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Liz Eisen - Sat 11 Oct 2008 10:12 AM CDT
Tojo8817 - Fri 03 Oct 2008 08:35 PM CDT
Marilyn Walker - Fri 03 Oct 2008 12:51 PM CDT
Brent - Mon 29 Sep 2008 02:55 PM CDT
audiored - Sat 27 Sep 2008 10:34 PM CDT
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Saturday, January 29
Bush Propaganda Machine Could Roll to a Stop
by
Trish Nelson
on Sat 29 Jan 2005 10:53 AM CST
 Bush Propaganda Machine Could Roll to a Stop
Editor and Publisher
by Brian Orloff
NEW YORK
In response to continued revelations of government-funded "journalism"
- ranging from the purported video news releases put out by the drug
czar's office and the Department of Health and Human Services, to the recently uncovered payments to columnists Armstrong
Williams and Maggie Gallagher, who flacked administration programs -
Senators Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) and Frank R. Lautenberg (D-N.J.) will
introduce a bill, The Stop Government Propaganda Act, in the Senate
next week.
"It's
time for Congress to shut down the Administration's propaganda mill,"
Lautenberg said in a statement. The bill is co-sponsored by Sens.
Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) and Jon Corzine (D-N.J.).
[Lautenberg’s
spokesman] said "This is not a Republican or Democratic issue.
This is an issue about an independent press, and I think that's
something that will cross party lines."
"[Bush] said that his cabinet agencies made a mistake when they paid
commentators to promote his agenda," Kennedy said in a statement. "It's
more than just a mistake, it's an abuse of taxpayer funds and an abuse
of the First Amendment and freedom of the press. ... If [Bush]
is serious about stopping these abuses, he will support this
legislation."
(click here to read the entire story)
 Click here to sign up for action alerts
from RapidResponse - Iowa.
Monday, January 24
Help Restore Balance on the Public Airwaves - Bring Back the Fairness Doctrine
by
Trish Nelson
on Mon 24 Jan 2005 11:43 AM CST
 Help Restore Balance on the Public Airwaves - Bring Back the Fairness Doctrine
FairnessDoctrine.com
For many
years, television and radio stations were required to give equal time
to opposing sides of public or political issues to ensure the American
public heard all sides of a debate. It was a requirement made by the
Federal Communications Commission that came to be known as The Fairness
Doctrine.
In
1986, a federal court ruled that the Fairness Doctrine did not have the
force of law and could be overturned without congressional approval.
Congress passed a bill to make the doctrine law but the bill was vetoed
by President Reagan in 1987 and the Fairness Doctrine was abolished.
Since
then, the country has experienced a proliferation of highly partisan
news outlets that disseminate unbalanced news coverage. Democracy is
built on the idea that the views, beliefs, and values of an informed
citizenry provide the best basis for political decision-making.
And
American listeners and viewers agree. A recent poll of likely voters
shows overwhelming support across the political and demographic
spectrum for restoring rules requiring fairness and balance on the
public airwaves.
Please join us in signing the following petition calling for the reinstatement of the Fairness Doctrine:
___________
Demand that Congress Renew the Fairness Doctrine
In
June 2004, Representative Louise Slaughter (D-NY) introduced
legislation calling on broadcasters to provide balance and diversity in
their news coverage. H.R. 4710, or the MEDIA Act (Meaningful Expression
of Democracy in America) would reinstate the Fairness Doctrine to
ensure that broadcasters "afford reasonable opportunity for the
discussion of conflicting views on issues of public importance." We,
the undersigned, support Representative Slaughter's efforts to restore
balance to the media and call on Congress to pass this measure.
News
consumers, particularly those of talk radio, are overwhelmingly exposed
to a single point of view. A survey conducted by Democracy Radio this
year revealed that 90% of all broadcast hours on talk radio are fairly
characterized as conservative. This imbalance results in issues of
public importance receiving little or no attention, while others are
presented in a manner not conducive to the listeners' receiving the
facts and range of opinions necessary to make informed decisions.
By
restoring a diversity of fact and opinion to programming, Fairness
Doctrine legislation restores a concept that has been lost since the
1980s -- that because the public owns the airwaves, the public is
entitled to be adequately informed by the broadcasters of news and
opinion. Slaughter's bill puts this fundamental issue as well as the
responsibility of broadcasters back on the agenda: "A broadcast license
confers the right to use a valuable public resource and a broadcaster
is therefore required to utilize that resource as a trustee for the
American people."
We, the undersigned, demand that Congress restore balance to our airwaves.
___________
Click here to sign the petition
Thomas Athans
Executive Director
Democracy Radio
David Brock
President and CEO
Media Matters for America
Andrew Jay Schwartzman
President and CEO
Media Access Project
Click here to sign up for action alerts from RapidResponse - Iowa.
Sunday, January 23
The Counterpoint: Everyone's Vote Must Count (Even Hyman's)
by
Trish Nelson
on Sun 23 Jan 2005 08:16 AM CST
Everyone's Vote Must Count (Even Hyman's)
The rational counter to "The Point," "The Counterpoint"
critiques and corrects the daily editorial by Sinclair Broadcasting's
corporate vice president, Mark Hyman, that is broadcast on all
Sinclair-owned television stations across the country.
by Iowa's Ted Remington
On a hot summer night in 1964 outside of Philadelphia, Mississippi,
three young men died defending Americans’ right to vote. They weren’t
soldiers. They were three civil rights workers, two white and one
black, who were helping register African Americans to vote. They were
brutally gunned down by members of the KKK.
In his latest commentary, Mark Hyman discusses voter
disenfranchisement. Choosing to focus solely on the disenfranchisement
of overseas members of the military, he claims cryptically that many
charges of voter disenfranchisement in recent elections are “urban
legends.” (Has anyone suggested alligators living in city sewers are
chomping up butterfly ballots?)
Hyman is right on two important counts: yes, there have been problems
with absentee ballots from service members overseas being counted in
time, and yes, there needs to be something done about it (although
electronic balloting, Hyman’s suggested solution, without a paper trail
is a recipe for disaster).
But Hyman leaves out a few important facts. For one, government studies
have shown that the problems in collecting military ballots come
largely from one source: the Pentagon itself, which has been lax in
instituting changes in mail delivery that would help solve the problem.
Because Hyman doesn’t want to blame the military brass for problems of
enlistee disenfranchisement, he doesn’t mention this.
Furthermore, as shameful as it is that not all members of the military
have had their votes counted, it’s not the sole or even primary problem
when taking on the issue of voter disenfranchisement. Despite his
assertion that other charges of disenfranchisement are urban legends
(we’re guessing he’s referring to claims of the disenfranchisement of
African Americans—call it a hunch), there’s evidence aplenty that voter
disenfranchisement is widespread in the civilian world as well.
And one doesn’t need to take the word of politically motivated pundits
or interest groups. The government itself has conducted studies on
disenfranchisement in the 2000 election, and found unequivocal evidence
that it happened, and that it happened primarily to the working poor
and minorities. A congressional investigation found that across the
nation, districts with lower household incomes and/or high minority
populations had disproportionately high numbers of uncounted ballots
compared to wealthier, whiter districts.
The U.S. Commission on Civil
Rights found that in Florida, a wildly disproportionate number of
discounted ballots were cast by African Americans. Moreover, there was
substantial evidence that the Florida state government illegally struck
the names of thousands of black voters from the rolls. This is
particularly chilling; military disenfranchisement seems to be the
product of simple mismanagement of the Pentagon itself, while the
events in Florida (given that the governor and secretary of state in
Florida had, to say the very least, a vested interest in the outcome of
the vote) suggest the possibility of purposeful voter suppression.
For democracy to work, we need to know free and open elections, the
lynchpin of that democracy, are carried out properly. Every vote needs
to count, from the National Guard member serving in Iraq to the retired
nurse living in Broward County, Florida. There’s no room in a democracy
for claims that it’s more important to count some people’s votes than
it is to count those of others.
This is a particularly important value to reassert now. Only last week,
a former KKK member was charged with murdering of those three young
civil rights workers on that dark Mississippi road more than 40 years
ago. As surely as the soldiers who hit Omaha Beach fought and died to
protect democratic freedoms, so did Andrew Goodman, Michael Schwerner,
and James Chaney. We owe it to everyone who has given their lives to
protect our freedoms to make sure everyone’s vote is counted.
And that’s The Counterpoint.
From
Iowa Rapid Response: You can help fight media conglomerate
Sinclair Broadcasting right here in Iowa by contacting the
following Iowa Sinclair Affiliates. Let them know you want fair
and balanced news and commentary.
Cedar Rapids, Waterloo, Dubuque: KGAN Channel 2
e-mail address: kgan@kgan.com
Ph. 800-642-6140 toll free or 319-395-9060
Ames, Des Moines: KDSM Fox 17
e-mail address: comments@kdsm17.com
Ph: 515-287-1717 or FAX: 515-287-0064
If
you live in these broadcast areas, watch Mark Hyman's "The Point" tonight at the end
of the 10:00 news. Then visit http://www.sinclairaction.com/
Mark Hyman
Resources:
Click here for a list of KGAN Advertisers
If you live in the central Iowa broadcast area, watch your nightly KDSM newscast for advertisers, then click here to post.
For a complete list of Iowa newspapers, click here .
For a list of Sinclair owned and/or operated stations click here.
If you’re looking for some ideas for responding to “The Point,” visit "The Counterpoint"
Click here to sign up for action alerts from RapidResponse - Iowa.
Wednesday, January 19
Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement Fair Lending Task Force Meets January 20th (and other meetings of interest)
by
Linda Thieman
on Wed 19 Jan 2005 04:11 PM CST
 Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement Fair Lending Task Force Meets January 20th (and other meetings of interest)
ICCI
The first meeting of CCI's Fair Lending Task Force will be Thursday, January 20th at 6:00 pm.
This new
task force will combine members who have been working and winning on
predatory mortgage lending and the Community Reinvestment Act.
These issues both deal with getting lenders to make good loans in our
neighborhoods. By doing this we are improving our neighborhoods
and the financial future of our communities. All CCI members are
invited to join us as we begin a new era in the fight for fair lending.
CCI's Fast Track is a home ownership workshop meeting on Thursday, January 20th from 5:30-9:30 pm.
This
overview of the home ownership process is ideal for future buyers who
have minimal credit and budgeting issues and who want to learn how to
take the best steps and avoid predatory practices. The workshop
is free and free childcare is provided with two days notice.
The Fast
Track class is located at Des Moines Citizens for Community
Improvement, 2005 Forest Avenue. To register, call Jerri at
515-255-0800.
Training Workshop on Media & Public Meetings
The Des
Moines Chapter of Iowa CCI will be hosting a training workshop for Des
Moines CCI members on Monday, January 24 from 6-8:30 pm at the Des
Moines CCI Office. The training will consist of information and
instruction on:
How to use the media to your advantage:
--Writing effective letters to the editor
--How to give an interview to the media
--Running effective public meetings
This is
a unique opportunity to develop and improve your skills in different
areas that will make Des Moines CCI stronger. If you are
interested in attending this workshop, RSVP to Danny,
515-255-0800. Refreshments will be provided.
Please join us on January 24th!
The next Predatory Car Sales Task Force Meeting is Wednesday, January 26, at 6:00 pm.
Following
our public meeting on January 11, we will be moving forward on concerns
and issues addressed. If you are interested in learning more
about and working on this issue, we encourage you to attend.
For questions or more information on predatory car sales, contact Danny at 515-255-0800.
Kristin Vick
Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement
Membership and Communications Coordinator
515-255-0800
We talk. We act. We get it done.
Monday, January 10
Join a Conference Call with George Lakoff
by
Trish Nelson
on Mon 10 Jan 2005 07:22 AM CST
 Join a Conference Call with George Lakoff
BlogforAmerica.com
George Lakoff is a professor of linguistics at UC Berkeley.
I was thrilled to learn how many meetups there were and how
many of you came to them. I am honored by your presence and your enthusiasm.
(This sort of thing doesn't happen to professors very often.) I dropped in
unannounced at one in Oakland and
96 enthusiastic DFAers were there—not just for framing but also for their very
impressive local candidates.
I've been given the wonderful opportunity to discuss issues
raised by the meetups on large-scale conference calls on Monday January 10 and
Tuesday January 11 at [6:00 p.m Central].
I hope you can make it. Click here to sign up for the calls .
There is nothing easy about framing. It's far more than just
getting some magic words to say. It has to do with changing the way you
think—getting insight into your own deepest values and the reasons why you are
committed citizens.
Many of us at Rockridge attended meetups around the Bay
Area. We were uniformly impressed by their quality. But what was covered there
was only a first step. There is a lot more to framing than you have seen so
far.
Please dial in on Monday or Tuesday. Click here to sign up. I'm looking forward to your comments and
questions. I need your feedback if I am to learn how to improve on our work. To
this end, the Rockridge Institute has set up an interactive forum on framing
issues. Please come and join in.
Thanks. I hope to talk to you soon.
—George Lakoff
 Join your fellow Iowans in the fight against media bias. Click here to join RapidResponse - Iowa.
Saturday, January 8
The Counterpoint: We Love the Sound of Hyman Whining in the Morning...It Sounds Like Victory
by
Trish Nelson
on Sat 08 Jan 2005 10:33 AM CST
We Love the Sound of Hyman Whining in the Morning. . . It Sounds Like Victory
The rational counter to "The Point," "The Counterpoint"
critiques and corrects the daily editorial by Sinclair Broadcasting's
corporate vice president, Mark Hyman, that is broadcast on all
Sinclair-owned television stations across the country.
by Iowa's Ted Remington
We’re not buying it, Mark.
You’re
pretty good at playing dumb, but we know you understand exactly how
faulty your apples and oranges comparisons are in your recent
commentary defending “The Point.” We know you don’t believe your own
spin.
Not that
we don’t understand why you’re spinning the way you are. The coalition
of groups educating viewers and sponsors of the true nature of Sinclair
and “The Point” is formidable. While you call them “obscure,”the fact
is that Moveon.org has over two million members. Media Matters has
become in a matter of months a renowned watchdog group (headed up, by
the way, by a former right-wing conservative commentator who has come
to his senses). And Robert Greenwald produced “Outfoxed,” a highly
successful documentary on Fox news. And they’re having an effect. The
day of your commentary, Staples announced it would no longer advertise
on Sinclair stations because of viewer disgust with your commentaries.
If I were in your shoes, I’d be spinning like mad, too.
And so
here at The Counterpoint, we’ll play along. We’ll pretend that you
actually believe that what you do on television and what news anchors
do is parallel. We’ll also pretend that you really believe there’s a
left-wing media conspiracy (despite all evidence to the contrary).
We’ll pretend that you actually buy your own commentary, and set you
straight, since you seem to be missing the point.
The
point is that you force local stations to use publicly owned airwaves
during a local newscast to air your personal political beliefs.
The
point is that you, unlike everyone else you name in your commentary,
are not a journalist; you’re simply a corporate vice president abusing
your authority to hijack a newscast to spout your personal beliefs.
Even Rupert Murdoch doesn’t abuse his viewers by using his network as a
personal soapbox.
The
point is that while everyone knows who news anchors are and why they’re
appearing on television, you hide your association with Sinclair
Broadcasting, hoping that viewers will assume you’re simply a local
voice.
The
point is that Couric, Jennings, et al are news anchors or hosts who
deliver news stories. They don’t assert that members one political
party or the other “hate our troops,” trade in racist rhetoric, or
slander entire nations whose leaders they disagree with (all of which
are regular components of your commentaries).
The
point is despite your constant insinuations that the individuals you
name are part of a massive left-wing media conspiracy, you never offer
any evidence of this. Can you give us even a single instance of a time
when Katie Couric, Peter Jennings, or Tom Brokaw has slandered George
Bush (or anyone else) in the way you routinely did John Kerry in the
run up to the election?
The
point is that the mainstream media, whom you constantly assert has a
left-wing bias, completely acquiesced to the Bush administration’s
drive to war, never questioning its assertions and happily waving the
flag during the war. Can you provide any evidence at all that there’s
been a left-leaning bias that parallels or makes up for this?
The
point is that 80% of the pundits who appear on news channels to discuss
issues and give their opinions are conservative. 80%, Mark! In what way
does this constitute a left-wing bias?
The
point is, Mark, that even if every news anchor was an active member of
the Communist party, on-air personalities don’t make the calls about
what stories to cover or how to cover them. Corporate officers (like
you) make these calls, and their interests are conservative, not
liberal. Sinclair news personality Jon Lieberman certainly didn’t have
an opportunity to voice his opinions on the air—he served as a
corporate mouthpiece, and when he voiced the first hint of concern
about this, you fired him.
The
point is that when reporters report facts, that’s not bias, even if the
facts might not wholly support your political causes. You remind us of
the Daily Show bit in which George Bush charges that the facts in Iraq
are “un-American” because they undermine his position. Of course, since
you’ve said publicly that simply reporting that a car bombing took
place in Iraq constitutes a liberal bias, anything short of a
Bush/Cheney campaign ad will be guilty of being left-wing propaganda in
your world.
The
point is that you don’t simply offer your opinion. You use faulty
logic, name-calling, and bold-faced lies in your commentaries. There
are plenty of conservative commentators who offer their opinions in
ways that respect the public forum by playing by the basic rules of
fair and honest discourse. They might be wrong, but they voice their
opinions in the right way. You don’t.
The
point is that you and the Smith family who own Sinclair put your own
extreme political values ahead of the rights and responsibilities you
have to your stockholders and your viewers. As a result, your stock has
become nearly worthless, and your stations are more often than not at
the bottom of the ratings in local markets.
The
point is that the airwaves are not owned by you or Sinclair. You’re
using (and abusing) a collectively and publicly held resource to
advance a personal agenda.
The
point is that most local broadcasters and newspapers, when they offer
editorials, invite readers, viewers, or other local figures to respond
in a similar forum. You confine your “equal time” to hand picked
comments that you air on the night with the lowest viewership, Saturday.
The
point is that those of us who are against Sinclair’s misuse of public
airwaves do write to the troops. We also send them care packages and
buy them supplies the Bush administration hasn’t provided. Many of us
have friends and family who are in Iraq. And our concern over the
troops is one of the many reasons we find jingoistic rhetoric so
nauseating, particularly coming from someone like you, who supported
sending troops to fight and die for dishonest reasons, who slandered a
veteran while openly campaigning for a president who lied to the troops
and to the American people about the need for war, who aired propaganda
just before an election and labeled it "news," and who refused to allow
a simple tribute to those who had died serving our country (Nightline’s
“The Fallen”) to be aired on your stations.
The point is that we deserve better than “The Point.” And we’re going to get it.
And that’s The Counterpoint.
http://www.sinclairaction.com/
From Iowa Rapid Response: You can help in Iowa by contacting the following Iowa Sinclair Affiliates:
Cedar Rapids, Waterloo, Dubuque: KGAN Channel 2
e-mail address: kgan@kgan.com
Ph. 800-642-6140 toll free or 319-395-9060
Ames, Des Moines: KDSM Fox 17
e-mail address: comments@kdsm17.com
Ph: 515-287-1717 or FAX: 515-287-0064
NOTE: Sinclair also has outsourcing agreements with stations that
aren’t on the list referenced below (e.g., KFXA and KFXB in Dubuque and
Cedar Rapids, Iowa). These stations also carry Sinclair
newscasts. You can e-mail KFXA/KFXB: fox2840@fox2840.com or
call 319-393-2800
If
you live in these broadcast areas, watch Mark Hyman tonight at the end
of the 10:00 news. We guarantee you will be moved to action!
Resources:
Click here for a list of KGAN Advertisers
If you live in the central Iowa broadcast area, watch your nightly KDSM newscast for advertisers, then click here to post. There are no KDSM advertisers listed on the site yet.
For a complete list of Iowa newspapers, click here .
For a list of Sinclair owned and/or operated stations click here.
If you’re looking for some ideas for responding to “The Point,” visit "The Counterpoint"
Join your fellow Iowans in the fight against media bias. Click here to join RapidResponse - Iowa.
Wednesday, January 5
Calling all Citizens to Take Back the Media!
by
Trish Nelson
on Wed 05 Jan 2005 07:53 AM CST
Calling all Citizens to Take Back the Media!
Visit www.freepress.net, an amazing resource for
media activists. Freepress offers an
action page where you can submit your own ideas for media actions, a database
of groups whose core missions and goals include media reform,
and a media library, in addition to lots of cool links and more...
Plus, FreePress has a friendly Beginner’s Guide
which BlogforIowa is happy to excerpt for you here.
~~~~~~~~~~
The [Free Press] Beginner's Guide presents an introductory look
at media reform for people new to the issue. Why is the media system the way it
is? Why is it important to the issues I care about? What's being done to fix
it?
________________
Who owns the airwaves?
Believe it or not, you do!
The "airwaves" are the transmission frequencies
used by radio, tv and satellite broadcasters, cell phone companies, even your
TV remote control, to transmit signals. The airwaves themselves, while utilized
by a wide variety of users, ultimately belong to you in the same way that your
sidewalk or your public park belongs to you.
Some businesses, like cell phone companies, pay the
government to use their airwaves (also "spectrum"). Radio and TV
broadcasters, though, use these airwaves free of charge — even though they make
enormous profits from them. In return for this favor, by law, broadcasters are
supposed to serve the "public interest."
Although the public owns the airwaves that are used by
radio, television, cell phone and satellite companies — not to mention the land
that cable companies use to lay their networks — citizens have rarely played a
role in spectrum allocation debates. In fact, citizens rarely even get to use
these airwaves to make their own voices heard!
Click here to visit FreePress
Rapid
Response is gearing up to take back the local media in '05...Click here to join RapidResponse - Iowa.
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