There'll be NO democracy in DC until we bring back democracy in newsrooms

[blm]

Reposting for action

Shout out to MediaMatters and TakeBackTheMedia - Time to lead us in battle

Most of us here know that the only reason BushInc maintains power and why his many crimes still remain unreported - Because the GOP exerts control over most broadcast media through its corporate allies and war profiteering cronies.

We are ready to take on the battle to expose that control. We need our leftleaning media, DNC spokespeople and Dem pundit class to open their eyes about this, too.

It's PAST TIME we bring democracy back to the newsrooms.

We watched how media handled the Hart-Rudman Report on Global Terror, the 9-11 Commission report, the Dean scream, the constant access for Swiftliars, changed exit poll numbers, unsecured voting machines, Downing Street Memos, 2 Dem withdrawal plans for Iraq, and Alito's procorporate rulings - smear Democrats, protect the Bushboy.

We can't bring democracy back to the Senate or Congress unless we bring it back to the newsrooms FIRST.

[rpgamerd00d]

1. Totally Agreed. -nt

[Strelnikov_]

2. Hear Hear ! n/t

[bluethruandthru]

3. What do we do?

I think we need a cohesive plan on how to handle this. I believe you're absolutely 100% right. The first thing the Democrats need to do when they're back in power is to reinstate the Fairness Doctrine. When that was eliminated, we started this slide into a hell full of right wing hate speech and outright lies masquerading as news. We need to put as much effort into this as we did with our opposition to Alito!

[sasha031]

7. you have to be in power the reinstate the fairness Doctrine

[janx]

10. YEP.

That's about the size of it.

[blm]

22. The Catch 22 of politics.

,

[blm]

8. We're not gonna get back in power unless the media playing field is fairer

Past time for Dems to start calling media out for their bias to protect Bush.

[Marr]

4. There'll be no democracy in newsrooms until big media is broken up.

A handful of people own all the big media outlets in this country now, and those outlets have been reduced to being something like PR wings for their respective comglomerates.

Ownership always affects coverage, of course- whether you're talking about the press in 1780's Boston or 2006's CNN. But when it's consolidated to this point, when the news is basically steered by defense contractors and the oil industry, there is no room for real news. It's the world according to GM.

The only way to fix it is to demolish it. Big, corporate media operations need to either be broken up by the government, or ignored en masse by the public.

[blm]

15. I think EXPOSING it will help disinfect it - or at least keep it more fair

than it is now.

I'd take any percentage we can gain at this point. Right now the bias against Dems in the broadcast media is about 90%. What a difference in this country if we reduced that to 60 or even 70%.

[Occulus]

17. Which means you have to revoke corporate personhood

At least, I see it that way. I posted on this topic womewhere else, recently (which I can't dig up at the moment)- my point there was that almost every issue we as progressives face is tied into that one. I see it as a keystone-in-the-arch kind of thing.

[blm]

21. exactly right - every issue is contingent upon the way media presents it

or how much airtime they give the parties to state their side.

[Burning Water]

5. Let's do it n/t

[sasha031]

6. I don't think we can ever bring it back to the current news rooms

they are gone forever, the news is decided in the board rooms.
I see the media as the enemy
Venezuela had the same problem, Chavez and company created Telsur,...

[Skidmore]

9. In the mean time, shut down their entertainment divisions.

People, they don't make money off the news. Quit buying movies and watching series, and that stuff. Shut down the entertainment division. Certainly people found ways to occupy themselves before the advent of the electronic media.

[Blaukraut]

11. kick and question

How are we going to do this? The best way would be to reinstate the Fairness doctrine, and as someone upthread mentioned, that can't be done unless we're in power. And we won't get back into power as long as the media is not fair.
So now what? If Dem officials start calling the media out about their bias, will it work, or will they be dismissed as whiners and ridiculed?
Hitting the media where it hurts - with their advertisers, is also a long shot.
We really need to do something about this - you're absolutely correct. I just wish I knew where to begin.

[blm]

13. That's why I think MediaMatters can create a MOVEMENT to open eyes of

DEms across the board. It has to be DNC and Dem pundits and the whole leftleaning media - working TOGETHER for a change, instead of concerning themselves with their own pet vanities.

[Totally Committed]

12. I agree with this

1,000,000,000 %

Right on the money.

TC

[AgadorSparticus]

14. Absolutely!! The accountability arm of the gov't has been gagged

into silence and we desperately need them to do their jobs again.

[malaise]

16. Agree 100% n/t

[w8liftinglady]

18. we need to agree on ONE sponsor to boycott...and do it.

If we democrats and independents can agree on only One sponsor-but make it a big one,to boycott-and remind the network and sponsor on a daily basis,this might get their attention-they are whores-you know that.When we all rallied behind Anderson cooper during katrina-CNN paid attention-gave him his own show.We DO impact the media...we just have to be organized about it.

[blm]

19. That's exactly my plea to MediaMatters - they need to organize all forums

like DU and promote this action on NOW as an URGENT Media Matter.

[understandinglife]

23. Suggest you bring Arianna Huffington into the loop.

Peace.

[blm]

24. Everyone should be in the loop - all forums willing to take on the battle.

I think we can be a tsunami on this issue.

[understandinglife]

26. I should have been more specific, sorry.

What I'm sugggesting is that Huffington Post might be better able to generate the sesimic event of the scale you are seeking than Media Matters or Think Progress. In any event, what you are calling for is essential and needs to happen quickly and forcefully.

Thank you.


Peace.

[blm]

27. Ah...gotcha.

Would you approach them on this ul? I don't post over there.

[understandinglife]

29. What I'd suggest ...

... is that you contact them directly at [e-mail] or (AIM: HuffPost)

I rarely post in the comments section there because they get piles of freep-stuff and I don't know if Arianna actually reads the comments.


Peace.

[blm]

30. Just sent it to them - we'll see.

.

[w8liftinglady]

39. between all the blogs-several million consumers

[blm]

41. Left blogs or all blogs?

.

[donheld]

20. That's very much the case

If we fail to bring it back to the airwaves, we may as well give up.

[ItsTheMediaStupid]

25. If more of our elected Democrats had some guts it would help

They need to do what the pugs used to do. Basically say fuck you asshole when confronted by a biased reporter and then call him/her on the bias, immediately.

Scream about pro-corporate, conservative bias in the broadcast media at every opportunity.

They should give examples - there are dozens of them lying around waiting to be used. The difference in coverage between Ann Coulter joking for poisoning a supreme court justice and the supposed "mistreatment" of poor Sam Alito by the mean democrats on the Sentate judiciary committee.

The impeachment of Clinton for lying about a blowjob and the press's apologizing for Bush's illegal wiretaps and repeating his lame legal excuses for it. The duplicity of calling Bush's pre-Iraq lies "faulty intelligence" when they are clearly part of a propaganda campaign to start a way.

I've seen Vichy France referenced here lately and I like it. The GOP apologists of the DLC and other spineless GOP stooges with a (D) beside their names should be referred to as Vichycrats from this day forward, to distinguish them from real democrats. They are collaborating with the neo-Nazi-con republicans and should either stop or get voted out of office.

We don't need a new party, we just need to take the one we have back from the corporations and their whores in democratic clothing, like Vichycrat Jay Rockefeller, Vichycrat Maria Cantwell (I'm using a lot of restraint not to change the spelling of her last name, the cloture voting bitch) and Vichycrat in Chief, Joe Lieberman. Joe Liberman, please change fucking parties already you sorry son of a bitch! Take Ken Salazar with you, the spineless cloture voting wimp!

Real democrats should totally and completely abandon any treatment of pugs as colleagues. The pugs want to exterminate you, so there is no point in playing nice with them. Call them ruthless, chickenshit bullies behind their backs and to their faces. Say they are only interested in making the rich richer at the average guy's expence. Relentlessly expose the religious hypocrisy that is part and parcel of the pug party.

Democrats have to change how we approach working class white males. We have got to start asking Joe sixpack if it's more important to talk about "political correctness" or to discuss how to create a viable economy after peak oil? Ask him if preventing gay marriage is going to help him pay the rent when his job is moved offshore by the Pig Vomit, Inc.

One more thing before I quit ranting - there is no shame whatsoever in being an "obstructionist" now. Everything * and company have done for the last five years has been bad for America. Every damned thing has been about money and power.

Obstructing the neo-con agenda is the patriotic duty of every elected official who actually gives a shit about this country, like the 25 democratic senators who voted no on cloture.

[Generator]

34. I agree with you

Great name irony though on this thread. I agree with your post the only reason though that the media matters is because most Americans don't even have a damn clue what's happening to the supreme court or a dozen other things. One could blame them, but as Ted Kennedy so eloguently stated as he BEGGED the other senators to continue debate on Alito: they are worried about paying the heating bill, the doctor's bill, the war in Iraq and obviously aren't up to speed on the unitary executive and case law. But that doesn't meant they want their liberties trashed.

I don't think the America we have-even in many Red states represents what the people actually want. I think it's a fraud. And the media-the smiling hosts of the Today Show and everyone else present this happy "everything is all right" this is what you want, the Dems are foolish-trust your president-Howard Dean is crazy-Alito is already confirmed anyway-Al Queda will kill you! message day in and day out. It's the media stupid.

But without leaders that stand up and say so-and refuse to be spun and say it again and again and again and again oh and vote no and even risk oh my god a filibutster! on fascists when they can it won't matter.

[blm]

38. Some are starting to catch on to the real culprit - I think Pete Daou is

stirring up awareness that is actually starting to sink in with some.

[upi402]

28. A****MEN! Time has come

:toast: :mad: :bounce:

[banana republican]

31. ANY LETTERS TO NBC RE: THE FOLLOWING????

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x293956

[blm]

32. I love that thread - there are some great letters on it.

It's exactly what I'm talking about here - we need a determined, widespread movement to expose these corporate talking heads and their fascist masters writing their scripts with the RNC.

[Bonobo]

33. I agree 100% and I even propose we ask Skinner to pin this up.

This should remain kicked.

IF we could focus the awesome power of the entire DU community plus other notable blogs such as Huffington, Kos, etc., we could make an impact that would be felt deeply. But we need laser focus and organization.

If there is some way I can help, I am here for this cause if we can agree on a concerted type of action beyond simply the usual faxes and e-mails. It must be a global internet effort beyond DU alone and it must be focused. Sorry to repeat myself but I feel that this is an important target.

[Bonobo]

35. Here's a wild idea. Please give your opinion.

Every liberal blog that agrees to it, places a static screen on their website. Just a big purple background and simple statements 5-10 word messages that changes each day.
The messages could tell who or what to boycott that day (Dominos or whatever), who to call and complain to (Senator so-and-so) or maybe even just "IMPORTANT: Turn off your TV until tomorrow!"... I leave the ideas to others but the important thing is that it could not be ignored by the 24-hour news division with their "Blog correspondent" or whatever they call these new people who have the ridiculous and ironic job of reporting on what bloggers, the brave individuals who do their job for them, are doing.

Anyway, I'm just putting out a wild idea to hopefully stir the pot...

[Bonobo]

36. self-deleted and reposted. Sorry

[blm]

37. I hear you - I thought an appropriate response to Alito confirmation

was a REAL buy nothing at all for two or three days or until it was felt, then do a longterm spending slowdown. After all, his role is to enable the fascists, so a total slowdown in spending was in order.

[Bonobo]

40. But we need the "blank page" on the internet. We must dumb down.

We must dumb down the message and focus it. I think another poster here stated it this way, and I paraphrase, "They (Repugs) don't play with 'nuances'."

Well we need to remove nuances as well. And stop giving CNN free content too! "Blog Correspondent" indeed. How dare they! That should be a copywright protection issue! They are literally using blogs, someone elses hard work and intellectual property, for their own consumer uses!

Anyway...