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.

In an article in The Denver Post yesterday, Aldo Svaldi laid out some interesting information about the reasons why our newspapers are slowly consolidating into a few large hands.

The second part of this story is the impact this kind of change has on democracy. As our newspapers, radio stations and TV stations have gone from many to few, so have the perspectives that are critical in a democracy.

Since 1995, the number of companies owning TV stations has gone down 40%. Since the 1996 Telecommunications Act, Clear Channel has been able to go from the previous 40 radio station limit to owning over 1,200 stations nationwide.

The result has been infotainment, less local news and much of the same pre-packaged content being consumed all over the country.

Although there are real economic reasons for these vast changes, diversity in media ownership has to be a priority.

Ownership limits have to be restored and communities need to find innovative ways to create and maintain local media.

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!!

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.

Free Speech TV, KBDI TV, KGNU Radio, and Denver Open Media are hosting a lecture with award-winning journalist, Amy Goodman. Amy's program, Democracy Now!, airs on over 350 stations across the nation, providing access to people and perspectives rarely heard in the U.S. corporate-sponsored media.

*WHEN*: Sunday, April 20, 7:00 PM

*WHERE*: East High School Auditorium,

1600 City Park Esplanade, Denver

*COST*: $10 for FSTV members, $15 for non-members and at the door *Also Available* are a limited number of $100 VIP tickets which include preferred seating, a reception with Amy at 6 PM before the lecture, and a copy of her new book, Standing up to the Madness: Ordinary Heroes in Extraordinary Times.

Tickets will be Will-Call only, and can be picked up any time after 6 PM on the day of the event

Call 303-296-1212 during business hours or visit KBDI.org to reserve your tickets today!

I saw the movie Stop-Loss over the weekend and it blew me away. The term refers to what happens to a soldier after he/she has put in the contracted time and then is still sent back to war for more tours of duty. This is happening, presumably, because the Bush administration does not want to begin a draft. So in order to maintain troop levels, the same courageous men and women are being sent back, whether they want to or not.

These people signed up to serve their country, showing their honor with their actions. Are we serving them by dragging them back into combat after years of good service? The Vietnam War became unpopular enough for people to stand up and speak out. Family members, friends, and acquaintances were being sent overseas, making the war closer to home for more people. For the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, fewer families and communities of people are being directly affected by the tragedies of war, keeping the reality of these wars and their unconstitutionality just out of sight.

With the majority of the media that we consume consolidated into just a few hands (over 50 in 1983 and 5 right now), only a handful of people decide what we see, hear, and read about the war, perpetuating this problem of no information. If our local paper, TV station, magazines and even state level papers were independently controlled, just think of the diverse perspectives we would have access to!

I don't want to read the same stuff that everyone in the country is reading. How are we to inform ourselves as responsible citizens if most of the media have exactly the same content?

These soldiers deserve to be heard. We owe it to them to learn of their sacrifice.

Tell the FCC you want diverse media, instead of corporate media. Tell your Congressmen to stop the FCC from allowing more consolidation.

This Sunday, March 30, Jim Hightower is coming to Ft. Collins, CO!

Jim Hightower, a Texan born and bred, is a fiery and funny popular public speaker. Frequently appearing on television and radio programs, Jim brings a hard-hitting populist viewpoint and the credo: "You can fight the gods and still have fun." 

Join us at noon at the New Belgium Brewery for good food, good beer, and great conversation.

At the event you'll hear Jim speak and have the opportunity to get a signed copy of his new book, Swim Against the Current: Even a Dead Fish Can Go with the Flow! Register now for the event.

Please RSVP if you are planning to attend so we can get an accurate head count for lunch.

To sign up, call the office at (303) 292-2163 or email Colorado@commoncause.org. Tickets are $20 in advance; $25 at the door.  If you want to purchase a copy of the book in advance, $45.

Hope to see you there!