How will we overcome the corporate media?

[SHRED]

I work around and come in contact with so many who are really affected mentally by the lying mainstream media.

Why just the other day a co-worker exclaimed, "The government is too powerful" "It's the immigrants and poor that are ruining our society".

I tried to explain that corporate interest controls the message and has weakened our government with big money payoffs then in turn sends the message to the masses that government is the enemy and way too overbearing.

My God so many clueless people that are going to look down the "food chain" and blame the poor and desperate.
The message I try to send is LOOK UP the chain and there is the problem. The people must unite against the oppression from the wealthy. The wealthy few control our media and weaken our representative government.

How will we overcome?

[Ron Green]

1. I don't hold out much hope that we'll ever overcome it.

People respond more immediately to fear and divisiveness than to reason and community, and the MSM knows exactly how to exploit this fact. We're seeing the end of the age of text-based literacy, and therefore the end of context. TV thrives without context; indeed dispenses entirely with the need of it. So as long as we have ProSports / Homeland Security / Scott Peterson / 24hr News Cycle / Infomercial / Larry King as our mental environment, people will not only accept this fare, they will demand it.

[Griffy]

16. BS.. we will starve them.. BOYCOTT thier sponsers on massive scale! nt

[Ron Green]

22. I'm with you, Griffy. I will fight the good fight. But I think we're

looking at a very large swing of the pendulum away from enlightenment and back into a dark age. Introspection and reflection are not served by TV. We're on the way down.

[deacon]

23. It's the only way to win, their game is all about ratings--so you have to

shut them off. Advertisers hate that. Just shut them off. The problem is people are compelled to get aggravated for some reason, so they put them on. If you want to seriously take on the media, you stop bying their papers, stop visiting their web sites and turning that damn tv off.

There are loads of great sources on the internet to get real news. We don't NEED them.

[Ron Green]

32. But just think about how few we are, who think about these issues,

compared to how many there are who simply work, consume and watch TV for their information. Whatever we do in the way of "starving the beast" just won't have much effect, in my view. I mean, despite considerable news about Wal-Mart's slave management and predatory marketing, they are building more and more stores, not pulling back. They know how this works. I'm afraid the task of educating enough people to make a difference is finally too daunting.

[firebee]

25. Unfortunately... only complete collapse will restore complete equality

[havocmom]

2. This nation won it's independence from a great world power. At first,

the revolutionary activists were actually a pretty small minority of the population. They had access to a few printing presses that few today would know how to work, let alone have the time/patience to set type for. The highway system was a string of mostly dirt roads and they had horses if they were lucky. Far cry from the information highway we have at our disposal today.

Yeah, it seems a damned overwhelming task, but liberty, justice and America are worth the trouble. It has been managed in the past. We can do it again. NEVER doubt that. It won't happen anytime soon, but if we keep at it and work smart, we win in the long run.

We Blog, we write, we read, we talk, we do freeway blogging, we make noise and do not let shit happen without pointing to it and calling it what it is. We DO NOT worry about what the neighbors think. We do not consider the feelings of those who would admonish us to be nice, predictable liberals. We get serious and we get real.

The people who started this noble experiment were a small group. But they had courage and resolve. Americans err if they assume freedom is guarenteed once it is won. Freedom and democracy are not spectator sports. We own the founders and we owe the children to fight until we win.

Go find some kids to watch. Think about their future. Work your ass off to learn and to teach.

Hand wringing gets us zippity.

[Osamasux]

33. Well said, havocmom

:toast:

[unkachuck]

3. we need to buy one....

....we need to pool our nickels and quarters, buy a media conglomerate and put it in the hands of Mike Malloy....

[shadowknows69]

8. exactly

[PROGRESSIVE1]

12. Thats the only way!!!

[Nordic]

21. Yup. You have to fight money with money.

And you have to put your money where your mouth is.

[blondeatlast]

28. Yep. We have enough media types on their side, but they aren't

willing to put their money where their mouth is.

[w4rma]

4. The government IS too powerful, but it's also not powerful enough.

The government's power is against regular people, while the big corps are totally inoculated against government power. The big corps are therefore the government, now.

We are a nation of immigrants, but there are many illegal immigants here too. The illegal immigrants being let through in record numbers because big biz wants them here to work tax free at wages no American can afford. Repugs refuse to crack down on this because they are THE party of big biz. To get rid of this problem the power of big biz needs to be cracked open.

Unemployment is record high. Bush presided over the first net loss in jobs since the Great Depression. You're co-worker wants to do something about the poor? Vote Repugs and big biz out so there will be enough jobs that the poor will be able to find a job (at decent rates) instead of being poor.

Take their complaint and explain how they are right that it's a problem but are wrong as to the basis of the problem. Try not to attack head on, unless it's a simple and easily provable fact that they are incorrect on.

How to change enough minds to make a difference? One by one helps since once you get someone to see the problem they are more resilient to the propaganda that will come down the pike later. But really we need to build bigger microphones.

[stevebreeze]

10. WE ARE the government! We the PEOPLE!!!

That we have corporate dominance is recognized by most people. They don't' understand how damaging and pervasive it is. It will take a lot of work by us progressives but change will come.

[tsuki]

24. I'm sorry, but that is too complicated for the intellect we are talking

about here. And if that sounds dismissive, I'm sorry.

I have learned to take the fight to my co-workers on a one to one basis. Find out what rings their bell.

One worker has an absolute hate of any TV personality that makes millions. I am trying to find out how much they make now so I can mention it to her. Katie Kuric makes $65 million, Hannity makes 25 million...she won't watch them. (She supports a disabled husband on her salary.)

Another worker has a real prudish streak. She won't watch Loopah Bill or Oxy Rush...or that, that Traitor Kovak.

It may not be much, but it is a start.

[blondeatlast]

29. If they listen to OxyContin Rush, point them to the Cigar Aficianado

story.

It would make most of them plumb sick...

But lurking in the back of his mind was Cuba. "I have always been interested in getting the best that I could afford, whatever it is. So I was just dying to taste some of these Cubans. I was reading all about the Cohibas and the Hoyo de Monterrey Double Coronas. And then I went to London last September with the same friend who had the pre-Castro Montecristos.''

Limbaugh stayed at the Connaught Hotel, "and I got up on a Friday morning and walked across the street to Desmond Sautter's. And I was in heaven.'' The store didn't have any Hoyos, he says, "but they had some Punch Double Coronas and Partagas Lusitanias and Montecristo No. 2's. And I tried them. And I don't care what anybody says. I know it's a matter of taste, but as far as I'm concerned, this is something that not even the Communists have been able to screw up. It's the best tobacco in the world. There's no comparison. This is not to put anybody else's down. I've looked into it. I've studied it. It's like Bordeaux grapes. You can try growing them in California, but they're not the same. They've taken Cuban seed to Jamaica and Honduras, but it just isn't the same.''
(snip)
And from France, there's the 1961 Château Haut-Brion. And the 1982. I have learned that any time you find a bottle of Bordeaux from 1961, no matter what the label says, buy it.'' Right--it's about 2,000 dollars a bottle (my note)
(snip)
When he leaves town--New York town--to get away from it all and rest, he often prefers "the tropical climes. I love Hawaii, Waikiki and Maui. I don't have to get totally deserted and away from things. And then I love to go to London for three or four days and stay at the Connaught. I like three- to five-day jaunts and getaways. I love San Francisco. I think it's the most beautiful city in the world. People are surprised when I say that because I'm such a conservative, and San Francisco is such a liberal mecca. But I love it. And I'm going to Paris for my birthday, for three days. I've never been to Paris, but I'm staying at the Bristol Hotel, and I just know I'm going to enjoy it.''

[w4rma]

30. Yeah, maybe. But, it's obvious you can't attack those points head on.

Rush Limbaugh makes about $26 million per year.
Hannity just signed a $25 million contract for 5 years (which means he makes $5 million per year).
Both contracts are with Clear Channel which donates heavily to Repugs and own about 40% or 50% of the total radio market all across America.

Rupert Murdoch owns Fox News and the NT Post and he makes in the billions for his mouthpieces.
Rev. Moon owns the Washington Times and he loses money off that enterprise. It's there for propaganda purposes only.

[SoCalDem]

5. We won't.. we can only hope ...

When things finally get SO bad, people will start to awaken. The people who choose to be informed will start to do what WE do.. Search for alternate sources online.

We can educate our own children to recognize double-speak and propaganda...and we can hold onto our money.. Do not support the sponsors of the "beast".. Fix what you got.. buy secondhand..swap with friends..make it yourself..

If 50% of the population who votes, actually did withhold revenues from the mega-advertisers, they WOULD start to feel it.

A letter-writing campaign to all corporate advertisers, telling them WHY we are not buying their crap anymore, might just convince them that they might need to "get out of the news-invention business", and maybe it might get better.. Probably not:(..

[gorbal]

9. Don't empower them

If everyone could do what we did and cancel their cable subscription, that just might send warning bells a jingling that poeple actually want to see real news.

[Griffy]

17. oh it will work.. as they lose money and good business flourish! nt

[AG78]

6. Whatever we do

won't be enough. The same forces that are there today, were there yesterday, and will be there tomorrow. Even if we were able to somehow knock it down, it would eventually build itself back up.

The beauty of what they've done, is that they didn't have to kill anyone to get their power. Well, I guess you could make an argument that they did, but that would probably take a novel on how all these things are intertwined. But they basically just used the system to take power. They're better at that than we are. And you're not getting it back lawfully. This country wasn't founded on peace. It was a revolution against an empire. Slavery didn't end because of peace. It took a civil war(although you could make a case that slavery may not have been the main objective). The American Empire didn't happen because we won the war of ideas. It happened because we ended up in wars against 3 different empire's, over a period of time, and our side happened to win.

I'm not saying I want war. I hate war. But if you want to overcome the corporate media(and everything that comes with that), it won't be done in a courtroom. They can buy the courtroom. They can control what information finds the masses. They probably own the vote.

All human history is is the rising and falling of empire's through war. And we're at this moment in time because each of those empire's were born and died when they did. Every empire, directly or indirectly, bleeds into the next empire. Same with war.

How do we overcome that center of power? Mass social movements. But those were easier when the illusion of freedom wasn't as thick. You could see an entire group of people that were 2nd class citizens. Today, it's invisable. Today, black people can also be rich and powerful. Today, women can be rich and powerful. Not as rich and powerful as old white men, but they're there.

The real war is humans against modern day corporations. Whoever can come together faster will win.

Can humans, who have different thoughts, different religions, different colors, and different whatever else, actually come together for that one goal?

Corporations have one thought; profit. They have one religion; the market. They have one color(for now); green.

The only way we win, is if enough people can put their differences aside. That's our brick wall.

And even then, there's no reason to think the same process won't happen all over again. If there's a God, it knows how to amuse itself. To create this mess, it must have been quite bored. It's understandable though. Knowing everything and being everywhere probably gets old eventually. So it creates Earth, a couple species here and there, listens to a few prayers, and laughs.

[Griffy]

20. and we have 1/2 the consumers... look what happened to sinclair..

just the threat of massive boycott of sponsers caused some sponspers to threaten to pullout, their stock dropped and they backed off (though they just masked he original doculie). The point is in the coming year we must turn the money thumbscrews.. it will work, and the internet is here to stay... the TV media is becoming less popular as news source. This is just another twist in the fight for freedom and justice for all... its a long road.

[gorbal]

7. Invest in and promote alternatives

Invest in and promote alternative media like Democracy Now, Air America, Thom Hartmann and Truthout.com. We just got rid of Cable because we can find much better newsfeeds on the internet. Between Democracy Now, the Free Daily Show Headlines, and Cspan; who needs cable?

Edit: And I must respectively disagree that we can't win; we are winning in many ways already:)

[Cleita]

11. I really think we are banging our heads against a concrete wall.

When you hear idiots saying that liberals throw out too many names and places and how is anyone supposed to keep up with them all, then you know it's downhill from then on.

Not only that I think the neo-cons are appealing to the innate bigotry of entitled white people, so logic doesn't even register a blip in their consciousness. People like that will believe any lie presented to them if it's something that confirms their fears and bigotry.

[bhikkhu]

13. Stop watching and listening, one person at a time.

[trotcop]

14. Corporations own Dem and Repug Parties

Until we get corporations out of these Parties or start electing Greens who do not allow corporations in, we'll continue to sufer deepening Fascism.

[FreedomFry]

15. Boycott. Boycott. Boycott.

Hit 'em where it hurts most ... their wallets. Patronize local drug stores, hardware stores, lumber stores. If millions joined in boycotting Home Depot or Domino's Pizza or Wal-Mart for a year, the results would be extremely satisfying.

[leftofthedial]

18. start by turning it off

canceling subscriptions

supporting small, local independent businesses

let advertisers know you won't buy their products while they engage in predatory corporatism

fend for yourself

tell the truth constantly to everyone who will listen

[donheld]

19. March on the Media

Instead of marching on Washington, or New York march on NBC, CBS, FOX, ABC, CNN. And not just the New York offices but nationwide. Denver has Affiliates of all but CNN, I know many other cities have affiliates. We need to march on all these places and make them not only hear us, but make them report what we have to say.

[Karenina]

26. As long as they are permitted

to control the airwaves they STOLE from the American people to conduct "bidness as usual" with impunity, THEY WILL CONTINUE AS THEY ARE AND BECOME WORSE. Bank on it.

[Sara Beverley]

27. Don't watch, don't buy, don't subscribe (including their off-shoot mags).

You can only hurt these people in the pockets. Cancel all print subscriptions (you can get enough news and more on the Internet). Don't watch their TV programs, and don't buy sponsors products as much as you can do this. Save your money and help your own family.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!

[BiggJawn]

31. "Even a MOUSE feels superior when it realises it can terrorize a...

...Cockroach."
Not sure who said that, but it sums up what you have when Po' White Trash feel great because "at least we ain't Ay-Rabs or Spics..."

divorce yourselves from US media. there's tons of good info out here on the internets (All of them, too!)
And don't forget Shortwave Radio.

[Osamasux]

34. Fight it every way we can, big and small

Challenge people you know parroting this nonsense.

If FOX News is on in a public place, speak out and ask the channel to be changed.

Help push the ratings of progressive TV and radio. Other than FOX, they care about ratings first and foremost. If the numbers are up, they'll put more of it on the air.

Encourage progressives on TV and radio to be more partisan. The balance already comes from all of the extremists on the other side - they don't need to hold themselves back. (Jon Stewart comes to mind.)

Write letters to sponsors of RW propaganda. The results are cumulative, so don't expect to see anything immediately.

We need to own more radio stations.

Push to get the Sundance channel added to your cable offerings.

Support progressive websites and magazines.

Challenge ludicrous stories on local and national media.