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Stop Big Media Now

Stop Big Media Now

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Banking on your short attention span, big media is giving it another shot. Stop Big Media is trying to get the word out.

Tell Congress not to dismantle media ownership rules!

Kevin Martin, Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, has been keeping a secret from the American people. He wants to push through plans to remove decades-old media ownership protections. And he’s trying to do it without public scrutiny.

Senators Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) and Trent Lott (R-Miss.) have introduced groundbreaking bipartisan legislation that would hold the FCC accountable and put the people ahead of Big Media.

Letters like this — millions of them — stopped media consolidation in 2003. Sign the letter and tell everyone you know.

Do it now. Here is the letter default – you can edit.

I am writing to urge you to support S 2332, the “The Media Ownership Act of 2007.” This legislation will ensure that the Federal Communications Commission addresses the dismal state of female and minority ownership before changing any rules to unleash more media concentration.

Nearly 99 percent of the public comments received by the FCC oppose changing the nation’s media ownership rules to allow a handful of large conglomerates to swallow up more local media outlets. Congress rejected the same changes to the rules in 2003. Yet the FCC is still pushing a plan to overhaul the rules by the end of the year.

This legislation would mandate that the FCC give the public 90 days’ notice before holding a vote on new rules to ensure a full public accounting of the impact of media consolidation before changing the ownership limits. These steps are necessary to preserve diverse local media that meets the needs of our communities.

Diversity is the cornerstone of a democratic media system. Yet research by Free Press found that that while minorities make up 33 percent of the U.S. population, they own less than 8 percent of radio stations and 3 percent of TV stations.

This legislation would create an independent task force to address the crisis in minority media ownership.

Our democracy requires the free flow of local information from diverse voices. Please support the “The Media Ownership Act of 2007.”


More actions from Stop Big Media

NSA Eavesdropping Ruled Unconstitutional

NSA Eavesdropping Ruled Unconstitutional

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NSA eavesdropping program ruled unconstitutional

Judge orders immediate halt to program

YES! Finally!

A federal judge ruled Thursday that the government’s warrantless wiretapping program is unconstitutional and ordered an immediate halt to it.

U.S. District Judge Anna Diggs Taylor in Detroit became the first judge to strike down the National Security Agency’s program, which she says violates the rights to free speech and privacy.

“It was never the intent of the Framers to give the President such unfettered control, particularly where his actions blatantly disregard the parameters clearly enumerated in the Bill of Rights.”

We must first note that the Office of the Chief Executive has itself been created, with its powers, by the Constitution. There are no hereditary Kings in America and no power not created by the Constitution.

So what now?

Issues of the Future

Issues of the Future

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Jesua at “And No One Heard a Word” created a list of issues which in his opinion “will lead a good percentage of Americans into heated discussions with each other. How one answers the questions above generally serves as an indicator of whether one is liberal or conservative. I wonder what our ‘top 10′ list will look like ten or twenty years from now. Any guesses??” Well, how could I resist?

Our issues change a bit over time, and what counts as a liberal or conservative stance is relative to the context. Since we have been sliding right, here are a few guesses from me…

Iran: Who should we support in the post-war “election”?

Military Recruiting: Is it ok to start contacting the under-15 sector?

North Korea: Should we have used nuclear bombs?

Drugs and Mental Screening: How old should the children be before faith initative schools are permitted to change their personalities with the aid of pharmaceutical technology? (upon reflection, I edited this one a bit from my comment on his site)

Free Speech: Can all non-supportive speech be considered “hate speech” or is it just “treasonous”?

Supreme Court: Is it time to dissolve it, or is packing it enough to ensure executive power?

The poor, blue-collar and middle-class, the infirm, the weak, the insane, the damaged, the elderly: Now that social security, unemployment, welfare, the public school systems, medicare and medicaid are gone, is it better to offer members of these populations the option of an easy exit, or would it be better to create “work makes contribution” areas in camp-like settings?

What do you imagine as possible issues of the future – what will divide liberals and conservatives in 10-20 years? Can you think of issues that might unite them? I can think of one: How can we rescue this country?