This article is part of a series of articles by Media Mouse covering the 2007 National Conference for Media Reform. We believe that these will be of value to those organizing for social change in the Grand Rapids and West Michigan area.
At the opening plenary of the 2007 National Conference for Media Reform, longtime journalist Bill Moyers told the audience that the media system in the United States is “ravenous” and that it has an insatiable appetite for expanding its “imperial empire.” Moyers charged that the media has failed the public because accountants are dominating the choices of newsrooms and that consequently, the media, a pillar of democracy, is crumbling. This assertion was placed into the context of the present economic and political situation in the United States, which Moyers described as segregated in every way other than in the word of the law. The segregation that dominates the United States was explained as an essential part of a system where the wealthy get wealthier at the expense of everyone else in the country.
Central to Moyers’ critique of the media and political systems that dominate the discourse in the United States was his theory that a “plantation mentality” dominates the two systems. Moyers argued that the plantation system has prevented the media from covering a host of important issues including money in politics and free trade agreements such as the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) because “plantation journalists” have internalized the idea that the system is working and have blinded themselves to all evidence to the contrary. The economic system and the plight of a number of oppressed Americans have been determined to be “completely off the table” by the media. The media’s failure to address these issues, with the corporate ownership of almost all broadcast and cable networks, monopoly ownership of 2/3rds of the country’s newspapers, and pressures on NPR and PBS to reflect establishment values, has created a blackout in which the corporate media–which increasingly controls and develops most images outside of personal interactions–has repeatedly presented a view of the United States “from the top.” This elite view of the United States has been pushed in many ways by the organized and ideological right in this country according to Moyers, who has been able to dominate the discussion of issues and control the terminologies being used in the major political and social debates of the time. The media system was described by Moyers as being “created behind closed doors where power brokers divided up the spoils,” with the system continuing its intentional efforts to dominate new media including the internet through Rupert Murdoch’s NewsCorp acquisition of MySpace and Google’s purchase of YouTube and interest in TimeWarner to create a “digital media plantation” by purchasing key sites.
Moyers described the media reform movement, along with efforts to build independent media, as a movement made up of “well-armed” activists who have the potential to alter the media landscape in the country. Moyers described the media reform movement as putting the corporate media on the defensive, with significant victories in 2003 by momentarily stopping big media’s efforts to change the FCC’s ownership rules and in 2006 by making net neutrality an issue, eventually forcing AT&T to recognize the principle of equal access on the internet. It is important for activists and ordinary people to tell our stories from the ground up, said Moyers, arguing that the movement has the power to continue to challenge the corporate media. Moyers did admit some initial skepticism with the movement, citing the power of the telecommunications industry’s lobbyists and corporate welfare giveaway of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, but expressed hope for the future of the movement.
Moyers told the audience that it is essential that people organize to build stronger independent media sources, establish a “creative commons” free from corporate control, provide broadband access for all, work to increase ownership of media sources by women and people of color, and pursue efforts to reclaim PBS. As a practical means of pushing to improve PBS, Moyers urged attendees to return to their communities and organize campaigns to get Democracy Now! played on PBS. Moyers articulated that this strategy will both help sustain one of the most important independent media sources in the country while also serving as a means of pushing PBS to air better programming. In Michigan, activists are have maintained a website since 2005 coordinating efforts to bring Democracy Now! to media outlets across the state. Media Mouse will likely be undertaking this campaign in the future, please contact us if you would like to get involved.
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