I am calling for an all-out war on the mainstream media.

[kentuck]

And we need the Internet to lead the way. We cannot let them put another moron into the White House. We cannot let them take words out of context and build them up to destroy one candidate or the other, since it always seems to be the Democratic candidate. It doesn't matter what "words" the Republican may say. He is a friend of the corporate media and their beloved taxcuts.

We cannot let "newspeople" make big deals out of what type of cheese John Kerry may put on his hoagie sandwich. We cannot let them determine who is "elitist" or not. They are what they criticize. If a candidate wants to windsurf or ride a bike or ride a horse, that does make them one of the common folks or one of elitists. Prince Charles likes to ride a horse.

We cannot let them take a story or a word out of context and build it up into a big story without calling them on it. We need to call them out individually, by name and time. We will not let them lead us further astray. We will put this country back on track.

We need to ask for volunteers that will call them out on their slick tricks. The Republican Party and the mainstream media work hand-in-hand on these types of stories. After what they have taken this country through in the last decade or so, we can no longer accept that it is part of politics as usual and that Republicans are just better at it. We expect more from our free press and we will get it. We have the power in our hands to organize against these types of tactics. Let's call for volunteers to spread the word. Keep them honest.

[ananda]

1. Boycott.

period.

[KarenS]

2. K&R and I volunteer!!!

[L. Coyote]

3. And there is only one way to win this war. Do not even give them attention.

Just change over to new media entirely.

And BE the media too, blog, make videos, make noise, whatever, connect, and denounce M$M's intellectual bankruptcy!

Do not even watch the M$M, or they will not go away! (Except to get the goods on them, of course.)

[bdamomma]

4. the media along with the BCF needs to be all thrown out

they have been all along doing a great disservice to the American people by shoveling them BS, no wonder Americans are getting dumbed down. The media has not helped, this is all part of the plan keep the people poor and uneducated and they will do anything they(neocons) say. Enough.

[0007]

5. Oh golly gee, lets get started.

Strike. Boycott. Protest. A real volunteer Army that can come up with positive results. Yes Sire.

Good Luck

[SammyWinstonJack]

16. Should have started before the corprat media ran off all of the better

Dem candidates, leaving us with these two unelectables. Too late now. :shrug:

[Echo In Light]

44. By design, of course

[elizfeelinggreat]

6. stop the consolidation

and change the laws so it cannot happen again.

I am with you in sentiment but I don't think that we can stop the way they do business, we have to stop those huge corporations from being the ONLY choice we have.

[kentuck]

7. Good point .

But they have the power at present to feed the people whatever they choose to feed them. It is up to us to change their diet. We cannot ignore them. They have too much power. We have to confront them.

[Liberal Gramma]

18. Yes. Consolidation in the media has been bad for the public

We only seem to have the "right to know" if it's a Britney Spears melt-down.

[Jim__]

8. How do we wage war on the media?

I'm willing to call the media on what they say. But, unfortunately, if the media doesn't report it, it didn't happen. We need more than calling the media. We need grass-roots reporting. We have the internet; but that only reaches interested people. We need newsletters that are mailed out weekly that point out the media's lies and selective reporting. We need grassroots organizing that informs neighborhood people.

[kentuck]

9. You are the new media, my friend.

Do not underestimate your potential or your present power. Just because the Internet may only have 20 million readers does not mean you can only reach 20 million people. It has a multiplying effect. They, with all their power, cannot compete with Obama on the Internet, when it comes to raising money. That is the power that you have. Use it.

[susankh4]

21. Ask WJC

He is the only recent Dem who has done it effectively.

They tried soooooo hard to take him down. His approval ratings just kept climbing.

(Pssst. Love him or hate him.... He knows the secret.)

[ljm2002]

30. Yes we do have to reach more people...

...not just those who already turn to the "new media", aka "internet" for their news and information.

My suggestion is that some of the sites that do produce factual content, start putting together a weekly 1-page flyer with that information printed on both sides, either as a single shet or a single folded sheet.

Then encourage people who read the site / blog / whatever, to print it out, make copies, and leave them in various strategic locations such as book stores, coffee shops, etc.

This takes the burden off of the information producers, they don't have to spend money to send it out. All they have to do is produce the material, then harness the energy of their distributed readership to reach a broader audience.

Just my $.02 for the day :-)

[Jim__]

33. That's a great idea! The information already exists on the internet.

If we can distribute that, we can reach more people.

[ljm2002]

39. Thanks...

...wish I had time to produce content, but alas, no.

[CJCRANE]

43. 21st century samizdat nt

[Submariner]

10. The Daily Show did a news skit last night

that showed in quick sound bites how each and every news organization and their sleazy news readers jumped on the bash Obama "bitter" bandwagon.

It was actually a very discouraging montage of how shallow the lives are of these talking heads that they have to seize upon such trivia instead of analyzing the real issues. No post-Petraeus/Crocker follow-up, or alarm that dickhead is rattling his saber at Iran, or corporate welfare bailouts for Wall Street. No, don't report that. Lets appeal to the reptilian brain in the electorate and incite a riot among folks who shouldn't be "bitter" about being burned by the S&L ripoff, outsourced steel industry, dot.com crash, Enron, Bear Stearns crash, $4.00 gas due to Bush policies, etc.

No,... let's bugger the crap out of Mr. Obama for phrasing the word bitter in such a way that the RNC and DLC can twist it every which way possible to use against him.

I don't know how to attack the MSM other than not buy the papers/magazines, or turn off the TV. They are corporate controlled by those that have the multi-millions to shape the news. For my little part, I do not, and will not, read or watch anything published or broadcast by Murdoch's Newscorp.

I want to reach through the TV screen and choke the little buggers!

[kentuck]

11. Your post is very powerful.

That is the type of truth that we must continue to express until it reaches enough people to make the M$M irrelevant.

[Supersedeas]

40. only -- this amounts to the only real criticism of the media within the Media

[calimary]

42. Rachel Maddow was talking about this just recently and had a solution I really like.

A little shame might help, she said. Some public shaming. Naming names. Calling out individual reporters and anchors and pundits for their misdeeds, misstatements and misleadings - BY NAME. Perhaps a little public humiliation might make them think twice.

I like it. I think they should be called out and forced to eat shit when they poison the public mind like this. Because those poisoned minds vote for people who poison the whole country.

[nichomachus]

12. This has to start on the local level

Here's how you do it.

Do not attack the media outlet directly. This doesn't work. Do not attack, threaten, or boycott their large national advertisers. Unless you are really big, it doesn't work. Remember, when the Christians were going to boycott Disneyworld. El Floppo!

Start local. Pick a large - but not corporate -- local advertisers. The car dealer are good. So, are the furniture stores. They spend a lot on advertising, they rely on local good will, and they are both hurting pretty bad right now.

Get a group of people to start calling "Crazy Jim" the car dealer. Talk to Jim if you can -- or go visit him -- tell him that because this media outlet is biased and because he supports that, you and your friends are not going to do business with him. Have as many people as possible do this over as short a period as possible.

I can guarantee you that he will be crapping in his pants after the 20th call. After the 30th, he will begin calling the local media outlet screaming and hollering. The station manager or the publisher will start crapping in their pants -- they always do when one of their biggest advertisers is yelling at them.

Repeat as often as necessary. Believe me, this will percolate up -- very quickly.

[elizfeelinggreat]

28. I like your idea

It's a good start. I wonder if the local democratic headquarters could spearhead this kind of movement? There is no question that the republicans do it (and on a larger scale), we've seen it over and over through their talking heads.

Or even the local peace group or organic movement, maybe they would be better ...

[Echo In Light]

13. K&R ...BE the media

[K Gardner]

14. I'm shocked that absolutely no organized effort has been launched by some of the

more powerful groups in the Democratic party. This has gone on for too long. I'm in, but we need powerful voices and a wide net if this is to catch on.

[kentuck]

15. The Daily Show is our ally...

It is good if we echo the good points made by John Stewart. Over and over and over. It reaches a lot of people and has a lot of impact on the mainstream media. If we unite in small ways as people have suggested, we can hold them accountable.

[kevinbgoode]

17. Often the local radio/television stations echo the news reports

on the network - and are often even worse in their bias as they edit those reports. Now every radio station/television station operates on a license by the federal government to use the public airwaves in the public interest. When you see that they are feeding the public a steady diet of bias on the local level, start recording the offenses (either directly on tape or writing down the transcript) and look for the date when their license to broadcast is up for renewal. They can be challenged. In fact, even the network-owned stations can be challenged, and a this point SHOULD be challenged. Make them have to defend their use of the public airwaves.

Now, in the case of newspapers, you need to do more than just target certain regular advertisers. If the newspaper is online, pay attention to the editorial slant of their stories and what they pick up from the Associated Press. Every time you see a plethora of conservatives publishing analysis of Democrats (which we often don't see on the other side), get a group of people in the community which can put together a thoughtful rebuttal - not just a letter to the editor, but a guest column. If it is written well, the newspaper is going to have a hard time turning it down - and if they do, then you have something to blog about online - and publish it there along with an accusation of why this opinion is not allowed in the local newspaper. Then put up flyers around town with the blog web site address and start getting your own audience, directing your wrath at the local media. They will pay attention to that, especially if you do it in an organized manner.

Alternative media can be very effective, especially when you get savvy enough to start breaking the stories the local media chooses to ignore.

[Peace Patriot]

19. STOP calling them the "mainstream" media. They are no more "mainstream" than

Bush is. I cannot understand why leftist (majorityist) writers keep pushing this DISINFORMATION phrase--the "mainstream" media. It is SO INACCURATE.

The REAL mainstream America wants the Iraq War ended, for instance. Do we see that OVERWHELMING opinion reflected anywhere in the corporate press?

So....

Corporate media.

Corporate news monopolies.

War profiteering corporate news monopolies.

The "Big Five" news monopolies (5 rightwing billionaire CEO's who control all news and opinion).

The Associated Pukes.

Whatever. Find a new phrase that ACCURATELY describes who these scumbags are, and the fascist crap they push as 'news' on our PUBLIC airwaves (and in print), and STOP CALLING THEM the "mainstream."

[kentuck]

20. Excellent point!

They shall be called the "corporate media".

on edit: too late to make changes on this post but will make note for the future.

[Peace Patriot]

23. Thanks, Kentuck! I've had such a hard time getting people to understand this.

The fascist puke media scores one for their side, every time we call them the "mainstream." I'm glad you get this. And, I agree that--after Diebold & brethren--they are, indeed, the major enemy of the people.

[FredStembottom]

24. Captive Media

My new term for these guys. it says what they are: captive to corporate interests.

And it's just as quick and catchy!

[G_j]

25. Ministry Of Propaganda n/t

[Uncle Joe]

31. I second or third, whatever the case may be your post.

They should be referred to as to what they are, the corporate media, there's nothing mainstream about them.

[FredStembottom]

22. I proposed, several years ago........

.... that all Dem candidates adopt the same tactic. This tactic can also be used by anyone who is "interviewed" by the Captive Media (my improved term for MSM).

It goes like this:

Highly-Paid-Hairdo Interviewer: So.... do you think Obama is right? Are people bitter (deeply concerned look)????

Candidate (or you or me): (casual. conversational)Yes I do. Did you know that a male prostitute had total access to the White House more than 200 times?

Hairdo: (scrambly blubbering and confusion) What?!

Candidate: (calmly)It's true. The security logs prove it. Have you found out yet what that was all about?

Hairdo: I.... hama hama... I'm sure that..... uh.....

Candidate: (still calm. no confrontation) It's kind of like never knowing who sent Anthrax to all those people. That guy is still out there, too. Do you plan to follow up on that story????? Because I'm kinda bitter that these things go unsolved. (a tiny bit of confrontation allowed in that last sentence)

This can be done anytime and with any question. No need to tie it back to the interviewer's question at all:

Hairdo: Do you think Obama is right..... that Hillary is elitist?!?!?

Candidate: Yes. (calmly. genuinely puzzled)By the way, will your network be following up on the billions and billions of dollars that can't be accounted for in Iraq?

Hairdo: That's got nothing to do with my question!

Candidate: (good natured-ly) True. I admit it. But I am so concerned about all that missing money that I am anxious to hear what your reporters have uncovered about that.

The calmness is important. Getting your points in requires getting to the end of them. Anger will just get you shouted down. And you prove that you aren't a "jerk" by remaining calm - on TV, being perceived as a "jerk" has nothing to do with the truth of your statements.

Just my suggestion.

[elizfeelinggreat]

32. absolutely awesome

"Did you know that a male prostitute had total access to the White House more than 200 times?"

I know why the candidates don't refer to this although I don't agree with their reasoning (this IS war).


You know, it would be a great slogan on protest posters or highway blogger signs. Just one of your questions repeated over and over until it sinks into the common consciousness.

[FredStembottom]

34. I think we should ALL become nice people who ask sharp, pointed questions.

Asked during any contact with the Captive Media. Expressing our confusion and puzzlement and letting them know (especially during LIVE interviews) that we look forward to their reports!

I've come to realize that we may never get the chance to educate and explain - BUT... we just might be able to create opportunities to ask the buried questions.

If a viewer is left scratching his head. Fine! He is quite likely to turn to whoever is next to him and ask: "What?... Male prostitute?!? I don't get it...........

I'll put my money down now that he'll be on the internet 5 minutes later just trying to figure out what that reference meant!

[devilgrrl]

26. How are the candidates for President that THEY chose for us working for everyone?

It wasn't the people that decided that it would come down to Obama and Hillary.

[kentuck]

27. We need to understand that the power is in the House of the people.

Not in the office of the Presidency. We do not support the power of kings or one man over the will of all the people. Once we stop giving the Presidency so much power, the better off for all of us.

[Perry Logan]

29. Nationalize the media, arrest and prosecute its CEOs.

[elizfeelinggreat]

35. if we nationalize it

doesn't it just become an arm of the current administration? (Although it seems like that's who is in charge of it now...)

[Fireweed247]

37. exactly!

:applause:

[KansDem]

36. I guess I started boycotting the "media" in 1996 when I got rid of cable...

Stopped listening to NPR in 2000 amid Cokie Roberts' "charm offensive" Bush "reports." I just don't pay any attention to CorpMedia!

I now get my news from BBC and the internet(s).

[earth mom]

38. After what the corporate media bastards did to Edwards, you'd think DU would already be boycotting

the corporate media.

I know I've been boycotting the corporate media bastards for a long time. But has DU? NO.

Instead, people on DU refuse to see that there is NO difference in the 3 candidates running and far too many have jumped onto the hype bandwagon like the freeperville sheeple we all used to disdain.

I think things will have to get a whole lot worse before people wake up and see just how much they've been lied to.

[guyanakoolaid]

41. It's kind of funny, I have no idea about for instance Chris Matthews' positions or behavior

I hear people bitching all the time, but can't participate because I often don't know what the hell they're talking about. I haven't turned the TV to a cable news station in years. I catch Olberman clips on youtube and elsewhere, so that's really about all I think I need of the MSM.

And judging from conversations I have with people in real life, I'm better informed.

[leeroysphitz]

45. All out? OK. I'll go get my M1 Abrams... N/T

[kentuck]

46. What do you think now?

:shrug:

[BreweryYardRat]

47. I always refer to them as the corporate media.

And I've got an idea for setting my own kinda-sorta talk show up online.