Joe Torres at Free Press posted a blog yesterday titled "Hate Speech Rises in the Media" which gives some examples of the increase of hate speech in the mainstream media.

ANY hate speech is more than our society should have, but it's especially alarming when it is increasing. So where are the voices to counter the hate speech? Silenced. Not by force. Not by intimidation. But by the media ownership structure.

People of color who are being attacked by talking heads in the media have little capacity to respond or frame the message themselves because they can't get into the media market.

Veteran journalist Dan Rather is currently on stage at the Big Tent in Denver speaking on the dangers of media consolidation.

(remember, live streaming coverage can be found at http://www.commoncause.org/bigtent.)

He is pointing out something we discussed in our media reform plan for a new administration that the founders of this nation explicitly protected the press in the Bill of Rights because it is the role of the press to inform the public about what the government is doing right or wrong.

Rather says that his experience is that consolidation and corporatization of the media has led to a media that focuses more on safe stories and regurgitating the administration's message as to what they want the people to hear. And of course, that is what the media is NOT supposed to do.

He says the reason the mainstream press isn't more critical is that they are afraid of being accused of editorializing simply by researching and reporting facts that don't fit with what the administration wants people to hear.

His key message is that we NEED citizen journalism, we NEED owners with the guts to take any heat from talk radio, and we NEED to stop media consolidation.

The FOX news affiliate in Las Vegas (KVVU) now has McDonald's product placement right smack in the middle of news programming.

The consolidation of our broadcast stations into large conglomerates, like that of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation, means that it's more difficult to tell when they are doing something they shouldn't be, like putting McDonald's iced coffee in front of newscasters.

Who's going to call them out? The other broadcast station, also owned by a large media conglomerate, that is or has plans to do the same thing?

If most of us are getting our news from hundreds of outlets, but they are owned by only a handful of corporations, the watchdog media has morphed into an excited lapdog for wealthy special interests.

Take Action!!

Seymour Hersh published a new article in The New Yorker that details information about the CIA and other government agencies' secret involvement in Iran.

Late last year, Congress agreed to a request from President Bush to fund a major escalation of covert operations against Iran, according to current and former military, intelligence, and congressional sources. These operations, for which the President sought up to four hundred million dollars, were described in a Presidential Finding signed by Bush, and are designed to destabilize the country's religious leadership.

Whatever your own view about our relations with Iran, having a very public and transparent conversation about whether we target this country is absolutely necessary.

The media is where we have discussions like this and while we have seen and heard bits and pieces, alternative news sources remain the best places to get informed.

War is certainly big business, but even bigger is the impact it has on the lives of our troops and their families, not to mention the international condemnation that may follow.

With consequences and sacrifices like these on the line, we need 1. transparency and 2. debate.

Big Media has to be held accountable for their decreasing willingness to hold government accountable.

The Senate voted overwhelmingly to pass Senate Joint Resolution 28, a bill that will neutralize the FCC's efforts to relax media ownership laws in favor of Big Media.  This is an enormous win for citizens across the country and a strong signal that lawmakers are listening to us.  Our phone calls, emails and letters are making a difference and we have Common Cause members across the country to thank.  Next up: the U.S. House of Representatives.

Allowing the media industry to be owned by fewer individuals is bad for democracy.  Our Senators stood up for us and spoke loud and clear yesterday.  

Go team!!

Tonight the United States Senate took a major step forward to ensure our media system in America does not become even more consolidated than it already is.

The Senate approved by voice vote a "Resolution of Disapproval" of the FCC's new media cross-ownership rules. These rules, if allowed to stand, would have allowed increased media consolidation from coast to coast.

Media consolidation hurts our democracy, and Common Cause has been fighting for this Resolution vigorously.

Now we move on to the House where we have another big fight. However, we want to thank all the members of Common Cause who contacted their Senator to support this Resolution. Of course, now we need you to contact your House member!

As we begin to see more companies announcing lay-offs and our economy tripping toward an unknown future, our community media becomes even more important.

During rough times, whether Mother Nature is being extra testy or the local Citigroup lets go of 9,000 neighbors, newspapers, TV and radio must be real resources for people to talk about their problems and discuss the solutions.

As it sits right now, your local newspaper is more than likely owned by a corporation that owns many others across the country. The effects of this kind of change are lower news budgets, which in turn means more stories bought from the AP and little local coverage. The local coverage that is available is very light. Journalists no longer have much time for investigation, so increasingly stories come straight from press releases.

In effect, we are in the dark about what is really going on.

The capacity for community dialogue is low. Let's move forward and fight for more. Tell the FCC that you don't want any more media consolidation. Tell your Congressmen that we will no longer put up with media in the corporate interest instead of the public interest.

Tomorrow (Wednesday, April 2nd) the Senate Commerce Committee is expected to vote on the "Resolution of Disapproval" that North Dakota Sen. Byron Dorgan introduced last month (Senate Joint Resolution 28). With 19 bipartisan co-sponsors, including Alaska's Sen. Ted Stevens, the vice chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, the resolution has a good chance of passing.

Our friends at Free Press have summarized the current situation over on their blog.

We urge you to take action today to let your legislators know they should support this measure to prevent further consolidation of the media.

Please take action today at www.commoncause.org/LetsDoSomething.