In the book It’s the Media Stupid, Robert McChesney and John Nichols argue for a broad-based media reform movement that can make media democracy a central political issue in the United States. Here is their platform.
Expand funding for traditional public-service broadcasting with an eye toward making it fully non-commercial and democratically accountable. In particular, substantial new funding should be provided for the development of news and public affairs programming that would fill the gap created by the collapse of serious news gathering by the networks and their local affiliates. Continue reading PLATFORM FOR MEDIA REFORM. by Robert McChesney and John Nichols.→
Originally appeared in Studies in Political Economy, Fall 2000.
Reprinted by permission of the author.
Of all contemporary popular struggles, the struggle to democratize the communication media is arguably one of the most important and least recognized. In this article, I first argue for the importance of placing media democratization higher on the progressive agenda, and briefly sketch its normative commitments. Then, I explore the potential social and political obstacles and bases for a media democracy movement, concluding with a few strategic suggestions. Continue reading TAKING BACK THE MEDIA: NOTES ON THE POTENTIAL FOR A COMMUNICATIVE DEMOCRACY MOVEMENT. By Bob Hackett→
Robert McChesney’s contention that democratizing the mass media must become a central–perhaps the central–concern of progressives is hard to dispute. However, the ways in which progressives are currently approaching the issue seem unlikely to substantially change the status quo. Continue reading DEMOCRATIZING THE MASS MEDIA: AN ASSESSMENT AND PROPOSAL. by Randy Baker→
During the action against the National Association of Broadcasters last September, a small group met to discuss a Communications Bill of Rights for the United States. Our aim was to start envisioning a democratic media that was accessible, inclusive, and accountable to everyone, and independent of both corporate and government control. Continue reading WHOSE MEDIA? OUR MEDIA! by Dorothy Kidd.→
