Right Wing Stranglehold On Media Must Be Broken

“We need to do something. If we do nothing in
two years we will be fighting once again to get our message out
through a filter that is owned and operated by those who want to see
us fail.”

Yet again last week we had an
incident where it became very clear that news can be reported from
many different views. Right now, the view that is most predominant in
our media is a view that shows liberals (progressives or Democrats)
in the worst light possible. After the vote on extending unemployment
insurance was defeated because it needed a 2/3 majority and fell just
short of that, one of the radio news broadcasts headlined the vote as
“Democrats fail to pass unemployment extension.” The vote was
258-154.

One more kick in the gut to remind us
that the right wing stranglehold on media must be broken. Right now
there is only one relatively open source of news and that is the
internet. I would bet that shortly after John Boehner is sworn in (ugh) Speaker of the House, there will be a bill filed in the House
to somehow control access to the internet.

So after spending the past several
weeks discussing pros and cons of various options, people want to
know what it will cost to put in some form of radio in my town.
There is no exact answer of course, because it would depend on what
equipment beyond the necessities that a group will decide on. I will
cut to the chase. While costs may range from $10,000 to $100,000 a
good ballpark figure to start with is around $40,000 for an LPFM.
While that may seem like a huge number that is only $200 each donated
by 200 people.

Of course LPFM must still be acted on
by the Senate. Sadly, while a large majority of senators polled claim
to be in favor of passage of the Local Community Radio Act, there are
between 1 and 3 secret (yes, secret) holds placed on this bill. These
‘secret’ holds allow a senator to stop any action on a bill
without that senator being identified. This keeps the public from
knowing who to blame for stopping progress on what seems to be a very
popular bill.

Internet radio could be much less
expensive and can be on the air tomorrow, but the audience will be
very limited. While some claim that ‘you can be on the air for
$1,000 tomorrow’ the real cost of decent internet radio probably
starts around $5,000.

Let me remind you of some other
options:

– Petition your local stations to
carry some progressive programs . They are after all using public
airwaves and as such are supposed to serve all of the public. If you do,
have some data on size and type of audience you might draw.

– Buy some time on a local radio
station. Radio stations love to have the income. You would control
the content – as long as you don’t violate FCC guidelines. Some
small rural and small town stations may be very much in favor of
this.

– For those with access to public
access TV, create a program featuring progressive ideas.

– And one that I had talked about
previously would be to fold in with an existing internet station.
Since the signal would go world-wide, content would not have to be
specific to a locality.

I have spent several months going
through some options. We need to do something. If we do nothing in
two years we will be fighting once again to get our message out
through a filter that is owned and operated by those who want to see
us fail. By that time, even the friendly base known as the internet
may have its access curtailed.

I am a believer that “we” can do
much more than any “I” can. We need to at least do some work as a
group. Therefore, I believe that it would be a good idea to get
together to discuss strategies in the near future, probably after the
first of the year.

Watch this space for more news on
that.

E-mail Dave here

Dave Bradley is a self-described
retired observer of American politics “trying to figure out how we got
so screwed up.”  An
Iowa City native currently living in West Liberty,  Dave and his wife
Carol have two grown children who “sadly had to leave the state to find
decent paying jobs.“