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Update No 1: I urge you to watch/listen to Van Jones keynote speech at NN 2010, if you haven't yet. You won't regret it.
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Update No 2: I just made a mediaKos blog. Check in there for the latest news.
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I almost threw my TV set out the window in 1988. My cup of outrage over the television reporting on the the "Teflon President's" administration's numerous scandals had finally runneth over. Perhaps the fury was triggered by the Willie Horton commercial, or maybe the last straw was the news coverage that ensued, helping to demonize Michal Dukakis. I can't recall. Whatever it was, I was enraged enough to pick the teevee up with the intention of killing it.
In the end, I managed to resist the impulse long enough to realize the potential consequences, such as killing my neighbor or having to go outside and clean up all the bits and pieces. Instead, I did something constructive with that machine. I gave it to an artist/musician who used it as part of a performance piece called, if my memory serves me correctly, 'Kill Your Television'.
This occurred in the wake of the revocation of the Fairness Doctrine in 1987 by Devil Reagan's FCC chairman Mark S. Fowler. Since then, we have witnessed the rise of rightwing hate radio and all its craziness subsequently spilling into the teevee machine; the smears, lies and psychological terrorism of Breitbart, Rupert Murdoch's Fox 'News', and other would-be democracy-destroyers; the consolidation of the mainstream media into The Big Six; the creeping conservative bias at NPR and PBS thanks particularly to George Bush's FCC chairman Michael Powell and Corporation for Public Broadcasting chairman Kenneth Tomlinson; the power of the new media with all its wonders and horrors; the rightwing PR machine's long and strong tentacles silently gripping old and new media alike via think tanks and PR placement; and the continued demise of journalistic integrity overall in the mad dash to generate all the money sensation memes news as possible in today's 24-hour-news cycle.
Breitbart's attack on the NAACP by means of a character assassination on our new national hero Shirley Sherrod and the media's complicity in the whole sordid affair has finally prompted me to do something I've been wanting to do for months: form a DKos media group.
I have been extremely impressed with the eKos group's organization, accomplishments, and the effectiveness of having a single tag and an incredibly cool widget. I think those of us whose main interest lies in holding the media accountable should follow suit.
I am no media expert. I have no experience organizing bloggers. And I'm not much of a diarist. However, this is a subject I am both passionate about and extremely frustrated over. I want to help to create a media community series where other Kossacks who share my frustration can gather to discuss, learn and educate others about media matters. I want a tag and a widget for all media-related diaries. I want diarists. I want enthusiasts. I want help and proposals. And I really want your ideas, brains, expertise, and emails so we can get this going.
I would like to ask my fellow Kossacks to use the comment section for brainstorming about this idea and to refrain from arguments and off-topic subjects. A few things to consider:
-- Name of group and tag?
-- Group's goals and focus, e.g. promoting activism with the help of existing organizations, e.g. FAIR, Stop Big Media, Free Press, MediaMatters, etc.)
-- Organizational suggestions, ideas and pledges to help
-- Media community diary series - name? ideas for diary topics? pledges from diarists?
-- Widget - who wants to make that?
-- New diary series, e.g., anyone up for writing a regular Morning Joke Watch?
-- Names of existing media-focused diary series (e.g., Greek Goddess' Sunday talk show series) to keep a list, and names of diarists who often focus on the media so we can get the word out to them about the group
-- NN 2010 attendees - spread the word?
-- Your ideas :-)
If you are interested in joining the group in any capacity, leave a comment and also please e-mail me with a few words about what you are willing to do and where your main interest lies.
I leave you with the wisdom and voice of the inimitable Gil Scott-Heron:
Make sure you know the real deal about past situations
It ain't just repeatin' what you heard on the local TV stations
...Sometimes they tell lies and put 'em in a truthful disguise
But the truth is that's why we said it wouldn't be televised
-- Message To The Messengers, from Spirits, 1993