2003-06-09 11:39, by Julie Solheim-Roe
JOIN THE BIG PUSH ON CONGRESS TO REVERSE THE FCC ON JUNE 19
Aroused by groups like Media Challenge! and pushed by their constituents, many in Congress (Democrats AND Republicans) are in arms about the FCC vote on June 2 to allow the media giants to take over more control of the public air waves. The furor is such that on June 19 the Senate Commerce Committee is meeting to vote on rolling back the FCC vote.
Media Challenge! is joining Moveon, Common Cause, mediareform.org and others in urging you to get to your Congress members before then and insist the FCC be overtuned. Californians particulary want to contact Sen. Barbara Boxer, a Commerce Committee member who has been waffling on the issue.
Fast ways to send a message: Go to MediaReform.Net and click on Take Action then click on Common Cause's "Reverse the FCC." Or go to MoveOn.org.
Barbara Boxer: (800) 839-5276; (202) 224-3553; or (415) 403-0100; fax: (415) 956-6701; e-mail: www.boxer.senate.gov; 241 Russell Senate Office Building, Washington, DC.20510.
This is a great historic moment to press our case. Media reform activists believe there is a real chance we can win if we act now.
MEDIA CHALLENGE! CONTINUING DIRECT TV ACTION:
For those who want to continue to prod the news networks directly, it is important that the networks cover intensely and daily the mounting effort in Congress to investigate "intelligence" about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq that induced Congress and the public to allow President Bush to go to war.
This week Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz was caught admitting to an Asian group that the reason the US invaded Iraq is because "it is swimming in oil." Last week he was quoted saying that the focus on weapons of mass destruction was simply a bureaucratic common ground that "everyone could agree on." Where is the TV news coverage of Wolfowitz's statements?
The cable news networks know they are currently under public scrutiny. They know they were the Administration's prime allies in beating the war drums. They are now giving only half-hearted coverage of the stirrings in Congress. Call their newsrooms and news bosses. Insist that the cable networks like Fox stop:
Parroting administration propaganda about Iran - the Bush Administration's apparent next target. Blacking out news reported in print media even before the war but not on TV that the administration "cooked" intelligence and forged documents about weapons of mass destruction.
Call on the cable networks to end their cover-ups and report developments daily. Bush Administration lies about WMDs make a far bigger story than the murder of Lacey Petersen.
Post Script: In a related development, the networks are also blacking out that the Administration is trying to cover up an investigation of the events leading up to 9/11 and its own behavior by denying key documents to independent investigators. Why not bring that up also with the networks?
Here is the network contact info:
MSNBC NEWS CHIEF Mark Effron. 201.583.5101. fax: 201.583.5199 mark.effron@msnbc.com ..... MSNBC NEWS DIRECTOR Alison Hawley. 201 583 5155. fax. 201 583 5512......MSNBC SWITCHBOARD (ASK FOR NEWSROOM) 201.583.5000 fax: 201.583.5590
CNN NEWS CHIEF Eason Jordan. 404.827.5111. fax: 404.827.4215. eason.jordan@cnn.com...NEWS DIRECTOR Kim Bondy. 404 827 1500. fax. 404 827 1099...CNN NEWSROOM 404.827.1500 . 404.827.1500. cnnfutures@cnn.com
FOX NEWS CHIEF: John Moody. 212.301.8560. fax: 212.398.8726. john.moody@foxnews.com .... NEWS DIRECTOR Kathleen Ardleigh 212 3013186 fax. 212-301-5067....FOX SWITCHBOARD (ASK FOR NEWSROOM) 212.575.4670. fax: 212.301.8274
MEDIA CHALLENGE! is co-sponsored by: Projects4Peace, ICUJP (Interfaith Communities United for Justice and Peace), Neighbors for Peace and Justice, Coalition for World Peace, Global Guardianship Initiative, Code Pink for Peace, Global Exchange, Peace on the Beach, Peace Warriors, LA International A.N.S.W.E.R., Not in Our Name, Global Women’s Strike, Southern Cal. Americans for Democratic Action, Americans Against Pre-Emptive War.
For more information about Media Challenge! and what the news networks are not telling you go to Projects4Peace and click on Media.
Other Valuable media democracy web sites:
MediaReform.net
www.mediachannel.org
www.reclaimthemedia.org
Center for Digital Democracy
Media Alliance
Media Tank
More about the Media Challenge!
We are experiencing an historic moment in which the daily under-informing and misinforming of America that characterizes
corporate media consolidation, has reached a dramatic new level in the failure to report fully and accurately on the march to war with Iraq and on the accompanying efforts to shred civil liberties in the United States. Instead, the five companies that control what much of the public gets to know literally herded the public into the war and are now herding them away from its consequences, including vast cutbacks in human services, veterans benefits, transportation, education and housing budgets in the U.S.while the U.S. pushes for a new form of colonial dominance abroad.
True democracy requires a highly informed public. Television and radio news has failed on a crucial and historical level at educating the public to vital developments and realities affecting our lives. They have thus become anti-democratic.
Accordingly, until and unless they undertake major reforms or are forced to change via legislation, we intend to make General Electric (NBC), NewCo (Fox) , Disney (ABC), AOL-Time-Warner (CNN), Viacom (ABC) and their counterparts in radio such as Clear Channel the "story" that needs to be told to the American public.
We the initiating peace and social justice groups are prepared to make every lawful effort that our imaginations can contrive to reform their current operations. We will mobilize citizens to protest their dangerous broadcasts every legal way they can. We see to withdraw their monopoly over precious corporate rights to public airspace and open television, radio and cable spectrums to new voices and organizations.
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