Who thinks liberals are being treated like 2nd class citizens by media?

[Cleita]

I do.

We are in the majority and yet we are being ruled by a minority, not only in government but in media.

Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck and et al get to spread their spew in the most high powered radio stations. Our people like Thom Hartmann and Randi Rhodes are relegated to the lowest powered stations in most markets. When Premier radio representatives came into my office looking to sell advertising time, I asked them why they didn't put Randi Rhodes on one of their five stations in our area, since she broadcasts through them? They said it would never happen. Instead our lowest powered station started carrying her instead.

The broadcast stations and major cable networks carry decidedly right wing programming or at least selective news. Some really big events that show what the people want, like demonstrations and other newsworthy items are totally ignored. All those doctors and demonstrators that rallied for a public option in the health care debate were arrested, yet no station carried it. Some specialty stations like MSNBC sure carry Keith and Rachel and LinkTV carries Amy Goodman, but in many markets people have to pay extra for those cable channels. Yet Fox News and CNN are on every where you go that has a TV and with nonsense news, Brangelina, Lindsey Lohan ad nauseum played constantly on them.

People like Ann Coulter, Michelle Malkin and many purely propagandist pundits are all over the place, yet when one our pundits gets on those shows often they are banned for being too hard to handle. Yes, it seems telling the truth is too hard for them to handle. My conclusion is that we are not being treated equally as the Constitution would demand especially since the air waves belong to the people. I think it's time for us to hit the streets and start demanding equality in the media. For every high powered station that carries Limbaugh et al, we need to demand an equally high powered station to carry Hartmann et al.

We need to demand a twenty four news national news station that is carried on all systems and that isn't run by advertisers like the BBC is. I would be happy even if it were just on radio. NPR has been taken over by the right wing so they no longer fulfill this service. Maybe the government can declare eminent domain over one of those religious stations that have the huge megawatt power. All viewpoints need to be aired equally and without bias. Material should be sourced and fact checked. Otherwise we who are on the left of the middle these days are being treated like pariah rather than equal citizens with equal rights in having their concerns, problems, views and history recorded by the media. We need anti-propaganda to be presented equally alongside the propaganda to debunk it.

Of course the Corporate States of America don't want this anymore than they wanted Medicare as a public option because it would put their propaganda media out business, just like Medicare would have put the insurance companies out of business. In the process they are destroying our democracy in favor of plutocratic capitalism.

Just a rant because I was forced to watch CNN and MSNBC all day because our liberal radio station was off-air, which happens frequently because it's such a poor and low powered station. It's disgraceful considering the high quality of our news casts before the nineteen seventies.

WE NEED TO DEMAND EQUALITY IN THE MEDIA. THE AIRWAVES BELONG TO ALL OF US, NOT JUST RUPPERT MURDOCH!

[arbusto_baboso]

1. The media likes to tell America what liberals believe and stand for.

And of course, they're full of shit. They'd know what we believe and stand for if they ASKED us, but instead they further the scurrilous accusations the righties hurl at us.

I mean, really, have you ever met a liberal who hated America and wanted to bring it down? Of course not.

[live love laugh]

35. The media likes to tell America what America stands for--America IS liberal. nt

[arbusto_baboso]

39. And yet most Americans don't know it.

Even many of those who call themselves conservative, if they go issue by issue, they'd see they really side with US!

[NorthCarolina]

40. +1000 n/t

[walldude]

42. That is so true...

If I had a quarter for every time Limbaugh said "Liberals think that.." like this jackass would actually have any clue what goes on in the mind of a liberal...

[Fumesucker]

2. Eh, I think we need to move up a couple of notches to make it to second class..

Right now we're more like steerage passengers on the Titanic, locked below decks while the ship is sinking into miles deep frigid waters bow first.

[RKP5637]

21. Yeah, we're really taking on water and so far we're the only ones that seem to really feel it... n/t

[mmonk]

3. Me too. Well actually, it feels like I know rather than think.

[RKP5637]

4. Sadly, much of the MSM today is tabloid journalism. n/t

[Jackpine Radical]

5. We could pass a law about balance.

We could call it the Fairness Doctrine. I don't think that name is being used right now.

[nadinbrzezinski]

6. Entertainment is what sells any more

and how media is consumed is also generational. If it helps, not really... we are even moving away from real news, and towards E-Tonight kind of tv anymore.

[Cleita]

7. "...is what sells," which is why there should be no

selling here, but public service and they are our air waves. We have to demand them back.

[nadinbrzezinski]

8. We can and we should

but we should also start doing what the other side did... build an echo machine

The age of Cronkite is gone... and WE NEED AN ECHO MACHINE and get our heads out of the sand... nobody is gonna regulate shit.

We also need to start building civil society, but that is 'nother part of the discussion.

IN my view democracy is under threat... but it is too late to try to change the system to what it was... and we'd better adapt, and adapt fast. That includes a few single issue PACs by the way.

[BrklynLiberal]

9. Been a fact of news reporting for a couple of decades now

[Ted_White]

10. Corporate news media treats people as consumers, not citizens

[Jennicut]

11. We are not in the majority at all, moderates are in the majority.

And they swing toward the left or right depending on the issue or moment in time. However, the media is dominated by not even moderate views. It is dominated by the conservatives. Money talks.

[Cleita]

13. Yes, we are.

We and the moderates, poor to middle class have the same kitchen table issues that we care about, jobs, education, health care, retirement security and that our infrastructure is kept repaired, that our food is safe to eat and our water safe to drink. We are the majority and none of these issues seem to occupy our mainstream media anymore. As a matter of fact, we are being marginalized as being socialists and welfare queens every time we want to address these issues. That my dear is the propaganda.

[Barack2theFuture]

12. for the most part, 'liberals' are not treated AT ALL by the corporate media,

except to the extent that the word "liberal" is consistently vilified.

[Cleita]

15. Yes, as I said in my post #13.

Anytime it's brought up, it's in the context of being socialists or welfare queens. I couldn't believe that those people who have lost their jobs and were collecting unemployment were being sneered at as being on welfare, when in fact unemployment is insurance that each worker pays into to collect from if he should become unemployed.

[Barack2theFuture]

16. the few so-called 'liberals' who are given any air time at all,

are always center or right of center, and are set up to look bad,

plus they are called names as you describe.

[PufPuf23]

14. Neo-Liberals are "cool" in political and media discourse

but traditional liberals are excluded, demeaned, and scapegoated.

Alas, if one sticks to sound policy, disregarding personality and vested wealthy interests; the most stable, secure, fair, and abundant USA comes from traditional liberals. We are almost always right in hindsight, are the root of engine of middle class and professional life styles oveer time, and demeaned in real time and cultural history.

[kestrel91316]

17. Hell, we're being treated like we're less than human. Second-class

citizens would be a step up.

[OHdem10]

18. It is not the Media. It is the Party. The Media regurgitates what

they learn from the Administration, Congress, and Party.

Our own party run hide under their desk.

Back in the 70s when the GOP started the drumbeeat to
smear Liberal and Liberalism---tell me one Democrat who
stood up and fought back.

Even Activists changed to Progrssive rather than defend Liberal.
Rightly so the Republicans points this out and Progressive
will soon be a dirty word.

If Democrats had fought back, the Media would have listened.

Instead they have made themselves look weak, hesitant, indecisive
NOTHING to make the Media see Leadership.

If you listen to the Media, they look for people who do leave
things hanging in the wind.
No matter how terrible you may feel the Republicans policies are
the Republicans are decisive--you cannot describe them as hesitant.

I realize having A Liberal Wing and A Conservative Wing in one
party as do the Democrats, is not easy. This eventually will
be the downfall of the party.

[blm]

19. DEMOCRATS get treated as 2nd-class citizens. LIBERAL DEMOCRATS are treated as THIRD-CLASS citizens.

.

[guitar man]

20. I wish

We'd have to come way up in the world to make 2nd class. And after all we've given this country. Social Security, The 1964 Civil Rights Act, the (almost extinct) 40 hour work week...and so on and so forth. Some days I wonder why we even keep trying :(

[RKP5637]

23. I wonder when many are going to just tune out and say FU** it... I already see that

in the eyes of some, probably many. This country worked on the carrot and the stick, many knew work and education, keeping with the job and all got you someplace. Today, many just get screwed over and over. How long before the passive mass rebellion just says FU** it... I think many are fed up when they stop and think about it... One problem, though, is it's becoming generational now... many younger people never knew a better America.

[Ramulux]

22. Its extraordinarily simple really

Its all about the money Lebowski. Rich republican assholes own most of the media and obviously are going to put on commentators who will argue for things they want like less regulation and tax cuts for the wealthy.

[gaiangreentree]

24. FREE SPEECH

The Fairness Doctrine was repealed because it violated the free speech of corporations by advocating accuracy and balance... which is as we all know, is totally unfair to corporations. The Fairness Doctrine shamefully failed to recognize the superiority of corporate citizens to mere human citizens. Can you imagine a world where the airwaves were considered to be owned by the people and regulated by a government of the people as if there were public ownership of government? Karl Marx warned about those Jeffersonian views we former colonialists have.

Don't worry though, at least all these independent media outlets have almost completely vanished. Even the incredibly conservative BBC and rightwing MSNBC will seem like advocates of the people with enough media consolidation.
:sarcasm:

[Cleita]

25. The BBC at least tries to do some real reporting without

making stuff up. We still do own the airwaves. It's time we demanded them back.

btw Welcome to DU. :thumbsup:

[david13]

26. I've noticed. In fact I've noticed it all my life, and I'm an old man. dc

[McCamy Taylor]

29. How old? "Conservative" equalled thermonuclear war during my youth.

[david13]

30. There is no easy answer to that one. It was early known that the

Russians had detonated nuclear bombs in 1949. Thus the 50's involved a knowledge on the part of many people, most people? that if we were to use nukes on them ... then would do the same to us.
And I think a lot of conservatives and republicans felt that way. Eisenhower, for one. I don't think Eisenhower could ever have been thought of as 'gung ho', which was how Goldwater was portrayed in the ads in 64.
Even on his part, it was probably an exaggeration. He may have been very 'conservative?' about using the bomb anywhere.
He was not a John McCain.
But to have been a peacenik in the 50's would probably have been a very lonely experience. Less so later with the Vietnam situation. There was no comparison in the minds of many americans between WWII and Vietnam.
I guess I never did see anything as black and white.
dc

[Hansel]

27. Ever since I could remember.

Because most of our political leaders are too gutless to embrace and brag about what liberals have done for this country. The Repukes run circle around Dems in framing issues and they get a whole hell of a lot of help from the media.

We have some strong Democrats, but most are as timid as Harry Reid.

[McCamy Taylor]

28. Workers are treated like third world citizens by the MSM. I dont care

how they treat "ideologues" on either side. I care about how they treat rank and file Americans.

[Cleita]

32. Rank and file Americans are the

ideologues according to the media. Honestly, look how they are making out of work Americans look like they are lazy because they are collecting unemployment instead of working, like unemployment is welfare and like there are any jobs to work at. Honestly, we are being treated badly by the media.

[UTUSN]

31. Try substituting "Hispanics" (or whatever minority) for "liberals" - oh, I forgot,nevermind n/t

[Cleita]

33. All in the same pot.

It's them that are in power vs. the rest of us.

[laughingliberal]

34. K & R nt

[H2O Man]

36. I'd be pleased

if the democratic left were elevated to that high a status in the media.

[Mimosa]

37. Fox is getting even more obvious with the propaganda

I wonder if even the regular Fox viewers are getting bored with the obvious partisanship?

[eShirl]

38. You're just now noticing that? n/t

[earth mom]

41. You forgot to say that Rahm and Gibbs treat liberals like shit too.

It ain't just the media.

Given that this disrespect is coming from people who work for Obama, people need to question why the Obama WH has thrown the left under the bus!