The Media Controls Our Elections. When Will This Stop?

[Rockholm]

A month ago, Martha Coakley was leading handsomely in the polls. It was like a switch went off. The cable networks and the local network affiliates needed a revenue stream. Viagra commercials can only be the only commercial during programming breaks.

I can see it now. The ad people talk with the programming people who talk with the news readers and reporters. Let's make this race close and we can get ad revenue. Now look where that has gotten us, at least here in Massachusetts. Non-stop Coakley and Brown commercials, funded by the campaigns themselves and worse, the outside attacks ads. Millions of dollars of ad revenues to each network affiliate and cable channel. This is awesome is you own a TV station.

Imagine. Had the race remained a blowout for Coakley, no ad revenue. Close race drove up ad dollars.
This is going to help the cable channels especially is Brown wins. This will give them weeks of republican talking points and months of analysis to froth over as we head towards November and the mid term elections.

THE MEDIA NEEDS CLOSE ELECTIONS AND CONTROVERSY.

[shadowrider]

1. Never mind the fact

She ran a horrible campaign and approached the election with an air of arrogance and entitlement. The media didn't do it, she did it to herself, IMHO.

[Rockholm]

2. And you were here to watch her campaign?

Nope, you only saw what the TV told you.

[GoCubsGo]

7. Yeah, and he's regurgitating what they told him quite nicely.

Coakley might have run a bad campaign, but that's all we heard for Brown. I haven't seen them this one-sided since they went after Al Gore.

[shadowrider]

11. Point taken

So you're saying that only people who live in Mass are qualified to comment on this race?

What I'm saying is, pickup truck or Escalade, Brown was out there shaking hands and Coakley wasn't. In this day of the internet and instant communications, one doesn't need to be on scene to develop an opinion.

I want her to win as badly as anyone, but I'm also willing to stand back and look at things objectively. IMHO, she approached this as if she were entitled. Your opinion may differ.

[lunatica]

3. I think she's going to win

The media is lying. They've been lying about polls, campaigns, public opinion and analysis since Bush showed up to run for President in 1998.

What does anyone expect of the corporate owned media? And they keep doing it and we all just forget how they create 'facts'.

[Mr. Shaman]

8. Please!! "The Media" Is A Bu$ine$$.....

...and, they're "selling" to the U.S.-majority; ill-educated/sound-bit-driven lemmings.

[paulsby]

15. the media loves the "underdog"

in this case, that's brown

[LaydeeBug]

4. when we reinstate The Fairness Doctrine. nt

[whathehell]

6. + 10

[nc4bo]

10. Exactly. And people wonder why our government refuses to address this very problem.

That and Election Reform.

Just another elephant in the room ya know.

Getting really crowded in there.

[Festivito]

12. Or, get CFR, which we probably could not get without FD as a step.

Fairness Doctrine would be a step toward Campaign Finance Reform.

[KharmaTrain]

17. That Would Do Zero...

I worked with the Fairness Doctrine in the 80s...it operated in a broadcast world that doesn't exist today. It did ensure all candidates access to BUY advertising time at the lowest rate so a station couldn't freeze out one candidate over another. Today, these cash strapped losers will gladly take anyone's money and charge whatever they want...a big reason elections have become so expensive. It also applied to Public Service programs that stations were once required to carry but now don't.

It didn't cover such things as talk or hate radio shows...that are considered "entertainment" (thus why Rushbo has always called himself an "entertainer") or News. Faux Noise (which is cable and wouldn't have been covered even under the old rules) wouldn't be affected. We'd still have a radio dial full of hate spewers. Little would change.

One step that could fix this is reregulation that would force the large corporates that dominate so many major stations to divest and could open the door to more voices and diversity. Supposedly this administration was in favor of revisiting Telcom '96 (the bill that destroyed broadcasting) but nothing has been done or appears to be happening anytime soon.

[Ian David]

5. What are we going to DO about it?

Make at least five calls from your own home for Martha Coakley, RIGHT NOW: http://www.my.barackobama.com/coakleyn2n

The website will supply you with the names and phone numbers of people in Massachusetts that need to be called today.

Or

Donate to Martha Coakley for U.S. Senate RIGHT NOW: https://coakley.zissousecure.com/contribute/PFP/iandavidb

See also:

!!!!! NEW RULE !!!!!
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x7498975

[luckyleftyme2]

9. F--- THE MEDIA

Many are being influenced by the media who is really owned by wealthy people that vote for the right! the farce of the media being left is just that-a farce!
the right makes it's bones by stirring the pot to disrupt anything that takes money away from their grubby hands!
I found this and thought it pretty well summed up how the majority feel!
Your search - It was only too easy to demonstrate through the "Simplest of Logic" to even the stuanchist Fundie Voter how they were voting against their own economic self interest by voting RATpubliCON. However they would do it anyway based on what ever "Emotional Issues" the GOP could frame the debate on. Now the RATpubliCONs have succesfully "Framed the Issues" as the "GOP against the Democrat Spending Machine" in light of the MASSIVE deficits and FAILED economic policy of the last administration. Sorry - but I blame the DEMs for not distancing theirselves from their corporate handlers. Make no mistake, the RATpubliCONs will be Pure Disaster should they regain control. But the Dems failed the test when it came time to stand up to Wall St. and fight for the Working Class. If the S&L Bail Out of the 1980s, Enron Fleecing investors and Utility Rate Payers of 100s of $Billions of dollars, and finally the “Wall St Melt-Down of 2008”, does not serve as a Gospel like Eulogy of the Failed policies of Reagenomics and the Trickle Down Theory – I don’t know what does -
AMEN TO THAT!
BUT PLEASE GET OUT AND VOTE-TAKE A FRIEND WITH YOU!
WE NEED HEALTHCARE REFORM- WE CAN'T AFFORD BUSINESS AS USUAL!

[The Midway Rebel]

13. I agree: THE MEDIA NEEDS CLOSE ELECTIONS AND CONTROVERSY

It sells as well as sex, I'll bet!

[FreeJG]

14. The media pushes a candidate to fit the phoney electronic election numbers at end of day!

Get it?

[Blue Owl]

16. This, and the prevention of real, investigative journalism

is the one-two gut punch to our democracy.

Somehow people must become educated to realize their worst enemy is the M$M, who is simply doing "the man's" dirty work.