Mainstreaming the Media Reform Movement

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http://www.mediachannel.org/views/dissector/mcalert196.shtml

Published on Thursday, November 6, 2003 by MediaChannel.org
On Wisconsin: Mainstreaming the Media Movement
by Danny Schechter and Timothy Karr

The University of Wisconsin has had a long history as a center of dissident culture and alternative perspectives. In the 50's it was an oasis of free thought in a state that sent Joe McCarthy to the Senate. In the 60's new left intellectuals published "Studies on the Left" and mounted some of the era's largest anti-war protests.

And so it not surprising that a major media reform congress will be hosted on the university's Madison campus this weekend. The timing could not be better; the need for media reform has risen in American public discourse to a level never before seen.

Few of us in the media reform movement thought that ownership issues would have touched such a deep nerve or galvanized such a widespread response. The popular outcry against a proposed Federal Communications Commission rule change mobilized nearly three million Americans opposed to further dismantling of media ownership rules. Capitol Hill observers say this issue has been the second most discussed item by constituents in 2003, trailing only the war on Iraq. This is the new face of the popular campaign for media reform, and a sign that the historical concerns of those attending this weekend's conference have crossed political divides to capture the interest of many.

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