What can we do about the media bias?

[RoundRockD]

I have been reading a lot of posts about how angry we all are at the media. The anger seems to be mainly at CNN, who claims to be impartial in their coverage. Many people send emails but nothing has been done about it. Why can't we get a coordinated effort to barrage them with emails one day or once a week? It worked with CBS when conservatives were angry about their prescious Reagan movie.

Would it work, or would they just ignore us?

[codegreen]

1. Kerry himself should address it. after what was done to his speech today

it couldn't possibly have been on as long or gotten as much coverage as Bush's

email's won't do anything, in groups or waves or whatever.
i doubt they even read them.

this needs to be addressed by people who appear on the media, who get on shows, it needs to be carried over their own airwaves.

the media needs to be bitchslapped live on television.

[gWbush is Mabus]

3. yes - people should say on air that CNN is a biased conservative station

OR BOYCOTT (like me)

it's tough at first, but it gets easier.

[codegreen]

4. they're ratings have tanked; the boycott is up and running.

they need to seriously offer the (D) alternative to Fox's (R).

they should announce the programming shift, announce the reasoning,
mention Fox by name. engage the enemy, take them on.

[Nite Owl]

2. I have e-mailed them

at least a dozen times. I have just stopped watching now and feel better for it. What I don't understand about CNN is that they are trying to compete with Faux. Those who watch Faux are dedicated listeners, they aren't going to switch over to them. Those of us out here who really want to hear what is truly going on are CNN's audience and if they are losing us they are setting themselves up for their own demise. They are self destructing.

[cosmicdot]

5. those who have a forum with the Media are in the best position

to call them out ... the politicians, elected officials ... and then back each other up ... the Democratic caucus on the Hill needs to get on the same page ...

the Party's platform could certainly speak to it

the sheer volume of stock issued for Big Media makes it difficult to become a majority stockholder ... even if we pooled our resources

they're so diversified ... from magazines to billboards ... it becomes a big challenge to make a boycott work


if people are so big on 'family values' and tired of the lack of quality on the tube, a campaign to put a guilt trip on the major corporations which buy ad slots which promote the crap-programming, etc., might be an angle

[cprise]

6. Stop putting all our eggs in the corporate media basket

That includes PBS, which is dependant on corporate charity.

http://www.democracynow.org

[Cyrano]

7. Less people watch

CNN each week than listen to Air America every day. As far as a coordinated response from us liberals, we tend not to march in goose step ala the GOP. They spend their time organizing their propaganda responses. Most liberals spend their time thinking. Maybe it puts us at a disadvantage to some degree, but hey, that's the way it is. The second we coordinate our responses (attacks?) against every utterance we don't agree with, we become the same as them. Will Rogers said, "I'm not a member of any organized party. I'm a Democrat." While there are those things that we have to pull together on, shutting down all opposing opinions isn't one of them. (Okay, maybe I'm being naive.)

[PROGRESSIVE1]

18. I'm for being somewhat like our opponents. If it gets the job....

done then let's do it!

[buddy22600]

8. Stop buying the papers, stop watching their stations

[sophie996]

9. The pen is mightier than the sword

Use it. Also the telephone. Tell your local papers and TV stations you want them to run photos of coffins, investigations of Bush-Saudi ties, more on the dangers of electronic voting, etc.

Act locally. Most media outlets are affiliated with chains. Word filters up. And local advertisers pay attention. Write to them, talk to them. Tell them you're not interested in sideshows like Michel Jackson or gay marriage (no disrespect meant there, but now is not the time to let the GOP set the agenda).

Get whatever local groups you belong to to ask for a meeting with the editorial boards to present your views. Request, don't demand—nothing turns them off faster.

I speak as a retired reporter and editor. The most enormous amounts of phone calls and mail newspapers get are in response to a missing astrology column or bridge column, so of course they think readers are pretty shallow. Show them it's not true.

:think:

[sophie996]

10. PS: The pen is mightier than the sword

Don't forget to thank them when they do something right.:)

[Democat]

11. Here is one idea that has potential

Monitor a reporter and try to keep him or her honest:
http://journalism.nyu.edu/pubzone/weblogs/pressthink/2004/01/10/reporter_adopt.html

[pleiku52cab]

12. cnn's only good hour

weeknights between 6-7 pm (est) - THE LOU DOBBS HOUR - is the
only unbiased reporting on the whole network.  his common
sense approach to economic and political news is the best of
any station, and if you want to catch him, do it soon - his
commentaries, questions, and opinions are sure to get him
canned soon.

[Cocoa]

13. get in the habit of emailing reporters

just to let them know we're paying attention.

With cable news, I think that would be pretty pointless. They obviously don't care if anyone thinks they're real journalists, so the only thing that would get their attention would be to cancel your cable, letting both the cable company and the news network know the reason.

[cyn2]

14. What to do about the media

I agree that CNN has displayed a lot of bias, but some of us from the Clark blog have had success with at least one of their anchors: Aaron Brown. He does respond to email and seems to consider things that area raised.

Bombing with a flood of emails seems to piss them off, and elicits little response.

However, responding every time you see something that's unfair. Writing letters to the editor in national and local papers, and writing when you think they do something well are types of responses that seem to garner attention.

When you write, be nice. Even if it's to criticize, make it constructive criticism.

That's all I know for now.

[Ricdude]

15. Unless it will affect their bottom line...

...or the bottom line of their multi-national, mega-corporate subsidiaries, they're not going to change.

My vote, bypass the major news media. The only question is how to become informed, and inform others. I get most of my news now from PBS, NPR, and Pacifica, and I can't see how I ever watched CNN as long as I did previously.

As for some ideas for how to spread the word, I've put in my two cents here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=109x6422

[DoverFrank]

16. I wrote a letter to the newspaper last month.

The assholes never put it in and didnt even respond to my emails. I have tried to get them to interview my sister and my aunt because we have family in Iraq but they wont even return our phone calls. F**K them!

[janetmarie]

17. i was excited about air america at first

but they are avoiding the israel/palestinian issue and i have even heard they make snide comments about palestinians. i was wondering what others thought about air america.