[CIMC-work] Moment of truth for media and democracy

[Robert McChesney]

Media corporations are getting bigger and democracy is losing. Journalism has become dumbed-down entertainment, we are deluged by advertising, and elections have become scripted horseraces instead of forums for meaningful debate.

And it's getting worse. This summer the Federal Communications Commission made it easier for media giants to get even bigger. In response to massive public outcry -- some three million Americans wrote or called Washington in an unprecedented show of opposition -- the Senate passed a full rollback of the FCC rules. Now members of the House of Representatives are listening to big media lobbyists instead of the public, and are blocking a vote.

Today we've reached a make-or-break moment that hinges on you. With three simple steps, you can make the difference. Your petition and phone call are the only ways to force a vote on legislation that would reverse the FCC's decision.

STEP ONE
Sign the online petition to roll back the FCC rules. Go to http://www.mediareform.net/petition.php .

STEP TWO
Call your U.S. Representative. Go to http://www.mediareform.net/callcongress for the number and details. Most Members of Congress get fewer than 5 calls a day from constituents on ANY legislative issue. 10 calls on one issue looks like a banner day. 50 makes people sit up and wonder. 100 lights a fire.

Why call? Because a letter is being circulated by leading House Democrats and Republicans calling for a vote on media ownership. If your Representative hasn't signed it, please call them and ask him/her to do so. Over 120 (out of 435) have signed already.  Click here http://www.mediareform.net/callcongress to find out if your Representative is on the letter. Instructions are provided.

STEP THREE
Forward this message to everyone you know. 

Yours,

Robert W. McChesney
Free Press

P.S. For more information on the FCC rules and media reform efforts, visit http://www.mediareform.net . Working together we can build a better media.

BACKGROUND
Since the FCC loosened media ownership rules on June 2, the House and Senate have voted for three bills that overturn some or all of the changes. Not a single one of these bills has passed in both chambers.

On September 16th the Senate voted by an overwhelming margin for a full reversal of the FCC's blunder. It's now in the House of Representatives, but the Speaker of the House -- Rep. Dennis Hastert -- is rejecting the democratic process. Hastert, who controls the House voting schedule, says he has no plans to allow a vote on the resolution.  Republican Majority Leader Tom Delay has called the Senate bill "dead on arrival." They won't permit a vote because they don't want it to pass. They favor the concentration of corporate wealth over a democratized media system (see http://www.mediareform.net/news.php?id=1178 for details). Your action is the only thing that will change their minds.