What do we do about the corporate media?

[Proud Liberal Dem]

I sampled a little of "corporate media" tonight just to hear what they're saying (because I'm such a hugh moran) and between a few minutes of MSNBC and CNN I caught the following gems:

1.) Obama did not win a "mandate"
2.) Iraq's President (Talabani?) thinks that maybe Obama should "reconsider" his 16-month timetable for withdrawal.

It's VERY clear to me, after watching these segments, as well as reading some of the stuff already mentioned here that, just 2 days out, the "corporate media whores" are already back to schilling for the GOP and trying to box Obama in and essentially communicating to him that he won't be able to accomplish anything too awesome.

IMHO it is imperative that we start developing the infrastructure for "new" media alternatives to the dominant "corporate media" that remains most prominent today, perhaps thorough building on our apparent mastery of the internet, which is probably the only thing that kept us from fully sliding into fascism during these last 8 years and helped us elect Obama this year. Ongoing watchdogging of the "corporate media" is something IMHO that we are all going to have to continue doing in the meantime, however, if Obama/Biden and the rest of the Dems are going to have ANY chance of turning this country around. For starters, conservatives seem to be able to get their way often (in terms of influencing coverage) by clogging up the e-mail inboxes of journalists at the major media outlets. Why can't we do the same - except that we will be holding them accountable for getting THE TRUTH out there instead of trying to, as right-wingers seem particularly adept at doing, "game the refs".

Anybody have any thoughts of what we can do more of in terms of calling the press out on their "bias"?

[99th_Monkey]

1. I nominate Bill Moyers to be Secretary of the FCC. That would be a great start. ~nt~

[happychatter]

2. you both get MY vote - nt - k/r

[Left Is Write]

3. Richard Wolffe said today that Obama received a "clear mandate" from the people.

We need a few thousand more of him.

[backscatter712]

4. Bring back the Fairness Doctrine, or at least Fairness Doctrine Lite.

That's my first suggestion - requiring the big media outlets to allow all sides to have a voice. Maybe not so hard-core as the original Fairness Doctrine, but do require that all sides of an issue have at least some opportunity to get on the air.

Second: Regulate what can and can't be called "news". For FOX News to be allowed to call what they broadcast news, as opposed to entertainment or commentary, they'll have to adhere to enforced journalistic standards - too much flagrant bias, and you'll have to call FOX News something else, like FOX Commentary. Make it so that anyone who tunes into a program that declares its contents to be "News" will get actual news, not political spin.

Third: Break up the media oligopoly. Tighten up the FCC's media ownership rules, and require the big media companies to sell off some of their properties, so instead of a half-dozen big corporations controlling all we see, we go back to having dozens of media companies, some of them small businesses - that will introduce new blood to the media industry and make it so a few corporate thugs can't have a monopoly on the media message.

Fourth: Enforce libel/slander and other defamation laws, maybe even create a new crime - criminal defamation - you can not only be sued in civil court by saying untruths about people and ruining their reputation, but you can go to JAIL. In the interests of the First Amendment, the truth will still be an absolute defense against a charge of criminal defamation, but if you utter provable lies on the air, and those lies cause harm, you could be in big trouble.

Fifth: Net Neutrality. WE NEED THIS. NOW. The net still is the best and most free source of information out there, but don't think the corporations aren't trying to figure out how to bowdlerize it. And the way to bowdlerize the net is to make a tiered internet. This cannot be allowed to happen. Net Neutrality must be a priority for the Obama administration and the new Congress.

[rschmitt]

5. Here's an idea ...

Learn the name of Iraq's president before you start criticizing the professionals.

Man alive, the whining over news coverage that takes place here just boggles the mind. Read a little. Spread it around. Try some of this, some of that. Put 2 and 2 together, and come up with your own rational, logical, informed conclusions. (You know, like learning the name of the Iraq's president.)

Never in our society's history have we had more options for learning news -- and yes, views -- from all walks of life, all corners of the globe. If you expect to be spoonfed them by a solitary source that you find acceptable, then you deserve what you get. If you work a little to put it all together, you will be more satisfied than anyone following politics could have dreamed even 10 or 20 years ago.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

7. While I can appreciate and respect your opinion

Do you have to be so rude and offensive about how you express it? I'm sure that there are plenty of other message boards out there where people might be more willing to tolerate your condescension towards people with whom you disagree (i.e. Free Republic for example).

Oh, and welcome to DU. I hope your stay is a pleasant one.............
:eyes:

[Enthusiast]

6. We must take action!

At least some moderate measures to bring greater fairness. Outlets that "claim" to be providing news should actually have to make an effort to be neutral. Stations that carry hours of Limbaugh rants should have to at least give a disclaimer stating that The Ideas Expressed by Rush Limbaugh are Complete Bullshit, or something to that effect.