It's the media. That's all.

[montana500]

White House uses taxpayer money to pay columnist for propaganda. No big stories at all. Buried.


CBS news fires a few executives over mistake. HUGE headlines everywhere, huge buzz, the talk of the week.


How in the *fuck* do you expect to win congress or the white House when the Republicans win every single news scycle for every single second of every single day.

Thousands of GOP controlled radio stations, with very few if any liberal hosts or non GOP lineups.

Fox news and Direct TV getting huge userbases. Msnbc and cnn pushed to the right. NPR pushed to the right.


Things that wont happen unless the media ownership rules are changed and we get the cheap ass dem billionaire leaders to start creating a communications network like Murdoch has:

voting reform - FORGETAABOUTIT
environmental awareness -hahahhahaha joking, right?
gaining seats in congress - NOPE. Nice dream though eh?

etc etc etc.

[Bampa]

1. The media must be viewed as the problem.

But how can you make the problem expose itself without one major network exposing the truth?

[rman]

3. people will figure it out eventually

At some point the dissonance between what the media tell us and what is happening in the world will become undeniable.
Many DU-ers already have turned their backs to the MSM.

[Harry S Truman]

12. The truth

You can't fix this problem. Even the vapid local TV news is a total wasteland controlled by right-wing press releases.

Sorry, America, but there is no hope short of revolution and all that it entails. Call me when you're all ready to start.

[Bouncy Ball]

2. Well voting reform IS important, too.

But I think first you get the media problem fixed, THEN (or simultaneously, they aren't mutually exclusive) voting reform, THEN things will get better.

We have no satellite or cable service, I do not buy any newspapers and have no magazine subscriptions except Mother Jones.

THAT sends a message. 59 million people voted for Kerry. If only 1% of those people cut off their cable or satellite, that's 590,000 people. THEY WOULD NOTICE.

5% would be almost 3 MILLION CUSTOMERS LOST.

Be sure if you do it to send emails or letters telling them exactly WHY. Send them to all the major networks, too.

Their greatest fear is to be turned off. They only speak the language of money and customers. No satellite or cable means we ALSO aren't watching the constant commericals. Which means we aren't big consumers, either.

Hit 'em where it hurts and let 'em know WHY.

[wtmusic]

4. THANK YOU

the number one, repeat NUMBER ONE issue. Before the war, before SS, before the deficit, before the environment.

I knew we could say goodbye to our number one network media source, CBS, after Sumner Redstone declared that he was a Democrat but would be supporting Bush because it "made good business sense". Ack.

[LibDemAlways]

5. I live in LA, probably the second largest media

market in the country, and we do not have an Air America station. We have one progressive radio station KPFK which airs scattered political programming but otherwise is a mish mash of world music and new age touchy-feely stuff. However, we have plenty of rightwing shit all day long on "talk" radio - Rush, Hannity, Savage, Ingraham, Elder -- all assholes, all the time.

In print the LA Times routinely buries Bush atrocities on the back pages near the obits of the Americans killed in Iraq. The editorial cartoonist, Michael Ramirez, is a hate-filled turd who makes Rush look liberal.

The Hollywood heavyweights in a position to do something to bring a progressive voice to the masses, do nothing.

You are absolutely correct. We will never win another national election as long as the repukes so overwhelmingly control the message - not to mention the voting machinery.

[paulk]

6. 100% correct

It's our biggest threat to democracy -

it's the number one problem.


control information and you can control the political process

[Maven]

7. I agree.

The only problem is, I don't think the "it has to get worse before it gets better" argument applies here. It's already outrageous and the public doesn't notice or care. Plus, people like us who are disgusted already get our news from alternative sources anyway--and DUers can't be alone. So why would the MSM ever turn away from the increasingly conservative audience it has left? It's really a self-satisfying strategy for them.

[Dr Fate]

8. DEM cowardice to challege it is part of the equation too.

It cant all be excuses- there has to be some action too...

[ChickMagic]

9. Bravo!!!!

*clap clap* Great rant and utterly true. :cry:

[AmandaRuth]

10. during one TV stations recap of local top stories of 2004

they constant played the Dean scream as a sound effect in the background. I can't think of one way that would relate to local news stories out of the Seattle/Tacoma area, except that it reinforces the image that all dems are crazy leftists, even more infuriating that it was a sound clip that was taken out of context and magnified to be exploited over and over and over.

In fact i read here on du about Bush falling flat on his face right after a speech at some high school during the campaign,but i certainly never saw it on TV. Can you imagine if it had been a high profile Dem that did a face plant?

It IS the media, our worst enemy.

[blm]

11. But which Dem is pointing out that it's the MEDIA that needs priority

status on their "Changes before the next election" list?

GOP control of most of the media and most of the voting machines MUST BE DEALT WITH before the next election.