My letter to Crossfire re: Jon Stewart A WAKE UP CALL TO THE MEDIA!!

[jab105]

A lot of people are saying that this was a waste of breath on the part of Jon Stewart, but I dont think it was...didn't you notice, people were actually CLAPPING when Jon Stewart was saying that Crossfire was theatre. It is time to get the message out...if the media hears it enough they WILL change, look at what happened when the Republican machine charged that the media was liberal.

WRITE TO CROSSFIRE, EXPLAIN TO THEM WHAT JON STEWART WAS SAYING, REPEAT IT TO THEM. BEG THEM TO CHANGE!!

THis was my letter:

To Paul Begala and Tucker Carlson:

I watched your debate with Jon Stewart, and I really don't think that you "get it". Perhaps, I would be better at explaining it to you.

Being a debate show isn't about letting professional spin machines come onto your show and spin their side of the story, its about actually talking about, debating about, the issues that affect the lives of the citizens of America.

This election is not about John Kerry saying that an openly gay person is a lesbain. This election should NOT be decided by that (and it very well may be BECAUSE a show like yours allows it to be the highlight of a 90 minute debate that actually was about the real issues of this country).

This election should not be decided by the Swift Boat Vets for "truth" who are trying to change the official record of something that happened 35 years ago (unless you are doing journalism, like Nightline did recently where they actually went and verified that the official account was correct).

This election should not be decided because of a word or a phrase that professional pollsters spin to mean something that it isn't. Your show has allowed this spin to thrive, and to become (in all accounts) more valuable than the issues. The issues that matter to people.

In that regard, you have indeed failed the American people. Your show is on a news channel, you should not be theatre, you should not be satisfied to be entertainment. You owe it to the citizens of America to be more than that, to actually talk about the issues, not the spin and gossip that are manufactured specifically to keep you from focusing on the real issues affecting this country.

You are the only hope of the American people, you have failed us for many years. Please step up to the plate, the future of the country literally depends on you.

Sincerely,
*****************

[Syrinx]

1. I wish they still read email on the air

They did when it was an hour show. One of mine was actually read on the show, and it was kind of exciting to see my name on CNN. The previous night, Tucker Carlson had made some insulting remarks toward Southerners. I wrote him something like "I guess Tucker Carlson is correct about the South being full of backward, racist rednecks, after all, year after year, we vote Republican."

I still have that on video, and watch it every once in awhile. :)

[Scoopie]

5. I would like to see the Dems

develop a Southern Strategy like the Neo-Con/Right Wingnuts did.
And all-out blast of facts about taxes (the neo-cons cost us more a year than our child-tax credits in property and sales taxes) and education (why is it that we still rank lowest - yeah, we don't pay as much in taxes and there might be that, but it still hurts our children when they go out to compete for jobs) and religion (the Dems go to church A LOT more than the neo-cons. Bush has rarely set FOOT in a church since he was elected. Carter and Clinton went nearly every week).

We're not stupid. We're not hick. We have SUCKY information systems.
Time to TAKE IT BACK!

(And I like your Bear Bryant pic. Volunteer fan here - just beat Ole Miss! Go Vols!)

[Syrinx]

8. thanks

I'll be rooting for Bama but you've probably got me beat. :(

[Must_B_Free]

2. John hammered in the first nail

into their coffin

[jab105]

3. And it's up to us to follow through...

I dont think that Carlson (specifically) **Got** what stewart was saying...so WE have to hammer it in to him...

If he gets 1000 letters saying the same thing, then he might actually evaluate what they are doing wrong...

It has to start somewhere, and this is where it starts...

WRITE!!!

[Lorien]

4. What e-mail address did you use?

Like you, I think we should be hammering the media on this issue!

:thumbsup:

[Seabiscuit]

6. Someone should tell Begala and Carville to quit CNN's Crossfire

in protest.

And leave nothing but Carlson and that felon who outed Valery Plame. Then what's CNN going to do?

You know, I've become a victim of the illusion that the problem with that show is Carlson and the outer bastard.

But you know what? I'm finally discovering the real problem is Carville and Begalla. If they weren't there kissing the freepers' asses off camera, and playing their shit-hole game, Crossfire wouldn't event exist!!!

Fuck Carville!

Fuck Begala!

[MatrixEscape]

7. Good letter, but ...

Don't expect too much from the corporate media in a larger sense.

No matter what minor effects people have on their policies, especially concerning news, they have a very solid agenda behind them. Money and ratings and advertisers are important to them, but they will only adjust, not change the underlying premise.

Anything short of major changes that lead to a democratization of the media will yield only temporary results. A reformed FCC, mandatory divestiture of the media conglomerates, and the growth of INDY media in the mainstream, are the only real tools for change.

I would not want to discourage the fantastic activism I am seeing everywhere and from DU'ers. It has an impact and there should be more and more of it. However, I advocate a media revolution and hope to see a more prevalent movement towards that end.

I personally hold the media responsible for the Dubya effect and this time around, they have made that more concrete. Bush has been painted as something he is not and the media has served to support that illusion so well, that well ... here we are.

Oh, and who did there best to sell us the "war" in Iraq? That's journalism? It was more like a sales pitch. They can't rescue credibility in my eyes after that. Noam Chomsky has seen deeply into this problem and has related it for years. I think that now, rather than sounding like a radical wacko to the average person, the time has come for his basic thesis to take hold and bear its fruit.

Our Forefathers recognized the intrinsic and essential importance of a free press in the Democratic process. Well, the freedom part has been bought and sold and we didn't get in on the auction. If you want change, progress, and the preservation of liberty in America, it is essential to consider the media factor as tantamount.

Considering the power and scope of today's media, it is clear that it has the potential, in this Century, to deliver Orwellian enslavement, or be the bastion of resilient freedom. It is we who must decide which side of that binary choice will ultimately prevail – while we are able!

[Lorien]

9. My letter:

Jon Stewart’s recent appearance on Crossfire was truly a remarkable moment in media history, and it shouldn’t have been. His honesty and courage was a thing rarely seen on television these days. The deep concern he expressed for the state of journalism in America and it’s effects on us as a nation resonated with millions of us who have watched the program. Not surprisingly, Crossfire’s host’s seem baffled by his words. They have forgotten-or maybe they never knew-just what their responsibilities are as hosts of a news program.

The "journalism" at CNN now falls somewhere between the National Enquirer and Star magazine. People, the Kobe Bryant rape case is NOT important National news! We don't need to know the details of Martha Stewart's trial, Rush Limbaugh's addiction, Bill O'Reilly or Michael Jackson's perversions...leave that nonsense for tabloid programs like "Celebrity Justice". Then there's the spin and propaganda that CNN promotes. Honestly, Micheal Moore and Sean Hannity are far less dangerous in that department than your anchors are because everyone knows what side of the issues they're on. CNN distorts and spins by only presenting sound bites; fragments of a story that leave the viewer confused and uninformed-or worse, misinformed. It’s insidious propaganda, and it is, as Stewart said so earnestly; “hurting America”.

We, the American people, are begging you; take your responsibility as OBJECTIVE journalists seriously. Stop giving us infotainment, and give us the news as it was presented thirty years ago, when those in your business were respected, trusted, and admired. As it stands now, the most trusted name in modern journalism is Jon Stewart; a comedian who obviously doesn’t want that responsibility. Don’t leave him with that burden; step up to the plate and act like true American patriots. Stop shilling for big corporate interests and corrupt administrations. We know you desire tax breaks and deregulation, but is it worth destroying the country you profess love for in the process?

Thomas Jefferson warned us that without a free press, democracy cannot exist. Stop trading our freedom for fascism disguised as profitable entertainments. Do the right thing now, before American democracy is merely a memory.

[DesEtoiles]

10. this is right on

warning, I sent something similar - althought not nearly as eloquent - to a bunch at CNN and got nast replies back


they just don't want to hear it. they think that they are perfect and how DARE anyone criicize them.