What should we all do about the Sovietization of our media?

[Cascadian]

I have gotten tired of our corporate driven, right-wing media. It is inconceivable to me that they are succeeding in the dumbing down of the American public. I would like to think that we all should do something substancial. The question is what? The people who call themselves reporters or anchors are nothing more than parrots repating the government line. These are nothing more than propagandists. I now follow the BBC, the CBC in Canada, the Guardian, Indymedia, or any other alternatives outlets.

John

[Fovea]

1. You have answered your own question

and the answer is that you are taking the profit out of whoring.\
They will get a message from Air America as well.

[wuushew]

2. limit the number of conservatives going into journalism

If smart progressive people get into and stay in journalism eventually they will rise to editor positions and can restore objectivity to the media the way it was before the era of completely selling out set in.

[Cascadian]

4. They need to bring back The Fairness Doctrine.

In fact, it should have been done under Clinton. Why didn't he restore it?


John

[salinen]

3. Don't underestimate what

you are already doing.

[malatesta1137]

5. How about a strike?

I am serious: we liberals should stop, I mean, STOP, watching ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX and CNN and stop going to their websites.

Can you handle that?

[bigbillhaywood]

8. Consumer boycotts too difficult to organize, and with the media it is too

difficult to quantify their impact. A better idea would be to do what the conservatives do, organize boycotts and letter-writing campaigns to those corporations which advertise on these stations. Choose your targets carefully and organize well. Me thinks you are not a true liberal, Malatesta. Wink.

[malatesta1137]

12. what makes you think I am not a true liberal?

because I want to boycot the networks? writing letters to corporations will get you NOWHERE.

[bigbillhaywood]

13. Your handle n/t

[bigbillhaywood]

14. And it's not an insult. By the way, writing letters to TV sponsors has

worked for conservatives. They have gotten shows pulled, and content edited.

[smirkymonkey]

18. Already have...

and I must say, I feel much calmer these days. Although a split second of Sean Hannity could quickly turn me homicidal again.

[nostamj]

6. how about this?

TALTY: THEY ARE LYING TO YOU

[bigbillhaywood]

7. Not sure about TV news, but an alternative newspaper could certainly

be put together. If you could get labor unions, progressive and liberal foundations to deliver the start-up capital, you could begin a progressive, labor-oriented publication with limited distribution in targeted metropolitan areas. Send a letter to George Soros-- maybe he'll fund it!

You'd have to be very careful, though, lest the publication become subject to the pressures of any corporation (forget about a non-profit, too many political restrictions) to become too pro-business and autocratic. You would probably want to make sure it was a unionized and collectively owned and operated enterprise (or else put in other safeguards). You would also have to be careful about what kind of ads you allow, so as to avoid bias. However, we do live in a capitalist society, so if you didn't have any ads I doubt mass publication could remain sustainable.

[No2W2004]

9. Want to know why the news media is so different?

The networks used to have their own news divisons that were not ratings driven. Think of it! Journalist reporting on stories whithout having to worry about what kind of rating it would pull! That's where we got Murrow, Huntley, Cronkite, Severide and others from.

Then the news divisons got consolodated into the entertainment divisons. Now the news HAD to have good raitings in order to show a profit. Thus, instead of having news that we need to see, we get "news" that pimps the networks new sitcoms.

Corporation news sucks! Find out things for yourself because the networks sure aint gonna do it for ya!

[bemildred]

10. Turn off your TV.

Cancel your newspaper.
Think of the free time, extra money, and lower sludge
throughput in your brain.

Imagine not being constantly warned about all the many
perils that corporate America is prepared to pretend to
rescue you from.

Imagine not hearing about the various activities of the
Jackson clan. Imaging not hearing or reading that Shrub
is "masterful".

Sound good? It is good.

[AgadorSparticus]

11. i have given up on the media for 9 months or so now. no tv.

and i feel much better for it. the only tv i watch are my basketball games. and i must say, i DO feel much better. i get my news online. my biggest fear was "missing" something. but i've found that i am actually MORE informed than before.

p.s. i also like my cspan to catch the important events like today's women's march in DC. and will and grace. :)

[bemildred]

17. Good for you.

TV can make you stupid if you watch too much.
Words lose their meaning, your mind shuts down
in an attempt to protect itself from the toxic
inputs. Newspapers are only marginally better.

[iorg]

15. Flippin' through last week

Caught O'Reilly interviewing Arianna Huffington: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,117764,00.html

(snipped)

O'REILLY: We have common ground but the problem I think that you have fallen into, with all due respect, because I like you, I want your book to do OK, is that you are hanging out with fringe people, all right, who Americans despise. They do. They despise these people because these people are just ramming socialism and stuff like that down people's throats.

HUFFINGTON: Oh, Bill, let me just say...

O'REILLY: You don't think Molly Ivins is a socialist, read her books. She even admitted it.

HUFFINGTON: I have read her books. Bill, let me just say something. They are Americans, the same kind of Americans...

O'REILLY: Ted Bundy was an American...
----------------------------------------------------------

Exaggeration of this sort seems to be par for Bill's course

[robbedvoter]

16. Encourage Air America. keep writing to the editors

Don't waste time on the propaganda.