Friday, January 25, 2008
Please visit our new site...
We are moving our blogging efforts to a new site, athensfreepress.blogspot.com. The content on this blog will be maintained, but not updated.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Some useful links to independent media:
Alternet.org - http://alternet.org
Antiwar.com - www.antiwar.com
Center for Constitutional Rights - www.ccrjustice.org
Counter Punch - www.counterpunch.org
Democracy Now! - www.democracynow.org
Economic Policy Institute - www.eipnet.org
Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting - www.fair.org
Foreign Policy in Focus - www.fpif.org
Naomi Klein - www.naomiklein.org
Truth Dig - www.truthdig.com
Truth Out - www.truthout.org
Yes! Magazine - www.futurenet.org
Antiwar.com - www.antiwar.com
Center for Constitutional Rights - www.ccrjustice.org
Counter Punch - www.counterpunch.org
Democracy Now! - www.democracynow.org
Economic Policy Institute - www.eipnet.org
Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting - www.fair.org
Foreign Policy in Focus - www.fpif.org
Naomi Klein - www.naomiklein.org
Truth Dig - www.truthdig.com
Truth Out - www.truthout.org
Yes! Magazine - www.futurenet.org
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Pub radio editorial standards
from Bill Dupuy's blog: "A debate is stirring about the public radio station in Athens, Ohio, refusing to broadast Amy Goodman's 'Demoracy Now.' I ran across the issue in the pub radio journal Current. A retired professor challenges the station's position that Amy's 'DM' does not meet its editorial standards." [read more]
Yes, "Democracy Now" Should be on WOUB!
I am delighted to hear that a group called "Athens Free Press" has been urging WOUB to air the truly independent alternative news program "Democracy Now."
Several years ago, I got fed up with the poor quality and highly filtered nature of the news available in the mainstream US media. As a political scientist specializing in things international, I was painfully aware that the news we get through the corporate media tends to ignore many important stories and facts which might prove inconvenient to corporate owners and their friends. Instead we get what I would call "tabloid news" featuring the current antics of Britney Spear or O. J. Simpson, the search for the latest missing pregnant housewife, etc. International coverage is
sparse and sanitized.
Nor is the admittedly less sensationalist news on public TV significantly more substantial or truly investigative. After all, the budgets for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting must go before Congress and the Republicans are constantly screaming about the mythological "liberal bias" of media. Though he's now returned, the outspoken journalist Bill Moyers was forced off of public television until the Republicans lost their control of Congress in 2006 elections. In addition, our supposedly "commercial free" public media are no longer, in fact, commercial-free. And many of the corporate sponsors of news programs such as the News Hour and Washington Week are big companies that have a vested interest in the way a hugely profitable war, globalization, and global warming are covered. All that tends to delay and inhibit open discussion of important issues on public TV.
Accordingly, the Walkers gave up and switched from cable to dish. As a result, we could watch news programs from Germany, Great Britain and even the Middle East. To our delight, we also discovered two truly independent media outlets, Free Speech TV and Link TV. Funded entirely by donations from private individuals, these rapidly growing stations are completely free from the commercial and political restraints that are put on main stream TV. Their main hour-long news program, "Democracy Now," features really good, hard-hitting investigative journalism and discussion. Many public TV stations around the country are now carrying it. As a donor to both WOUB and the other two stations, I hope WOUB will also soon pick up "Democracy Now."
Tom Walker
Political Science Department
Ohio University
Several years ago, I got fed up with the poor quality and highly filtered nature of the news available in the mainstream US media. As a political scientist specializing in things international, I was painfully aware that the news we get through the corporate media tends to ignore many important stories and facts which might prove inconvenient to corporate owners and their friends. Instead we get what I would call "tabloid news" featuring the current antics of Britney Spear or O. J. Simpson, the search for the latest missing pregnant housewife, etc. International coverage is
sparse and sanitized.
Nor is the admittedly less sensationalist news on public TV significantly more substantial or truly investigative. After all, the budgets for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting must go before Congress and the Republicans are constantly screaming about the mythological "liberal bias" of media. Though he's now returned, the outspoken journalist Bill Moyers was forced off of public television until the Republicans lost their control of Congress in 2006 elections. In addition, our supposedly "commercial free" public media are no longer, in fact, commercial-free. And many of the corporate sponsors of news programs such as the News Hour and Washington Week are big companies that have a vested interest in the way a hugely profitable war, globalization, and global warming are covered. All that tends to delay and inhibit open discussion of important issues on public TV.
Accordingly, the Walkers gave up and switched from cable to dish. As a result, we could watch news programs from Germany, Great Britain and even the Middle East. To our delight, we also discovered two truly independent media outlets, Free Speech TV and Link TV. Funded entirely by donations from private individuals, these rapidly growing stations are completely free from the commercial and political restraints that are put on main stream TV. Their main hour-long news program, "Democracy Now," features really good, hard-hitting investigative journalism and discussion. Many public TV stations around the country are now carrying it. As a donor to both WOUB and the other two stations, I hope WOUB will also soon pick up "Democracy Now."
Tom Walker
Political Science Department
Ohio University
Join effort to bring media reform to WOUB
It's no secret that the commercial media are all too typically mere divisions in larger corporations, the media themselves are becoming increasingly consolidated, already under-resourced news departments are losing support, and local media across the country are reducing their direct coverage of local and regional events, as they rely on feeds from above. As a result, the range of perspectives and analysis of important events are becoming less diverse.
In this regard, consider Bill Moyers' inimitable summary of the situation, and especially his references to public media stations: "As ownership gets more and more concentrated, fewer and fewer independent sources of information have survived in the marketplace; and those few significant alternatives that do survive, such as PBS and NPR, are under growing financial and political pressure to reduce critical news content and to shift their focus in a mainstream direction, which means being more attentive to establishment views than to the bleak realities of powerlessness that shape the lives of ordinary people."
Concerned about these changes, the Athens Free Press was formed last spring to persuade WOUB to incorporate the award-winning "Democracy Now," a one-hour news and interview program, into its program schedule. "Democracy Now," which has been described as excellent or outstanding by such public media luminaries as Diane Rehm and Bill Moyers, is aired five days a week on more than 650 domestic and international stations.
The first 10 minutes or so of the program highlights breaking stories. Following the news summary, guests, many of whom don't show up on NPR or PBS, are interviewed on a range of domestic and international events and issues. The program would be available for free on a trial basis the first year.
We've been in touch with public radio stations that currently carry "Democracy Now" about their audience reaction and fund-raising experiences with the program. Eleven stations have responded, all of them describing positive audience response to their carrying "Democracy Now." We learned recently that an informal poll of members of the Association of Independents in Radio produced highly positive responses regarding "Democracy Now." In the meantime, we have been busy gathering signatures, 330 so far, on a petition to have WOUB bring "Democracy Now" to the local public radio or TV programming.
We met with WOUB managers on two occasions last summer, presenting a detailed explanation of why "Democracy Now" is needed to complement current programming. They rejected our proposal and have ignored our documented rebuttal to their decision. We followed up at the October WOUB Community Advisory Council Meeting, where four of us distributed our position documents. To date, no response from WOUB or the Council.
In other documents submitted, I challenged WOUB's assertion that "Democracy Now" does not measure up to certain journalistic standards. With respect to journalistic standards, we wonder about WOUB's own journalistic standards, when the station recently accepted a $500,000 donation from Roger Ailes to help pay for a technologically advanced newsroom. Ailes is best known for his association with the right-wing Fox News Channel as news chairman and then, since 2005, as chairman of the Fox Television Stations Group.
Additionally, my first analysis focused on the coverage of Secretary of State Colin Powell's address to the United Nations Security Council on Feb. 5, 2003, in which Powell marshaled the evidence for invading Iraq. "Democracy Now" had experts who expressed skepticism about Powell's evidence, while the guests on NPR and PBS largely accepted the evidence in favor of an invasion. I will be investigating coverage of other significant events in coming months.
Our group, Athens Free Press, will be holding a public forum to discuss these issues at the Athens Public Library on Feb. 11, beginning at 7 p.m. In addition, please join us as we again present our case at the WOUB Community Advisory Council Meeting on Feb. 19, from 10 a.m until noon, in Radio Studio A, Radio and Television Building, on the campus of Ohio University. If you have questions, please contact Bob Sheak at bobsheak@columbus.rr.com.
Bob Sheak of Athens is an Ohio University emeritus professor of sociology.
In this regard, consider Bill Moyers' inimitable summary of the situation, and especially his references to public media stations: "As ownership gets more and more concentrated, fewer and fewer independent sources of information have survived in the marketplace; and those few significant alternatives that do survive, such as PBS and NPR, are under growing financial and political pressure to reduce critical news content and to shift their focus in a mainstream direction, which means being more attentive to establishment views than to the bleak realities of powerlessness that shape the lives of ordinary people."
Concerned about these changes, the Athens Free Press was formed last spring to persuade WOUB to incorporate the award-winning "Democracy Now," a one-hour news and interview program, into its program schedule. "Democracy Now," which has been described as excellent or outstanding by such public media luminaries as Diane Rehm and Bill Moyers, is aired five days a week on more than 650 domestic and international stations.
The first 10 minutes or so of the program highlights breaking stories. Following the news summary, guests, many of whom don't show up on NPR or PBS, are interviewed on a range of domestic and international events and issues. The program would be available for free on a trial basis the first year.
We've been in touch with public radio stations that currently carry "Democracy Now" about their audience reaction and fund-raising experiences with the program. Eleven stations have responded, all of them describing positive audience response to their carrying "Democracy Now." We learned recently that an informal poll of members of the Association of Independents in Radio produced highly positive responses regarding "Democracy Now." In the meantime, we have been busy gathering signatures, 330 so far, on a petition to have WOUB bring "Democracy Now" to the local public radio or TV programming.
We met with WOUB managers on two occasions last summer, presenting a detailed explanation of why "Democracy Now" is needed to complement current programming. They rejected our proposal and have ignored our documented rebuttal to their decision. We followed up at the October WOUB Community Advisory Council Meeting, where four of us distributed our position documents. To date, no response from WOUB or the Council.
In other documents submitted, I challenged WOUB's assertion that "Democracy Now" does not measure up to certain journalistic standards. With respect to journalistic standards, we wonder about WOUB's own journalistic standards, when the station recently accepted a $500,000 donation from Roger Ailes to help pay for a technologically advanced newsroom. Ailes is best known for his association with the right-wing Fox News Channel as news chairman and then, since 2005, as chairman of the Fox Television Stations Group.
Additionally, my first analysis focused on the coverage of Secretary of State Colin Powell's address to the United Nations Security Council on Feb. 5, 2003, in which Powell marshaled the evidence for invading Iraq. "Democracy Now" had experts who expressed skepticism about Powell's evidence, while the guests on NPR and PBS largely accepted the evidence in favor of an invasion. I will be investigating coverage of other significant events in coming months.
Our group, Athens Free Press, will be holding a public forum to discuss these issues at the Athens Public Library on Feb. 11, beginning at 7 p.m. In addition, please join us as we again present our case at the WOUB Community Advisory Council Meeting on Feb. 19, from 10 a.m until noon, in Radio Studio A, Radio and Television Building, on the campus of Ohio University. If you have questions, please contact Bob Sheak at bobsheak@columbus.rr.com.
Bob Sheak of Athens is an Ohio University emeritus professor of sociology.
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