Ready to LOSE or not? It's time for the DU activist corps to GET MOVING!

[Lorien]

All of this doom and gloom, the cries of "unfair media"! and "The fix is in"! Enough already! Do we really just want to piss and moan here on DU, or are we going to fight? HOW do we fight? It isn't that difficult.

The GOP figured something important out during Reagan's time; activism and pressure by the people on the mainstream media WORKS.Democrats have never accepted this fact; they think that the MSM should simply do the right thing and we shouldn't have to say a word to keep them "fair and balanced". And DLCers will tell you that activism doesn't work because they want you to sit down, shut up, and then complain about the results of inaction on a discussion board when the MSM shifts further to the Right.

Ask anyone who actually WORKS for the mainstream media; they DO listen to the people, and the only people who make a lot of noise are right wingers. Repugs hammer away at management until management caves. Democrats seem to think that sending letters and making phone calls is somehow so simplistic and the plot against us is so massive and complex that action won't make a difference. WRONG. I have a friend who is a news director for a local station. She has also worked with major news agencies in DC. She says that if the station gets ten or more HARD COPY letters on an issue, the management takes notice and often does a story on the issue the letters were about, of adjusts their reporting to accommodate those who have complained. The GOP gets this, but we still haven't caught on. That's why they are the small-but vocal-minority that has become the squeaky wheel that the media heeds.

So,are we going to DO something or just stick with tradition and be unhappy with the traditional results?

[Mnemosyne]

1. Million Doors for Peace:

http://www.milliondoorsforpeace.org/?code=dfa

It will give us a chance to talk with people and try to stop the theft of this election. We are being set-up, once again!

[Lorien]

2. We need to reach 100 million doors, and the only way to do that

is through the mainstream media. The only way to get the mainstream media to listen to us is to actually communicate with them. Radical concept, huh?

[Mnemosyne]

12. And the chances of that happening are? I have repeatedly called and written the M$M

and our supposed legislators since 2000, to NO avail. Has it done anyone you know much good? Nothing is changing other than for the worse. We must step up NOW, or the Republic will be lost.

I feel our last best hope is for each of us that is able to, to hit 10 doors, 20, as many as able. I have a broken ankle and a tearing Achilles tendon and I am knocking and walking that day. I've recruited two others in our small town to participate also.

And I am damn tired of hearing, "There's nothing I can do about it."! Aren't you too, Lorien? :hi:

[Lorien]

15. I've spent many hours canvassing. Will they listen to me over the news media?

I think not. I'm shy and hardly charismatic. Again; I do know people in the news media who say that multiple letters on a single topic gets a meeting with the news director, and often a story. If it's just you writing, then of course little happens. But if you get ten friends to write as well, something WILL happen.

[Mnemosyne]

20. I keep on trying anyway, Lorien. Thanks for all you do! I am

just finally feeling that we are at the very end of the proverbial rope and no room for more knots.

We are in such trouble. They are setting up for another theft of the election. :hi:

[Lorien]

22. Yes, they are. And that's why I think we all need to do everything we can

and use our time as effectively as possible between now and the election. All activism is good activism at this point, but mobilizing people to do anything more that just sing to the choir on DU is tough!

[radfringe]

3. local tv stations have more influence than national media

granted they don't cover the national news other than acting as a conduit - but local stations do cover local issues

palin's slam about community organizations is something that can be applied to every community, every "small town"

write to your local stations and ask them to do stories on community organizations and the good that they do

[Lorien]

4. And write to tell them about evidence of election fraud

think globally, act locally. It works!

[EFerrari]

6. Election fraud, not voter fraud!

lol

:hi:

[Lorien]

11. D'oh! Dyslexia strikes again!

thanks! :hi:

[Lorien]

5. Next time I'll put Sarah Palen in the title

it'll get a thousand reads in no time.

[EFerrari]

7. So, what do you have in mind, Lorien? I bet there are 10 DUers

who would write, easily.

[Lorien]

13. Organizing a new DU activist corps action:

Calimary has the contact lists for the media outlets. From now until election day we choose five topics per week (M-F) to hammer the MSM with, all the while accusing them of being "the conservative corporate media" to undo the liberal media meme. We each send at least one hard copy letter (and not a form letter) to a major media outlet, and one or more to one of our local media outlets. I figure that if so many of us have the time to post something each and every day on DU, then we also have the time to write a letter to the media each day as well. It's not so different from posting a topic on DU, is it? And we CAN influence them. We CAN win this thing for Obama if we take a little action each and every day until Nov. 4th. All it takes is a few minutes a day. America is worth it.

[EFerrari]

16. Sounds good to me. How will the topics be picked?

If we were to do it tomorrow, say, can you give examples of some topics?

[Lorien]

18. Topics:

We could choose five DUers, each of whom would come up with one topic per week, along with research links and suggested talking points.

Topics might include:

The importance of community organizing, and why Obama showed vision and served America at an early age

Palin's scandal of the week (there are so many to choose from) is the MSM covering for her? Demand that they do their jobs!

Election theft, and how they plan to do it again. Does the GOP believe in fair elections and a democracy?

The real McCain; how more of the same will destroy America.

Barrow and spend Republicans; How America teeters on the edge of economic disaster, and how Obama will pull us back from the brink

Do they think we're stupid? How the GOP insults our intelligence.

Tax plans; how the middle and working class will benefit from Obama, and how McCain plans to create a new gilded age for the super rich

McCain wants war with Iran. Why aren't American's alarmed?

McCain says that he expects young people to serve. Will he call for a draft?

McCain/ Palin's ties to Big Oil; reformers? Hell no!

Palin; the earmark queen

Obama has the only REAL plan for energy independence!

Etc.

[EFerrari]

19. So, the idea is to 1) Post a group of topics that illustrate media bias

2) and that also relate to the election.

3) Write and send at least two letters -- one to a major outlet, one to a local outlet.

4) The goal is to get at least ten people to participate every week.

Is that right? Would you be willing to post it in the AC forum?

[Lorien]

21. 1). would be to post a topic of the day; one that the media ignores or is biaed

about. The topics would be posted along with news stories, facts and talking points to be used in the letter writing campaign. So today's topic might be "Is Palin ready to lead if she needs to be coached for two weeks? Can she deal with America economic problems if she doesn't even know what Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are? http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/09/08/palin-makes-her-first-gaf_n_124792.html 2). we would select a major media outlet (say, CNN) and a local media outlet in a battleground state (say, WESH in Orlando, FL, or The Columbus Dispatch in Ohio). "Extra credit" could include a second major media outlet (MSNBC or the NYT) and a local media outlet in YOUR hometown. 3). we would try to get at least ten people to participate each weekday until the election.

Doesn't Skinner have to send out DU activist corps alerts? I haven't seen one in many months.

[EFerrari]

24. EarlG does. PM him. We had a good action a few weeks ago

then, we hit a wall.

If you develop a good, clear action, he can set it up.

This one looks great to me. :hi:

[AndyTiedye]

8. The MSM is ONLY Responsive to their OWNERS

Sure, they may notice our letters, but only when deciding if their propaganda is working or if they need to crank it up even more.

They may publish a few of our letters to the editor, but who reads those?

It certainly will not affect their coverage.

[Lorien]

10. And you've just illustrated my point

you believe this, so you won't write to them. I'm telling you; I personally know eight people who work for the news media, and some have worked for major outlets. They DO respond to the people, but the people contacting them are NOT US.

[Gregorian]

9. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

This is the post I was trying to write when I posted last.

I know it's true that we're ratcheting toward profits. And replies to that are correct. But if the country wants something, so do the corporations. Because what we want is what they get. Money.

However, being a military economy they do push an agenda.

However, we make the rules. We are the numbers. 300 million of us.

I can't type. I can't think. At least not this morning. But I STRONGLY believe that we must and we can steer this country to a more sophisticated place.

We have to start the pressure right now!

End the war. Show Bush's crimes. We need a fourth estate. Without the truth, any country is dead.

[intheflow]

14. Lorien, I would love to do something media-related.

Here's what I see as the main problem with the left taking any action. When the Republicans boycott something or start a letter writing campaign or whatever, the CM media eats it up, covers it like it' the most revolutionary act these people are doing to uphold their so-called family values. When the left boycotts, writes, and even takes to the streets by the millions, no one reports it because, well, that's what the left does, we're just a bunch of whiners as far as the CM is concerned.

I agree that the media listens to what viewers have to say--I worked at a PBS station 20 years back where my job was to type up the viewer phone line calls, so they probably all do that. And once, a couple years ago, public pressure got Democracy Now! put on the local PBS station even though initially they said Goodman was too "radical" to get mainstream viewership. (Now she's on from 5:30-6:30 pm every week night.) But other than putting Amy on, I have never seen any of the cable or national networks, or even local stations, respond to or report on a mass effort by the left to put pressure on a company, network, or political party to change their ways, at either the local or national level, unless the left got violent.

Though I do agree, in general hard copy letters get A LOT more attention than emails or phone calls. I heard once that every hard copy letter of complaint a company gets probably represents 10-25 people who are pissed off at the same issue. That was before email, but I know letters got their attention better than phone calls at the PBS station I worked at (even though they never changed a whit of their programming in response).

Of course I still write LTTEs and, yes, even hard copy letters to stations, but I never get more than a form letter response back. So what's a peaceful leftist movement to do? :(

[Patiod]

17. Sorry, I'm too busy

Going to LIVE meetings in my swing state - we have one tonight, and voter registration on Saturday!

But seriously, we should all do everything we can to participate both ways - DU activist corp and actual grassroots Democratic politics.

If letters are what works, then I'll find time to do that too

(hey Lorien - did you ever publish the story about the Mayor - with your gorgeous cat illustrations?)

[Lorien]

23. Kick

:kick:

[orleans]

25. we need to get the exit polls back--i think that is very important n/t

[Lorien]

26. Agreed. We need to challenge the media to do just that. n/t

[Lorien]

27. Kick

:kick: