTEMATICALLY get the media back

we need to revive the Fairness Doctrine and have some big guns (Soros, Move On) to fund the drive. Or start our own networks. I don't necessarily want an 'all liberal' network. I would like to hear BOTH sides and not just the right wing SCREAMING over everyone else.

[Kimber Scott]

40. Fairness Doctrine is a good first step. I don't want a "liberal" network

either. I want the truth. I figure out how I feel about it all by myself.

[richgriffin]

41. both sides?

I'd prefer many different ideas in the marketplace of ideas - both? No! I want as wide a spectrum as possible! How do we really organize? this particular issue is one of two that I would be willing to make sacrifices and really work hard on it - the other being real electoral reform to broaden democracy and make our system multi-party, instead of two similar ones the way we have it now...

[AndyTiedye]

39. The RW Spent BILLIONS to BUY UP The Media

They own it now. We can't buy it back from them, we don't have enough
money, and they aren't selling anyway.

It does not matter what we demand in the way of journalistic standards.
They are only answerable to their owners and the FCC, which is part of
the regime. They are under no obligation to listen to us, and have
no motivation to do so either.

We have to get our message out without the media, thereby suffering
a disadvantage of many orders of magnitude in our ability to reach people.

Anybody want a 'WHO OWNS THE NEWS?' bumpersticker?

[hughee99]

33. It's tough to get good press

for an anti-media movement, so it's tough to get that kind of message out.

[Senior citizen]

43. If you're in or near San Diego here's a link

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=109x13630

The National Association of Broadcasters (or whatever the big corporate media thing is called) is having their annual convention at the Hiatt in San Diego soon. And San Diego Indymedia just happened to schedule a media convergence for the same week.

Okay, we can't outspend them, and they may not even notice that we're here. I'm just one person, but I've been surviving for the last 15 years without paying much attention to the mainstream media. Before I got my computer I had a shortwave radio. Once I noticed that radio had gone RW, I listened only to Canadian Broadcasting, Australian Broadcasting, and I'd get up at 1:00 AM to listen to Ray Taliaferro. Then we got a pirate radio station so I was able to listen to Democracy Now. Then I got a computer and had a wide range of online radio choices. And now my area has an AM station with AAR. But the experience forced me to depend on independent media and I'm not alone. So Indymedia is growing and is full of innovative youngsters who know how to set up a pirate radio station or satellite TV and how to make and distribute Indy documentary films. There are hundreds of Michael Moores in the pipeline now. You've seen what one Michael Moore could do, so hang on, because the force is with us.