Wisconsin needs your help! Tell the TV networks that you expect them to cover the Wisconsin Capitol protests on a consistent basis!
On Saturday 2/26/11 over 100,000 people protested Gov. Scott Walker's Budget Repair Bill at the Wisconsin State capitol and another 50,000+ protested around the country, but the national media devoted little, if any, time to discussing these huge protests. I have read many blog stories and comments referring to this lack of TV coverage as a media "black-out".
The presence of so many protesters is monumental, but it is wasted if no one hears about the protests and they don't learn what is included in the Budget Repair bill. The public must learn more about the specifics of this bill because we need to a have them pressure their Republican State Senators to not support this bill. Consistent, up-to-date coverage of the protests and the bill by the TV networks is essential to furthering this cause.
Governor Scott Walker's budget address is tonight and it is expected that he will propose huge cuts to social services, education and assistance to local governments. Wisconsin protests will certainly continue, but will anyone know about it?
Follow me over the jump to find out what you can do.
The only action I've seen taken to counteract the media blackout of the Wisconsin protests is a Twitter petition started by escapetochengdu. The Twitter petition Call on @CNN to provide live coverage of events in Wisconsin this week:
In 2010, @CNN embedded a press corps in their custom-painted “CNN Express” press bus to follow the TeaParty Express around the country , reporting 3-4 times DAILY on the activities of the corporate-funded Tea Party Express. Hundreds showed up to those Tea Party events. Tens of thousands are arriving each hour in Madison. So, it must be asked, where is @CNN?
We demand that @CNN and other mainstream media outlets provide LIVE, round-the-clock coverage of the events unfolding in Wisconsin this week.
Twitter is a great tool, but it only reaches a fraction of the population. We need people to be flooding the various media outlets with email and phone calls demanding that they cover the Wisconsin Capitol Protests.
Email the networks today and tell them you want them to cover this protest now! Please forward this request to everyone you know.
CNN
ABC
CBS
MSNBC
Please include in comments any network telephone numbers or other email addresses for the media networks and I will add them to the diary.
Here's links to a couple of videos that have probably not been seen outside WI:
WI St. Senator Erpenbach to the People: COLLECTIVE BARGAINING Jon Erpenbach is of the Democratic WI State Senators currently living in exile in IL.
Wisconsin Lawmaker Denied Access to Capitol Kelda Helen Roys was locked out of the capitol yesterday . She represents the 81st Assembly district and is a Democrat.
If you would like to follow the WI protest do a Twitter search using #Wiunion, notmywi or #wearewi. #Wiunion gets the most hits by far, but it is also getting some spam from Tea Party types.