Proposed: A television network to compete with the MSM.
I'm a television producer. I've produced television shows on a shoestring. So I KNOW that what I'm proposing is feasible.
There are perhaps thousands of television producers all across the country. They put out shows on cable access television. The difference between what they do and what I'm proposing: NETWORK AFFILIATION. Not an existing network, but a new network that they themselves create by, well, AFFILIATING.
I'm proposing a national affiliatory structure for television producers that shares content over the internet, and which makes editorial decisions online, and produces shows on cable access television.
It's been a dream of mine, slowly taking shape for a couple of years, but this diary by clammyc inspired me to think deeper about the idea and create a yahoo group to get the ball rolling.
It occurred to me, as I was setting up this discussion group and sending invitations to it, that the television network is a project that really ought to be part of a wider phenomenon.
The domination of our public discourse by corporate insiders in politics, journalism, music, scholarly research, film, and television is a situation screaming out for a cultural alternative. The internet has become an outlet, but we all know how the commentary in the MSM about this medium has prejudiced the public. And we all know that there isn't a national mass media outlet to counter this.
My proposal is a television network that shares content and information via the internet, and then packages that content in shows on cable access. It necessarily means funding the television effort in ways that it ISN'T currently supported: with billboards and radio spots telling the public what time, what channel. And the people who do this work should be compensated. But such funds that are needed are a TINY FRACTION of what the MSM spends on it's efforts, and that's an ADVANTAGE we have.
I didn't have a clear idea on where to raise these funds, until I read this diary by Chris Bowers. Apparently, progressive fundraising is being funneled into political consulting for the very people who are operating the "consultant con" described by Markos in "Crashing the Gates":
In a painful and disturbing irony, the same Democratic political consultant structure that the netroots seek to reform--and which Markos and Jerome called "The Consultant Con" in Crashing the Gate--is actually being funded, reinforced, and strengthened by the netroots. Roughly one-third of the money that went to Democratic campaign consultants in the 2003-2004 election cycle came from netroots activists, even if those activists were not always giving online. The large commissions on media buys, the bad television ads, the consultants who continue to be hired despite repeatedly losing elections—that is all being directly funded by people like you.--Chris Bowers
[Emphasis mine]
And this is what provoked me to write this diary today. Bowers points out that this consultant class is rolling in money despite being consistently WRONG on campaign strategy and political calculations involving message and policy, while many people working their hearts out for the progressive cause are struggling financially.
I'll put it bluntly: These consultants have currency in the MSM. They trade on their connections to give the advice that the establishment wants to become the "conventional wisdom," and it's time we challenged that in the most direct way that we can: bypassing the MSM with our own network.
And so I set out to write this diary, when I noticed THIS:
This is the dawn of a new era. None of these candidates (not even Boyda) won by running Harold Ford-style campaigns. They were aggressive. They refused to play inside Republican frames. They made clear distinctions between themselves and the GOP. And given a choice, people responded positively. It's good to see that they are continuing the same approach that served them well, despite what must be intense pressure from DLC-ish forces in DC to get them to try and out-Republican the Republicans. (The same people who thought Harold Ford's losing effort was a "perfect campaign".)
Freshman Dems refuse to follow DLC playbook, front page diary by kos TODAY
Read kos' article, and read Bowers'. I've linked them both above. Markos praises Freshmen Dems, our guys for bucking the consultant con, and Bowers argues that the consultant con is undercutting progressive fundraising efforts. It's clear that progressives need an alternative to the final destination of funds. I'm proposing one that crashes the gates.