In a posting last week, I noted that thousands of journalists and others interested in media reform were gathering at a conference in Minneapolis. They have now gathered and returned home, but I hope the work they've started will continue. The issues they examined should be central to the hearts of all writers. I hope this movement blossoms into action among all of us who believe in the truth and freedom of the written and spoken word.
The following from the Arkansas Times, 6/11/08, quoted on the Free Press web site, sums up the conference well: ‘Consolidation is the root of media evil,’ Moyers said [Bill Moyers was one of the speakers at the conference]. ‘As conglomerates swallow up newspapers, magazines, publishing houses and broadcast outlets, news organizations are folded into entertainment divisions. The news hole in the print media shrinks to make room for ads, celebrities, nonsense and propaganda, and the news we need to know slips from sight.’ And he cited the placement of government propagandists in mainstream media as a symptom of journalism in crisis. ‘You couldn't find a more revealing measure of the state of the dominant media today than the continuing ubiquitous presence — on the air and in print — of the very pundits and experts, self-selected message multipliers of a disastrous foreign policy, who got it all wrong in the first place.’” (see http://www.freepress.net/node/41521 ).
For additional coverage of the conference as well as more information on the Free Press movement, see http://www.freepress.net/conference You can access videos of many of the program sessions, read articles and blog postings from those attending, as well as video clips and references to the teeth-gnashing done by Rupert Murdoch’s minion, Bill O’Reilly. As one of the bloggers said, “When Bill O'Reilly goes after you, you must be doing something right. So we've decided to return the favor, and tell him two things: (1) Thanks so much for the compliment and (2) please stop pretending to be a journalist.” (see http://www.freepress.net/node/41488 )
The following from the Arkansas Times, 6/11/08, quoted on the Free Press web site, sums up the conference well: ‘Consolidation is the root of media evil,’ Moyers said [Bill Moyers was one of the speakers at the conference]. ‘As conglomerates swallow up newspapers, magazines, publishing houses and broadcast outlets, news organizations are folded into entertainment divisions. The news hole in the print media shrinks to make room for ads, celebrities, nonsense and propaganda, and the news we need to know slips from sight.’ And he cited the placement of government propagandists in mainstream media as a symptom of journalism in crisis. ‘You couldn't find a more revealing measure of the state of the dominant media today than the continuing ubiquitous presence — on the air and in print — of the very pundits and experts, self-selected message multipliers of a disastrous foreign policy, who got it all wrong in the first place.’” (see http://www.freepress.net/node/41521 ).
For additional coverage of the conference as well as more information on the Free Press movement, see http://www.freepress.net/conference You can access videos of many of the program sessions, read articles and blog postings from those attending, as well as video clips and references to the teeth-gnashing done by Rupert Murdoch’s minion, Bill O’Reilly. As one of the bloggers said, “When Bill O'Reilly goes after you, you must be doing something right. So we've decided to return the favor, and tell him two things: (1) Thanks so much for the compliment and (2) please stop pretending to be a journalist.” (see http://www.freepress.net/node/41488 )
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