A Glimmer of Light in Television Wasteland

[babylonsister]

A Glimmer of Light in Television Wasteland

By Mike Whitney

27/06/08 "ICH" --- - It's time to knock the cobwebs off the television and fish the remote from the trashcan. Believe it or not, there's finally something worth watching on TV. GRIT TV with Laura Flanders is a fast-paced political talk show that leaves its mainstream competitors in the rear-view mirror. This is the real deal and Flanders is hands-down the best interviewer in the business. She's bright, cheerful, well-informed and engaging. She also keeps the topic moving briskly from panelist to panelist, an art in itself. She even has a good handle on what's going on in the financial markets which is typically a weak-spot for liberals.

This isn't a half-hour free-for-all like the McLaughlin Group or another tedious spitting-match between a Loofah-wielding simian and his faux-liberal guest. GRIT TV is a forum for intelligent, articulate progressives to discuss the issues in depth without a script or an agenda. It's what TV is supposed to be, a way to strengthen democracy by maintaining an informed public. It's taken a while, but GRIT TV is headed in the right direction.

Political junkies don't have to wait for Bill Moyers Journal on Friday nights anymore to get their fix of thought-provoking analysis. GRIT TV runs Monday through Thursdays on Free Speech TV with a new panel every night covering everything from the environment, elections, race, gender, energy, to the economy. There's no lull in the action. The guests are the people who never get a shot at network TV; the activists and authors who are working for change but don't have the right-wing bone fides to appear on Chris Matthews, Wolf Blitzer or the other corporate-friendly talk shows. GRIT TV provides them with a platform to give their perspective and Flanders, thankfully, lets them talk. She doesn't sit like a coiled snake ready to pounce whenever someone challenges the conventional wisdom on the war or (heaven forbid) disparages a corporate sponsor. GRIT TV is not underwritten by big oil, Boeing or King Coal like so much of the crap on PBS. Its all contributions from people who still believe that television can perform a public service.

Do you care whether your new "gas saving" Prius was made with sweatshop labor, or whether Obama's platform really offers progressive change, or what Kevin Phillips had to say about the global financial crisis? GRIT TV is a good place to start. It's all issues without the attitude.

Last night Flanders reviewed the recent Supreme Court rulings on the second amendment (gun rights) and habeas for Guantanamo detainees. That was followed by a 4 minute video which showed how African Americans were disproportionately victimized by the subprime meltdown. After that, Flanders led a lively discussion on "executive pay" and America's ever-expanding "wealth gap." It was all first-rate coverage.

This is television at its best; broadcasting that does not assume that its viewers are nincompoops that need plunging necklines and endless car chases to keep them entertained. GRIT TV doesn't provide bread or circuses, just hard-edged politics for people who really want to know what is going on. That's Flander's beat and she does it better than anyone in the business.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article20192.htm

[Jane Austin]

1. Is this on cable? satellite? broadcast? the internet?

Where can I find it?

Thanks

[babylonsister]

2. It's on Free Speech TV...

http://www.freespeech.org/fscm2/genx.php?name=home

Dish Network, Channel 9415

I don't know if it's on anywhere else - yet.

http://www.freespeech.org/html/faq-programs.shtml

How can I watch Free Speech TV on my television?

Free Speech TV is available 24 hours a day on DISH Network, channel 9415 and part-time on 172 cable affiliates in 35 states.

To watch us on DISH Network, you'll need to subscribe to this service and install a small satellite dish at your home. Subscribe through our online store. To see if your local community cable station broadcasts Free Speech TV programming, check out our local cable access affiliate list.

If they do, we encourage you to contact your local station to let them know that you're watching Free Speech TV. If your cable system is not listed, please call the community-access programmers in your community to suggest that they carry Free Speech TV programming: it's free!

Please visit our affiliates page to find more information on our Community Access Cable Affiliates Program. If you have further questions about contacting your local programmers, drop us email at ops(at)freespeech.org.
Why is Free Speech TV not on DirecTV or fulltime cable channels?

In 2000, FSTV realized its goal of launching the first national progressive television network when it was awarded a full-time satellite channel on DISH Network as a result of an FCC policy to set aside 4%of satellite channels for public interest channels.

Free Speech TV has applied to DirecTV every year since the public interest obligation went into effect in 1999. Whether you are a DirecTV subscriber yet or not, more people should be able to see FSTV. If this sounds like your kind of network, please ask DIRECTV to carry FSTV, and let's see if this great network can expand. Direct TV has said they have added channels in the past due to viewer demand. If you support independent media and want more quality television, then please contact DirecTV through one of the methods below.

CALL: Dial 1 800 531 5000 and ask to speak with Sandra and tell DirecTV to carry Free Speech TV!
MAIL: Send letters to DirecTV Inc. HR, 2230 E Imperial Hwy., El Segundo, CA 90245
E-mail: click here to use their online customer servie form to tell DirecTV to carry Free Speech TV.
SPREAD THE WORD: Send this message to people like you who care about independent media ask them to tell DirecTV to carry Free Speech TV!

The cable television industry does not have the same kind of public interest obligations, so gaining fulltime carriage on cable systems is more difficult for an independent television network like Free Speech TV. We are, however, continuing to pursue this kind of distribution.

Check out an existing petition to DIRECTV: Direct TV Should Carry Free Speech TV

How can I purchase Free Speech TV Programs?
Check out our store at store.freespeech.org. Many of the programs we air are available for purchase through our store. If you have questions about a specific title, please call us at 1-888-FSTV-TLK(1-888-378-8855) or email us at viewercomments(at)freespeech.org.
Can I watch Free Speech TV programs online?
Free Speech TV cannot be viewed online in its entirety, but we stream selected programs for which we have streaming rights. Due to copyrights constraint, we provide our streaming videos online as realmedia format only at this moment. The Free Speech TV video archive is one of the largest collections of progressive independent documentary films on the Internet. The collection is a unique and valuable resource available free of charge to anyone who is able to access our website. There are currently over 1,500 videos online, and more are added each week.

[elocs]

4. It would be ironic if Free Speech TV was only available on satellite tv,

where only paid subscribers would have access to it. I always thought that if somebody was to consider themselves a member in good standing as a Liberal, if they watched tv at all it would be limited to a few hours of PBS or CSPAN.

[proud2BlibKansan]

6. It's only on satellite here

[Jane Austin]

7. Thanks. I'll call DirectTV

and ask them to carry it.

[leftchick]

3. here is their website

http://www.grit.tv/


K&R!

[proud2BlibKansan]

5. Damn Free Speech TV isn't on my Time Warner channel line up

Time to write them once again and ask to add that channel.