We need to control the Media

[Fla Dem]

We will not win another Presidential election until we have as much media control over the airwaves as the RW does. A concerted RW effort over the past 15-20 years to monopolize radio and TV discourse has resulted in the complete identity theft of the progressive/liberal ideology. We DO NOT have an equal voice. We DO NOT have the "rock stars" like Limbaugh and Hannity. Al Franken IS NOT in their league. He is not hard hitting, he doesn't frame RW issues in a way that impacts visceral feelings. Frankly it's like listening to NPR. The RW seizes on an issue and it becomes a talking point for all the talk shows, national and local. They have brainwashed 50%+ of voting Americans. Add to that the pulpit preachers.

Air America Radio is a start, but as much as I hate to say it, they need to take a page from the Hannity and Limbaugh play book and stop playing nice. I know they are close to beating Limbaugh in the NYC market, but SO WHAT!! They are preaching to the choir in NYC.

Limbaugh rarely has guests on his show, and takes only occasional phone calls, the rest of his 3 hours is taking current issues and hitting democrat's over the head with them. Everything wrong in the world is the democrats fault. He talks non-stop either praising the RW, or demonizing democrats, continuing hitting on the same themes over and over again. Hannity is very similar except he does take some phone calls and has guests. But his guests are just as hard hitting, and they parrot the same talking points and themes. They play fast and loose with facts, spinning them just enough to undermine and demean our positions, and put fear into the hearts in the heartland.

Themes: elite liberal media, main stream media, Massachusetts liberal, soft on defense, tax and spend, Teddy{hic}Kennedy, tree huggers, Hillary Care, Environmental wackos, etc. Continually used over and over again.

I live in NE Florida. The only 2 AM stations I can get both have Limbaugh. Then one carries Hannity in the 3-6 slot. The other Michael Savage. At 7 they carry Laura Ingram. There is no alternative. Both these stations carry local and national news and local weather, so people listen to them.

What happened to Gore TV ? What can we do to get more LW/Moderate "Rock star" voices heard across America? Do we have any one that is as good a communicator as Limbaugh or Hannity? I'll tell you who I would love to see as a talk show host; Howard Dean. He would pull no punches and energize the base.

Why is all the punditry on cable news so RW? Except for Olberman there is no one I can stand to watch. He at least takes jabs at the right. Limbaugh started this whole myth of the elite liberal media, and the media bought it and has turned into weak kneed sissies. They are so afraid of offending the administration, or having Limbaugh/Hannity call them out for reporting the truth, they have capitulated their responsibilities.

I'm very frustrated. Not at Kerry, I think he and all the volunteers did a remarkable job against a very stacked deck. He got the 2nd highest popular vote of any candidate in history. IMHO I don't think any of the other primary candidates could have done as well. I think only if he had Clark on the ballot would he have had a better chance, because of the terrorism issue. Unless this administration severely screws up over the next 4 years, we will have another uphill battle in 2008, regardless who is running.

We have to have strong voices out there hitting back 12 hours a day, 5 days a week, 52 weeks a year. Until we do we will not overcome

[el_gato]

1. There are 289 FM licenses up for sale right now

http://auctionbidding.fcc.gov/bidding/results_all_highbids.htm?s=1&p=1

some of them are not that expensive

maybe we should buy some

[liveoaktx]

3. Like what range of cost?

[Tace]

22. Good Idea

[TheDebbieDee]

2. We will not win another election until the votes are........

counted fairly. Until the votes are counted fairly it's almost a waste of time to do anything else.

[txdude10]

4. Well said...Fla Dem

Robert Parry makes makes the same argument in his Consortiumnews article ( see www.consortiumnews.com/2004/110304.html). His point is that street-level activism and election-time mobilization aren't going to cut it for Progressives if they wish to reclaim national political power; without an investment in a vertically integrated progressive media apparatus to pinch liberal ideas and arguments to the American people and to counter the right-wing media monopoly, the Left will be grasping at the straw for a long time to come.

I would add that another critical area needing our focus is the voting process. As long as Republicans control the balloting process, Democrats will never win. Either we crusade for abolition of paperless electronic voting machines or we work to get Democrats and Progressives elected or appointed to these key levers of power.

[Fla Dem]

5. Thank you, and I really didn't read that article first.

However I'm glad that there are like thinking people out there that have a louder voice than mine.

[Mabus]

21. What I think would work

is using the same tactics the GOP used to reach the masses but with a twist, we tell the truth. Scandal rags like the National Enquirer and the Star have done a lot of damage to the Democratic party and its leaders. How many times during the 90's did you stand in line at the grocery check-out or at the local convenience store after buying gas and cringe at the Clinton headlines? Remember when Gary Condit was their fodder de jure?

It goes farther back. I'm sure the Kennedy family has helped keep these magazines afloat since Jackie and Ari hit the news. They've also covered the Kennedy's and their relatives. From everything from Teddy and his car accident, following JFK Jr. around to see who he was dating at the time & his marriage to the Kennedy cousins (Skagel and Smith) we've been bombarded with stories about the Kennedys and more subtly how corrupt Democrats are. Then there were all the JFK mistresses who came out of the closet and sold their stories to the tabloids. Not to mention the fact that over the years these Kennedy stories have helped demonize several groups: Northeast, Catholic, liberal, elite (rich and powerful) Democrats.

From Gary Hart/Donna Rice/Monkey Business to Bill Clinton/"fill in a woman's name/sex scandal-illegitimate child the tabloids have been filling the heads of everyone with anti-democratic lies. So, why can't we find a liberal publisher who is willing to start a weekly scandal sheet to compete with the tabloids?

The best part is he wouldn't have to make anything up. Instead of Clinton's pseudo-love children they can feature Henry Hyde's or Strom's real ones. Instead of Teddy's Chappaquiddick we can keep rehashing Laura's accident outside of Midland.

What better way to reach the public than by shoving the truth in their faces day after day in a format they readily accept? This also goes along with some of the Parry articles concerning "Perception Management" by utilizing an existing and widely accepted media to get get a message out. The only difference is that we should use it to propagate the truth and correct RW lies.

There has been talk about Arnold and changing the constitution. How many Republicans would change their minds about him if there was a column bringing up every embarrassing thing that Arnold has done that the MSM ignores?

They've talked about promoting Kelsey Grammar (I actually liked Fraser) as a GOP candidate. What if his past is constantly rehashed and his private life was made daily fodder.

All I'm saying is if we can get the truth out, it will speak volumes. Or as Saint Francis of Assisi said, "Preach the gospel at all times... and when necessary, use words." We've tried to reach these people by demonstrating to them where we think they are wrong. They aren't listening. Let's start using words they will understand, in a medium that helps get the word out quickly and that way we can create a real change from the bottom up.

[Tace]

23. I Completely Agree That The Truth Is Key Here

[carnie_sf]

6. Good point

We also need some left-leaning computer science types to come up with some alternatives to Diebold etc.

[oscar111]

7. AAR Leaflets:cheap ads in wekly pprs:subsidy fm AFLCIO:ur Will

If u not like Franken, how about Malloy? He is on too.

For now, grow AAR. Printout cpr made leaflets of your own, leave them everywhere. With frequency, or url.

Nag DNC and aflcio to subsidize the AAR. Both dnc and aflcio will disappear without AAR. well, almost.

Put AAR in your last Will.

Your area have weekly alternative paper? buy a cheap oneline ad on the backpage group of ads, for AAR.

Possibly, UAW united auto workers, will revive ieAmerica. I am not sure if two networks would add to our strength, or divide it. For sure, they UAW need a better name for it. "ie"America ...was "Ideas and Entertainment", but it took me a year to ferret that out.

Stupid name, stupid. Hard to remember, case sensitive, just plain stupid name. New union prez pulled the plug on it.. so persuade him or elect new union chief.

PS Original Post .. fla dem.. mightily well written. You ought to write editorials for AAR, if they have editorials.

ditto, re:'er, who said mere 4 month campaigns wont win elections. RW is "campaigning" 365 days a year! It is now a case of 24/7 against soundbites.

[oscar111]

8. Dutch Model the goal

They divvy up pages in newspapers , and put them under control by citizen media groups, according to size of the group.

If your local dem media group was twice the size of the repub group, your group would lay out sixty six of the paper's hundred pages. Total control of content.

I think small groups got a bit more than what size would allocate, to give them a fighting chance.

Poss, electronic media too, in holland.

This all recalled from two decades ago. Might be different now.

EXAMPLE OF AMERICAN IGNORANCE:
I bet even among DU'ers, few knew of this.

[oscar111]

9. Gore tv next yr

Indymedia, i think.

link to site was on DU.

We should have had Democratic Party radio in all states since 1920. If we had, then no Hoover, thus no Great Depression, no Nixon, no Vietnam war, no Reagan, no Iraq war, no Bush.

They would have wound up designing dams, placing bugs in phones for a fee, acting, and goofing off with a huge bag of cocaine.

-- Kucinich would have been president about 1992.

-- 90 % of our middle class would be union, as in Sweden.

[oscar111]

10. Need BOTH papertrail and AAR

we cant win without BOTH in place.

Accurate vote counts will not win if Joe Citizen listens to Rush all week long from a speaker in the corner on a ledge over his workplace, put there by his boss.

I have heard of this in a couple of places. At the post office lobby, where one buys stamps, there was a tv set up overhead when i went in. Had to humm to myself to avoid hearing the offensive yapping from the RW host on the tv.. forget who he was. Very RW. Forced TV..in the P.O.!
And loud, you couldnt ignore it easily.

And,.. AAR will not win it, if we stay with BBV.

Two fronts to work on. As your talents are,... go to work where your talents are.

[Revolutionary Mama]

13. Don't shut out other kindred spirits

I hope, when you specified "Dems" you didn't mean Democrats only, but just used Democrats as an example. I'm an Independent, but I'm all for the Democrat party bringing down the rabid-red Republicans.

[bluetrain]

17. Well, we had the guy who invented TruVote & he was "mysteriously"

killed...

[Name removed]

11. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Revolutionary Mama]

12. I have newspaper experience plus...

If anyone is interested in helping to establish an informative newspaper in the Northwest Florida region to compete against the established pro-Bush corporate-owned newspaper, please contact me.

I know how to compete against the established paper and how to turn the corporation, or at least the local company, against itself.

[geojaye]

14. NW Florida

I'm from greater Pensacola and have made "hate radio" my priority. While it's a sickening chore I scan and listen while traveling 8 states doing comm support for the Army Reserve.

The garbage that comes out of the radio 24/7 is, at times, scary, and all will make you ill unless you're in the "real red zone".....

I started with WSB 750 AM - Atlanta, the home of, among others, neal boortz (a real piece of work), hannity, mike kavanagh, savage, slade, etc.

I have compiled a list of the sponsors at WSB in general and neal boortz sponsors in particular.

The list contains, whenever possible, sponsor names, addresses, email addresses and telephone numbers.

Having the voice of sanity and reason (that would be us) is vitally important but so is stemming the flow of hate and divisiveness

How near Pensacola are you????

[RabidNation]

15. Some of us are trying...

Hello:

It's an outgrowth of a conversation that started on Daily Kos; about 20 of us are getting together to start a "liberal" media initiative. There's a lot of talk at this point about what we want to do - the first priority is mounting an advertiser boycott of Fox/Drudge/Sinclair; the second is moving into content creation/distribution/delivery.

This initiative is all of 48 hours old - larval - but we are interested in hearing from others inclined towards participating in such an effort (particularly in the roll-your-sleeves-up, actually-work phase). We've bought the domain - FoxDetox.com - and are working on some initial strategy stuff. If you want to see where the discussion's gotten so far, you can go here:

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2004/11/16/101735/41

If you're seriously interested in participating, you can contact me at david(at)rabidnation.com.

RabidNation-the daily chronicle of a country gone mad.

[bluetrain]

18. I'm ALL OVER this idea!

I have no journalistic experience whatsoever but think it's damned time we had a paper WIDELY circulated with a TRUTH bias. As I've said in other threads, I'd be more than happy to pick up a paper route to get the word out. Our audience is not all online and with the way things are going, fewer and fewer will be. We need something immediate and easily available to get the word out.

[strykerzero]

16. I have nothing but scorn for the media..........

I Really HATE some of the morons who run these television networks.

Anyone remember the whole Jessica Lynch Story?

Lynch's Location was given to U.S. Troops by an anonymous Iraqi. Some moron at CNN managed to get ahold of the informants name and revealed it over national television. A few Days later the informant and his entire family were found murdered...............

Do these media mongrels actually CARE about anything other than ratings??????????

(other stations may have revealed the name as well but CNN was the only one I caught)

[gorbal]

19. Support On-line Media

There is so much great on-line media these days (Democracy Now, Truthout, Thom Harmann) that I have decided to cancle cable and tell them why. Call up your cable company and cancel, and tell them why, THAT will get a reaction:)

[PROGRESSIVE1]

20. kick

[thinkingwoman]

24. no, wait, no, not "control"...

we have to FREE the media from outside influences.

We have to restore it to its rightful place as democracy's watchdog.

[tomreedtoon]

25. Wrong. The PUBLIC needs to control the media.

The current domination of the media by right wing nuts is possible because control of media was taken out of the public's hands.

Remember the Fairness Doctrine? Equal time? Opposing viewpoints? Programming in the community's interest? That started disappearing with Reagan, and no one (no, not even the Democrats) cared to bring back media responsibility.

It used to be that, to keep posession of a TV license, the owner didn't just have to list programs that he felt served the community. He had to go out into the community, invite religious, minority, public issue-involved and other representatives to tell the station what kind of public service they felt the community needed. And records had to be kept of all this, and submitted to the FCC.

Besides requiring this kind of community involvement, bringing control of local TV stations back to people in the community is important. There should be no Clear Channel or other big entity owning hundreds of broadcast outlets. The old limits were good: each entity could only own 5 TV, 5 AM and 5 FM outlets, and no more than one of each in each ADI (city). Restoring this would let more voices (and not necessarily rich ones) speak out.

Unfortunately, this isn't as "sexy" an issue as stopping the war, or forcing John Ashcroft to personally tend to lepers, so it won't get much attention and it won't be done.

[Tace]

26. Kick

[jchicalata]

27. who needs to "control" the media?

i don't think it's a Q of one particular group "controlling" the media... but that we require more options....

check out www.gnn.tv it's got some really dope articles and allows users to post as much as they like. really GREAT READING

PEACE
jchicalata