In just seven months there will be a national election, the midterms. It is these elections where the republicans will garner more seats in the congress and tell the world they have a mandate, or worst they will claim the election is a referendum on the President.
The reality is that Democratic party has start believing that they can't beat the republicans due to the gerrymandering of local political districts. additionally with the media owned and controlled by big money interest the progressive message is muted.
A free press can, of course, be good or bad, but, most certainly without freedom, the press will never be anything but bad.
Albert Camus
We need a game-changer something we really can't wait for. It seems that there is one group that can accomplish it. Labor
I was listening to Ed Schultz discussing the Trans Pacific Partnership agreement (TPP) with James Hoffa and lamenting why the “mainstream” media wasn’t talking about it. The short answer is they, the “mainstream” media, is wholly owned by those who stand to benefit by an agreement that will gut labor.
That interview by Ed Schultz is part of the epiphany that help lead me to this conclusion. That epiphany started with the Boeing contract vote that took place in the media.
There is a great disconnect with the media and the public. A void that that prevents the issues, news and discussion to be censored and focused towards how important Wall Street and the one percent are to the health of the economy.
The cause of this disconnect lays with the signing of the Telecommunications act of 1996 by allowing a consolidation of the industry removed the competition that drives a free and open society.
“Ownership has it privileges” Often quoted by Ed Schultz as an explanation of the radio entertainment industry’s desire to censor the message of the progressives, liberals, labor, environmental or public interested groups. This censorship is labeled as a profit driven decision. It is not really a financial reality of the industry that drives the ownership, but a desire to change the nation’s political climate to mirror that of the wealthy and business against the rest of America.
When Boeing used the news cycle to make the union the bad guy in the recent 777x dispute when they went public, claiming that they needed a highly concessionary contract from the union to “compete” with workers in other states showcased the depths of corporate control of the media and how well coordinated the attack on the middle class has become.
This attack on the workers of Boeing spotlights the attitude towards working Americans and the middle class is that exist today in the media. Regulations, Unions, teachers and the poor are causing business to not exceed in profitability that they desire. It’s not profitability that is generated but dividends and money taking that is the end result.
We as unionist has spent the last 33 years fighting a war against the middle class started by President Reagan. For 33 years a relentless attack on the middle class being helped and blessed by our own members unwisely working against their own interests.
The Telecommunications act of 1996 allowed mergers and consolidation to create a new style of corporate control of the media creating an unprecedented censorship of the public airwaves, cable and the internet.
It is this censorship that has placed our democracy was in grave peril.
From the Canadian border to the Mexican border there is no progressive radio on the airway in any major city on the west coast. And yes this is about the message. Our message, the message the truly helps the middle class and our democracy.
I know “we have the internet,” or “we can buy commercials” to get the word out. Really? It doesn’t work that way. We saw with the MoveOn ad against President George Bush, a political ad can be kept off the airways if the broadcaster wishes to do so. “Ownership has its privileges.”
As a result, with the Koch brothers leading the way, have controlled the message against healthcare, pensions, minimum wage, the environment and the American worker just to name a few. They also lead the praise of Trans Pacific Partnership, the XL pipeline, unlimited mergers, and the privatizing of America’s infrastructure (The Commons) just to name a few.
At its core keeping such a message, which is political speech, away from the public by any source is censorship. This kind of censorship is what our founding fathers truly feared. The first amendment contains the freedom of speech, not just the press but any form of speech and yet we cannot exercise that freedom because the owner of the media might not like it.
Right now, at this point in time, Labor is the only group that has the ability to change the current landscape in getting the progressive message out.
The solution to this dilemma starts with the ownership of terrestrial radio and TV stations. Internet radio and web sites and its content can be influenced by the loss of net neutrality. An IP provider can charge users a higher rate to access them or even censor the content. Buying ads on commercial stations, newspapers, magazines or billboards can be refused by ownership.
The only independent or activism group capable of taking on the task of leveling the playing field in delivering the message is labor. The same people who brought us the middle class, better working conditions and a government that responded to its citizens.
We can’t rely on wealthy democrats to buy and operate radio stations to deliver the progressive message. Labor has the funds to enter into a venture such as this. These funds exist in the strike funds that many unions maintain.
These funds are being eyed by the one percent, they started with a law suit against the American Airline pilots to test those waters. They are waiting for the chance to grab these funds through legal actions. Should the TPP pass those funds will be one of the first targets.
If labor could combine all these funds in a trust fund that is chartered to educate and provide finical aid to strikers (in accordance with the striking union’s bylaws) would be step one. The trust fund can then invest or own a broadcast company. This could be either through outright ownership or a definite controlling interest.
The trust fund will have to be the instrument to protect the strike funds. I’m sure there are limits on how strike funds are managed I’m willing to bet that a trust fund is allowable. The hardest part will be to educate union leadership on the importance and timeliness of doing this.
There are a couple of companies that will work. Taking control will allow a change on broadcasting planning. It will open markets traditionally closed to the progressive message. There are areas where the people are truly with the progressive message but never hear it.
This would be the start from there the solution moves into the ownership of cable or satellite services. Remembering that ownership might comprise of majority or controlling stake up to outright ownership.
While some might think that this is a grand scheme it is the solution that will work. With the mid terms coming up we can influence many of the outcomes of elections. I can predict wins in every district we can show how the voting public really feels on the issues.
Bringing labor in to the communication industry at this level will be a game changer in education and communicating with the people. It’s something that labor can’t ignore for long. It's something the democracy needs to stay alive.