[Air-l] a call to activisim from Robert McChesney

[Ed Lamoureux]

a note from McChesney.
I'm using his book in a 400-level multimedia course I'm teaching; he's 
doing a guest teleconference with us. I don't consider the message spam 
. . . though as a call to specific action over a specific cause, it 
might be taken as boarderline by some of the kind folks on this list.

I hope that you don't find the intrusion .  . . well ...  intrusive.

thanks


Begin forwarded message:

> From: Robert McChesney <info at mediareform.net>
> Date: February 11, 2004 11:44:18 AM CST
> To: info at mediareform.net
> Subject: Tell Congress to stop what's really indecent about the media: 
> consolidation.
> Reply-To: rmcchesney at mediareform.net
>
> Congress is having high-profile hearings to debate the crisis in 
> American media.
>
> Media concentration? Nope -- indecency.
>
> Spurred on by Janet Jackson's Super Bowl antics, Congress has decided 
> to try to address the issue of television's 'race to the bottom.' 
> Their answer? Increasing token fines on broadcasters that push the 
> envelope with explicit content.
>
> We need your help to get Congress to focus on what's truly obscene: 
> Big Media getting any bigger.
>
> The Super Bowl half-time show is just the latest example of synergy 
> gone wild -- CBS (which aired the game) and MTV (which produced the 
> half-time show) are corporate cousins in the Viacom media empire. And 
> last summer, the FCC passed rules that will allow media giants like 
> Viacom to get even bigger, narrowing the range of debate and stifling 
> minority and independent voices. It has to stop.  Members of Congress 
> are focused on the media today--we've got to tell them what really 
> matters to us.
>
> We need you to call your representative in Congress. Urge him or her 
> to co-sponsor House Joint Resolution 72, the resolution of disapproval 
> that would roll back the new FCC rules. We need you to tell them that 
> the real solution to the problems of our media has to address the root 
> cause: the growing concentration of media ownership.
>
> Click here for your representative's information and detailed 
> instructions: http://www.mediareform.net/callcongress.php
>
> Forward this to everyone you know who cares about fostering a truly 
> democratic media.
>
> ----------------
> Last summer, the Federal Communications Commission passed rules that 
> would allow media giants like Viacom to get even bigger, not only 
> speeding along the 'race to the bottom' but narrowing the range of 
> debate, focusing on celebrity over policy, reducing elections to horse 
> races, stifling minority viewpoints, and barraging us with 
> advertising.
>
> Millions of Americans last year told Congress and the FCC that we're 
> asking for more trouble if we allow the FCC's relaxation of media 
> ownership limits to stand. That decision allows a single company to 
> buy multiple TV stations, eight radio stations, the biggest newspaper, 
> and the cable system in a given community. Media concentration has led 
> to less children's programming, cuts in newsroom staff, a decline in 
> minority-owned media, and the stifling of independent voices.
>
> Congress tried and failed to solve this problem in 2003.  We cannot 
> allow them to ignore the issue in 2004.  It's up to us to get our 
> representatives to commit to truly democratic policies--like reversing 
> the FCC's media ownership decision.
>
> Right now is a critical moment. Take 3 minutes and make a difference.
>
> Sincerely,
>
> The Free Press Team
>
> P.S.: While most of the action today seems to be taking place in 
> Washington, the real story is actually unfolding in Philadelphia. 
> There, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit will hear oral 
> arguments today regarding the new FCC rules. For the most recent 
> information regarding this groundbreaking case, visit 
> http://www.mediareform.net/media/philadelphia.php .
>
> P.P.S.: Stay up to date on news relating to media reform with our free 
> daily headline service. Sign up at 
> http://www.mediareform.net/news/deliveries.php . Give it a try; both 
> subscribing and unsubscribing are easy.
>
> -------------
> To discontinue receiving these messages, go to 
> http://www.mediareform.net/remove.php .
>
>
>
Edward Lee Lamoureux, Ph. D.
Director, Multimedia Program and New Media Center
Associate Professor, Speech Communication
1501 W. Bradley
Bradley University
Peoria IL  61625
309-677-2378

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