We will not win another election, ever.

[Fla Dem]

Until we can control the media at a rate of at least half what the RW does, we will never, ever be able to get our message out there and change the minds of the populace. We don't have to change our positions, we just have to stop letting the RW define what our positions are, and they do, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year. We were so thrilled we were able to get a lot of advertising on radio and TV during the campaign. Well la, de, da. The repugs basically are advertising every time one of them opens their mouth whether it's Limbaugh, Hannity, Boortz, Savage or any other RW talking head. They do it year round, not just during elections. And it's in the local radio markets as well, undermining state and local Democrat politicians and candidates.

Here's a great article that was brought to my attention about the situation. We can wring our hands all we want over the election, but until we have an equal voice in the media, that's all we'll ever be doing.

Too Little, Too Late

By Robert Parry
November 3, 2004


George W. Bush’s electoral victory is chilling proof that the conservatives have achieved dominance over the flow of information to the American people and that even a well-run Democratic campaign stands virtually no chance for national success without major changes in how the news media operates.

It is not an exaggeration to say today that the most powerful nation on earth is in the grip of an ideological administration – backed by a vast network of right-wing think tanks, media outlets and attack groups – that can neutralize any political enemy with smears, such as the Swift boat ads against John Kerry’s war record, or convince large numbers of people that clearly false notions are true, like Saddam Hussein’s link to the Sept. 11 attacks.

<snip>

The end result of this imbalance has been that American democracy has been diminished. Indeed, the great American experiment with a democratic Republic may be on the verge of becoming meaningless, since much of the information distributed through the conservative echo chamber is either wrong or wildly misleading – and since the mainstream press has been so thoroughly housebroken

<snip>

As George W. Bush celebrates his historic victory, the Democrats, left-of-center foundations and wealthy American liberals should finally recognize that their long pattern of starving honest, independent media has contributed to putting the nation – and the planet – on the edge of catastrophe.

John Kerry’s well-fought campaign – and the youthful energy that surrounded it – may have been an encouraging sign, but the hard truth is: it was too little, too late.

more....

http://www.consortiumnews.com/2004/110304.html

[Fridays Child]

1. It's the truth. We need to create a populist media presence...

...bringing together the values of Democrats, the Labor Movement, Liberal members of all religions, and Progressives of every stripe. This is where the battle will be won and it's where every spare penny each and every one of us can scape up should go. But we need charismatic leaders, around whom all of us can coalesce. And on that score, my vote goes to Al Gore and Howard Dean.

[Fla Dem]

3. Yes Charismatic is good , but also good story tellers.....

If you ever have listened to the top rw talkers, they can take any situation, build a story around it and end up demonizing the democrats. And it ends up making sense for the gullible listener. They do it over and over again. I saw the tail end of Hannity and Colmes last night. They are on some type of road show out in CA. The auditorium was packed with the Hannity faithful. You'd think this guy was a rock star. We do not have anyone of that magnitude whipping up the faithful and converting the flock 5 days a week, 52 weeks a year.

[JPace]

2. I heard that MoveOn.org was going to explore how to get

a cable news channel to counter Fox....I hope its true.

[Fla Dem]

4. That would be fantastic. n/t

[CatholicEdHead]

5. That would be intresting

Since Faux News is hiding behing the Trademark "Fair and Balanced".

Of course, the industry will do to a channel like that like the radio industry did to Ed Schultz. "There is no market, people only will watch if it is like Fox".

The key above all, it should be honest, and most importantly, it must be ENTERTAINING! Any hint of a snooze-fest and away it goes.

[Fla Dem]

7. Honest to a point.....if we have to spin a little or stretch the truth to

get a point across, then that's what we have to do. That's what the RW has been soooo successful at. They take one little video/audio clip, and build a whole diatribe around it which favors their position, whether it is reinforcing some RW agenda item, or demonizing the democrats.

[not fooled]

6. Unfortunately...

...absolutely right. I heard an interview a few mos. ago with an academic from the UK, who studied the dynamics of political scandal. Basically, what he found was that no coverage = no scandal, no matter how egregious the matter.

Same principle applies to political coverage in general. You can have the truth on your side, but no coverage (or minimized coverage) = no message. At the same time, the 'pukes use the RW echo machine to pound home their message, day in day out.

It's blatantly appparent how effective the 'pukes are because when I talk with poor blue collar workers and retirees living on Social Security, all they can do is parrot RNC talking points about how bad the Dems are, how they love *, etc.

Unless we can effectively counter this total brainwash, adios election victories. And, unfortunately, I see no prospect of this happening because it benefits the $$$ to keep the media the way it is.

[CatholicEdHead]

8. But didn't the right wing change the status quo

with a bottom-up approach? They convinced a historically progressive/liberal heartland to turn into an ultra-right Republican base by a decade or so of Rush (and his clones).

If we live in a consumer society, we have to adapt for a consumer society. That means some marketing to the masses. Ed Schultz has shown there is a untapped base out there.

Why is Clear Channel dumping old-time music stations (and other failing formats) for AA? Because the ratings are higher for more ad revenue.

The powers-that-be are convincing the people they are getting what they think they want. There have to be Democrats with marketing backgrounds that can put our issues to 2 word phrases.

It is in the two-word phrases that you get your foot in the door to the people. Then they are usually more receptive to then hear what is behind the 2 word catch phrases.