OpenLeft: Building a national left-wing media: a modest start

[marmar]

Building a national left-wing media: a modest start

by: Paul Rosenberg
Tue Jan 25, 2011 at 12:00


Yesterday, my diary, "The larger lesson of Olbermann's departure" which concluded thus:

We can either continue to fight these sorts of battles with both hands tied behind our backs, and both feet in concrete, or we can get serious about a long-term effort to build our own media infrastructure. It's really just that simple.

had a lot of people saying either that we aren't up to the task of building a left media, that it's impossible because of corporatism and imbalance of money, or that since I brought it up, WTF is my plan.

I want to start off by pointing out that all these responses, while they contain a grain of truth, are also forms of resistance to actually solving the problem. I'm not trying to finger-point by saying this, because I've had all those thoughts myself at one time or another. I just want to suggest that people notice this, ponder it awhile, and look for ways to move beyond it.

Here's one suggestion: Create an Internet-based national newspaper that can be automatically customized to be as local as you want to be. The accelerating death of newspaper journalism is one of the causes of the sorry state of American politics, but it's also an opportunity.

As a newspaper journalist myself, I mourn what is happening, but if professional print journalism is a dying profession, it would be far better to see well-trained, dedicated citizen-amateurs take over as much as possible, rather than nothing but a void filled by corporate flacks. ..............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.openleft.com/diary/21494/building-a-national-leftwing-media-a-modest-start

[monmouth]

1. I've often wondered why George Soros didn't undertake a project

like this. I knew he gives great sums to left-leaning causes, this would be such a positive target for his money. Keith could be his "star"....

[bluerum]

2. The trick will be to NOT take government/corporate funding. Must remain independent.

It is more efficient to bring existing progressive/liberal media under one roof. Democracy Now, The Nation, The Young Turks. That might be interesting.

[DBoon]

3. Low power FM needs to be part of this

large parts of the country hear nothing other than syndicated right wing blowhards for political news

Community based low power broadcasters could change this