[Peace] defeat Big Media

[Josh Silver]

In 2003 control over the media became a huge issue in the United States. Millions of Americans protested the FCC's plan to relax media ownership rules that would allow another massive wave of corporate media consolidation.

There are many good reasons to be concerned: lapdog journalism (where are those WMDs?), shabby election coverage (horse races marinated in insulting TV ads instead of debates) and rampant commercialism (ads in schools, movies, everywhere), just to name a few. These threats to our media endanger our democracy and our nation's future.

We at Free Press -- a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization founded by Professor Robert McChesney -- are working to create a media system that fosters diverse, independent and competitive media. The crucial requirement is that we have informed and widespread public participation in media policy debates, debates that have been traditionally conducted behind closed doors in Washington DC.

If better media is something that interests you, we have three suggestions.

First, go to our website, http://www.freepress.net . We cover the full range of media reform issues and provide ways to learn more and get active. Consider signing up to be an e-activist - we'll send you action alerts every month or so regarding important media policy fights. You won't get any junk email and can get off the list permanently with one click.

Second, get your questions answered. Do the news media have a liberal bias? Do the commercial media "give the people what they want"? Will the Internet solve our problems? Did our nation's founders intend to have a commercial media system? Are there viable alternatives to what we have now that don't involve government censorship? These questions - and many more - are addressed in Robert McChesney's new book, The Problem of the Media. You can download the preface to the book and learn more about it at http://www.mediaproblem.org . If you donate to the Free Press Action Fund, http://www.freepress.net/support/ we will send you a copy of the book for free.

Third, please send this email to anyone you know who might be concerned about the media and want to change the system. To defeat organized money we need organized people. In 2003 we learned people are ready to be organized. Now we at Free Press are getting down to the job of doing the hard work necessary to make that happen. We hope you'll join us.

Thank you,

Josh Silver
Managing Director
Free Press
www.freepress.net

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