Mr. Obama, Make Media Reform a Priority

On Thursday, an alliance of more than 100 groups, unions, musicians, bloggers and media and technology leaders sent a letter to President-elect Barack Obama calling on his administration to appoint leaders who will reform the media and protect the open Internet.

Along the campaign trail, in recent speeches, and in his technology agenda, President-elect Barack Obama has made big promises on media and technology issues; finally an opportunity to see real change in our media landscape - from diversity in our news to getting fast, affordable, "neutral" Internet connections to every home and business.

Center for American Progress, SEIU, NOW, Free Press, ACLU, DailyKos, Members of Pearl Jam, R.E.M., and hundreds more organizations and individuals signed on. The breadth and depth of the signers reflects growing awareness that every issue we care about - from the economy to national security, from health care to civil rights - depends on the ability of the fourth estate to provide critical journalism, and connect all Americans to the information superhighway.

Obama will soon appoint the first-ever White House chief technology officer, along with positions at the Federal Communications Commission, the Federal Trade Commission, Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and in the Commerce, Education, Justice and Agriculture departments.

The letter includes six of Obama's best quotes on media reform to remind him that his words have not fallen on deaf ears; we've been listening, and now we're watching to make sure these promises aren't hollow.

What did Obama say? Enough to bring a tear to the eye of anyone who wants more investigative reporting and intelligent programming, and less Nicole Smith and blathering pundits. Here are the choicest sound bytes:

• Protecting an Open Internet: To "take a backseat to no one in my commitment to Net Neutrality" and "protect the Internet's traditional openness to innovation and creativity and ensure that it remains a platform for free speech and innovation that will benefit consumers and our democracy."

• Promoting Universal, Affordable Broadband: To see that "in the country that invented the Internet, every child should have the chance to get online" by bringing "true broadband to every community in America."

• Diversifying Media Ownership: To create "the diverse media environment that federal law requires and the country deserves."

• Renewing Public Media: To foster "the next generation of public media," and "support the transition of existing public broadcasting entities and help renew their founding vision in the digital world."

• Spurring Economic Growth: To "strengthen America's competitiveness in the world" and leverage technology "to grow the economy, create jobs, and solve our country's most pressing problems."

• Ensuring Open Government: To reverse "policies that favor the few against the public interest," close "the revolving door between government and industry," and achieve "a new level of transparency, accountability and participation for America's citizens."

Obama has already made the call to create a more vibrant, diverse and democratic media system and to deliver the benefits of the open Internet and new technology to all Americans. Now he simply has to appoint policymakers who will carry out his mandate.

You can read the letter and add your own name here.

Comments

[CatfishJohn]

..This is an excellent article about an issue that is imepattive to address. but this will be a much steeper and harder climb than it first dseems, given the stranglehold corporate media has on news style and content. the spectrum for political debate in the media alone is so narrow and center-right, that anyone left of moderate democratic is disqaulified from the mainstream airwaves. virtually everything qualoifying these days as "news"on the major networks is filtered through the corporate prism. saw a study where 22% of cbs network news stories are benevolent paeans to corporations and the corporate agenda. the corporate media, by definition, needs to banalize the news., dumb down the populace and obfuscate its plutocratic intentions. the mainstream corprate media literally creates in their news spin and content the frenzied consumerism that has become our "noveau american culture"...." i mindlessly shop and gluttonously consume , therefore i am"....

[notb observer]

Excellent to see a movement afoot to rid the country of the media monopolies that have destroyed fair, balanced and insightful reporting in this country since Reagan dismantled the Fairness Doctrine.
for the past 20 or so years, we have been stripped of true competition in the media, and force fed the same inane celebrity and reality show garbage on all the networks.
While many Americans might think they enjoy this trash reporting, it is only because they have become lazy and complacent.
We need a new army of investigative reporters to shine the disinfecting light of public scrutiny into our government and corporations to ensure that the Enrons, AIGs, Fanny & Freddies of the world are kept on their toes, and than traitors like Cheney, Bush, Gonzales and Rove are not allowed to repeatedly perpetrate the high crimes against this country that have left it in the dismal sate it now finds itself. Only by reclaiming ownership of the media will we be able to prevent abusers like the Neo-Cons from exploiting fear as a weapon against the people.
It's high time for the media to pull up its socks and start being the eyes and ears of the people again. If it wasn't for people like Michael Moore, Jon Stewart, Steven Colbert, and the many independent bloggers out there, we would be completely in the dark thanks to the pathetic journalism work done by the major networks.

[Meds]

Excellent article.

[Jezreel]

Thanks Josh. This is an excellent idea. Please keep us abreast of this story.

[thecanadian]

Thanks Josh. Everyone should pay attention to this & I quote you "investigative reporting and intelligent programming" You cannot trust any reporting on Republican run Fox and CNN!

[PAAA]

Public Access Awareness Association, Inc. is a nonprofit corporation and a media resource for problems concerning Public Access, the part of the PEG laws that Congress mandated back in 1984. Right now is the darkest time yet for Public Access television, and we are accepting comments from our citizens about this impending cancellation of so many access studioss on January 1, 2009. You can read how this came about in our daily newsletter, just one long page, on our website that is updated daily. Here is the site:
http://www.publicaccess.org/news

Roger Martin, President
Public Access Awareness Association, Inc.
Comments welcome: contact.ro­ger@yahoo.­com
ABC Nightline is reportedly airing a special on the subject on Friday, January 9, 2009.
(A nonprofit 501(c)3 corporation)

[research]

break up the media conglomerates:

One media outlet per owner.

[corwin]

I doubt you've ever heard of Boolean Logic,but "Congratul­ations"!Yo­u've written an absolutely content free article.Was it sheer talent,or did you have to study?