Progressive Democrat Issue 89: FAIRNESS IN MEDIA

This is another issue that I have hammered away at, though it is often so overwhelming that I feel our efforts are kind of scattershot.

I want to remind people about a few key points that we can be focused on in our effort to restore fairness in reporting.

First, I recommend reading and supporting the watchdog groups that catch the right wing propoganda machine's lies and publicizes them. Here are a few such watchdog groups that need your participation and support:

FAIRNESS AND ACCURACY IN REPORTING (FAIR), a national media watch group, has been offering well-documented criticism of media bias and censorship since 1986. We work to invigorate the First Amendment by advocating for greater diversity in the press and by scrutinizing media practices that marginalize public interest, minority and dissenting viewpoints. As an anti-censorship organization, we expose neglected news stories and defend working journalists when they are muzzled. As a progressive group, FAIR believes that structural reform is ultimately needed to break up the dominant media conglomerates, establish independent public broadcasting and promote strong non-profit sources of information.

Uniquely, FAIR works with both activists and journalists. We maintain a regular dialogue with reporters at news outlets across the country, providing constructive critiques when called for and applauding exceptional, hard-hitting journalism. We also encourage the public to contact media with their concerns, to become media activists rather than passive consumers of news.

FAIR publishes Extra!, the award-winning magazine of media criticism, and produces the weekly radio program CounterSpin, the show that brings you the news behind the headlines. In addition, we have a thriving listserv through which we distribute regular Action Alerts to our international network of activists-- as of September 2004, the FAIR list has over 55,000 recipients, with more signing on every day.

MEDIA MATTERS:

Media Matters for America is a Web-based, not-for-profit, 501(c)(3) progressive research and information center dedicated to comprehensively monitoring, analyzing, and correcting conservative misinformation in the U.S. media.

Launched in May 2004, Media Matters for America put in place, for the first time, the means to systematically monitor a cross section of print, broadcast, cable, radio, and Internet media outlets for conservative misinformation — news or commentary that is not accurate, reliable, or credible and that forwards the conservative agenda — every day, in real time.

Using the website www.mediamatters.org as the principal vehicle for disseminating research and information, Media Matters posts rapid-response items as well as longer research and analytic reports documenting conservative misinformation throughout the media. Additionally, Media Matters works daily to notify activists, journalists, pundits, and the general public about instances of misinformation, providing them with the resources to rebut false claims and to take direct action against offending media institutions.

CENTER FOR MEDIA AND DEMOCRACY: The nonprofit Center for Media and Democracy strengthens participatory democracy by investigating and exposing public relations spin and propaganda, and by promoting media literacy and citizen journalism, media "of, by and for the people." Our programs include PR Watch, a quarterly investigative journal; six books by CMD staff; Spin of the Day; the Weekly Spin listserv; and, Congresspedia and SourceWatch, part of our wiki-based investigative journalism collaborative to which anyone, including you, can contribute.

These three groups are YOUR resources for fighting against the right wing propoganda machine. They give you the information to understand when you are being lied to, the tools and action alerts to fight back, and a sense that you are not alone in your recognition that American news media sucks.

Next I want to remind you of the alternatives to the mainstream American media. There are many such alternatives, but I can't keep track of all of them. These are the ones I am most familiar with and which seem to give the best coverage.

AIR AMERICA RADIO: this is the unabashedly liberal radio network that right wingers predicted wouldn't last a year. Well, they got a rough start, but they are successful now. With XM Satellite Radio ch. 167, and with podcasts, ANYONE can listen to Air America, but their list of local stations is also growing. Find a station near you and start listening. You can see what Air America's line up is here. Also contact advertisers you hear and thank them for advertising on Air America Radio.

Current TV: This was Al Gore's baby. Yes, he really did help start the internet by sponsoring legislation that got it started. But Current TV is his real invention. Though aimed at younger audiences, Joy and I still like watching it. It is a new, viewer-driven network where viewers submit content and even make advertisements. It seems like a wonderful way for budding film makers to get started. Its content is all over the place, from fashion and extreme sports (not interesting to me!) to some of the best coverage of the war, the Hatian coup, the anti-war movement, and Middle East issues that I have seen. Actual soldiers film their experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan. People interview both Israelis and Hamas members. You see things reported on that I see NO WHERE ELSE. Each segment is short, so what they cover changes rapidly, but at least half of it is worth watching, and sometimes more. I have found out about issues right in my own city on Current TV. People caught on film police instigating violence at a peaceful rally here in NYC and showed it on Current TV. This allows ANYONE to be a reporter and allows you to see a wider variety of opinions and topics than are covered anywhere else. It's also good to put on when nothing else is on TV! You can find your local cable listing on the Current TV website.

SALON.COM is my default source of news on the internet. They carry standard AP headlines accompanied by excellent, intelligent analysis and opinions. If you subscribe, you can skip the ads. I have subscribed for years and gave away some gift subscriptions because I liked it so much. Or you can not subscribe and have to watch an ad or two when you access their site. Their columnists include Garrison Keillor, Joe Conason, and Sidney Blumenthal.

For more local newspapers and other media, you can click on your state on the Irregular States website and look under "Progressive Sources of News and Information."

Finally, the last thing I want to cover is the reinstatement of the "Fairness Doctrine." This is what USED to require broadcast licensees to present controversial issues of public importance, and to present such issues in an honest, equal and balanced manner. The Fairness Doctrine was in effect until 1987, when the FCC repealed it. The Republican-controlled commission claimed the doctrine inhibited rather than enhanced debate, using the same kind of twisted logic that we have come to expect from the Republican party. Very soon after its repeal we got the rise of right-wing radio hosts like Rush Limbaugh. It seems quite likely that its repeal was due to the right wing desire to turn the mainstream media into a propoganda machine for the Republican Party and the Fairness Doctrine got in their way.

I think it is time to get it back. If you look at all the people who oppose the reinstatement of the Fairness Doctrine, you will find groups like the CATO society and "Renew America" and other right wing nut cases. You can read an in depth article from 2005 on the Fairness Doctrine on the FAIR website.

Then it is time to do what I so often ask you to do: Sound off. Please write the media and write your Congress critters to call for the reinstatement of the Fairness Doctrine.