Help Fix Media Now!
“Reliable news sources are like the old town square or village green, where locals congregate and shape their communities through debate and discussion.” The Bush Institute
It’s the One Year anniversary of our Local Journalism Directory!
America is suffering from a democracy and access-to-veritable-information problem. With advertising no longer a profitable means for newspapers to meet payroll, journalism has sometimes fallen into the mode of clickbait articles with meme headlines. This drives narratives that normalize the obscene, distract from solutions, and ignores journalism’s responsibility as a champion of democracy.
Americans typically trust their local journalism outlets. The result of local newspaper closures, and local radio and TV station consolidation at the corporate level (often by right-wing national outlets), has been a decline in civic participation and increased “polarization” with extreme voices pulling to the right. Local journalism reports on the perspectives of the community which can be used by their local elected officials to make policy, it provides social cohesion, holds the powerful to account, exposes corruption, reports the perspectives of marginalized communities, and seeks truth rather than false objectivity. These are the drivers which encourage people to engage in democracy.
*Please let us know of any local newspapers that are not in our directory (that are not owned by a large corporation).
Our Do Better! Journalists/Media:
The New York Times for repeatedly printing articles about the deficits of Biden without conveying the dangers of Trump.
Peter Baker for failing to highlight that a second Trump presidency would be aligned with autocrats, and fascism.
ABC‘s Jonathan Karl for platforming Sara Isgur, a former senior counselor to Trump’s deputy attorney general during the Mueller investigation, who lied in the interview about Biden’s mishandling of classified documents.
The Economist for their trivializing clickbait headline that links to a piece that sounds like a 9th grade book report: “Donald Trump’s tremendous love: His politics may seem hostile, yet he talks like a Valentine’s Day card”
Our Hero Journalists:
Ashton Pittman for reporting on a family in Mississippi Free Press on Trump’s peril to NATO.
ProPublica for their article of a Tennessee family struggling with a premature baby after the fall of Roe v Wade.
Want to become a media activist? Join us at our next meeting TOMORROW, Monday, February 19, at 7 pm ET. Sign up here.
Help us fight for more pro-democracy media and a better-informed America.
ACTION #1 Please sign onto the Media and Democracy Project letter to the FCC, in support of a hearing to deny a broadcast license to FOX Corp-owned WTXF29 Philadelphia.
ACTION #2 Ask your Representative to support HR 4756 Community News and Small Business Support Act
DONATE
Upcoming Events (all meetings are via Zoom)
2/19 Monday 7:00p ET Our Media and Democracy Project bi-weekly “MAD Mondays” general Meeting – newcomers are always welcome. We will discuss different ways you can help #FixMediaNow Sign up here
Thank you for all you do! Please share this Newsletter.
In community,
Noelle, Brian, Jonathan, Holley, Cecily, Carolyn, Milo and the entire Media and Democracy Project
If you would like to speak at one of our meetings or have any feedback.
Email: Noelle@MediaAndDemocracyProject.Org
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Website: MediaAndDemocracyProject.Org
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We would be grateful for your support in our fight with Fox at the FCC! Donate to MAD via GiveButter: https://givebutter.com/fight-fox
