Van Jones’ resignation is the result of a right-wing smear led by Glenn Beck, and this is the first battle in the upcoming media reform war that BFIA predicts will look a lot like the health care reform “debate.” See Huffpo or WSJ for more info. Van Jones is being labeled as a radical  because, back in the 90’s he was involved with the group Standing Together to Organize a Revolutionary Movement (STORM), which sympathized with Maoist-inspired peasant movements throughout the world and was organized to protest police brutality.  So, how is it that sympathizing with peasants, and protesting police brutality, is a bad thing?  His other sins are reportedly signing a petition calling for an investigation into our country’s own culpability in 9/11 (seems reasonable) and he has attacked Republicans on their environmental positions (seems completely reasonable).

This is an obvious, phonied up, smear, which the gullible media are falling for hook, line and sinker.  The conservative right have control of the mass media megaphone, and are able to make the preposterous things put forth by a few extremists, seem as if they are ideas held by many.

The Republicans are gearing up now to make media ownership diversity the next big health care reform fight, and Van Jones was the first casualty.

So this could be the opening leg of the media reform fight, and guess who else is a leading participant, aside from Glenn Beck?  None other than our own U.S. Senator, Chuck Grassley.  In case you missed it, the media interests on the right have apparently inspired Grassley to write a letter to FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, saying, among other things, that not only does he [Grassley] oppose the Fairness Doctrine, he opposes anything that would have the same results as the fairness doctrine.   (Funny, because nobody has even been talking about the Fairness Doctrine. Obama has said all along he is opposed to reinstating the Fairness Doctrine).

So, if the goals of the Fairness Doctrine are fairness, balance, giving time to both sides of political controversy, Grassley is saying he is opposed to that as an outcome – not just that he is opposed to a rule, or an imposed guideline, as say, bad process – he is opposed to the goal itself.  Grassley is opposed to fairness?  This is the creed of the GOP?

It is pretty transparent that the right-wing does not want to give up any ground, as far as their ability to dominate the airwaves with conservative propaganda (true, it is all they have left).

We have seen what the right-wing can do to a health care reform “debate.”  Progressives must start organizing for the upcoming media fight.  Now is an opportunity to put a dent in the right wing’s complete control of talk radio in Iowa.  You may not listen to talk radio, but other people do.  And they are influenced by it.

(1) Contact your local station and complain. Tell them you would greatly prefer they not air Beck’s hate speech.  You can also let them know you will stop supporting their advertisers if they continue to air Beck’s program, and will get your friends to do the same.

(2) If they insist that they must air Beck’s dangerous nonsense, ask or insist that they air a progressive alternative alongside their conservative programming, and to air programs that represent your diverse community.  (They might say, well, you have NPR.  To which you reply, NPR doesn’t
count, because NPR is mainstream media; it is NOT progressive
programming.  It airs both sides of issues – a good thing, but it does not air just the progressive side, as conservative radio carries just the conservative side.  So, the existence of NPR doesn’t equal things out – and besides, many believe it too has become way too conservative in the framing of issues).

(3) Organize a petition; get signatures to present to your local station.

(4) Go visit your station in person; ask to see their public inspection file.  You’ll find loads of delightfully creative complaints there, from people who are dissatisfied just like you, ignored by the station.

Contact info.

Below are the Glenn Beck-carrying stations in Iowa. This is a large audience, and it isn’t even all-inclusive of the stations that carry Limbaugh and others.  Check for the one nearest you.  Call.  Suggest Thom Hartmann, Stephanie Miller, Rachel Maddow, Robert
Kennedy, Jr., Ed Schultz, Laura Flanders, Jim Hightower…there are
many successful, progressive alternatives.  Now is a good time to act because advertisers are leaving Beck in droves.