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NATIONAL COALITION FOR MEDIA ACCOUNTABILITY
Background Our Media Voice invites you to join our National Coalition for Media Accountability. The media has been referred to as the fourth branch of government. Indeed, today many see it as the first branch of government as it has become such a powerful force in our society. However, unlike the Executive, Legislative and Judicial branches of our government whose powers have checks and balances as defined in our Constitution, the media’s power is only checked by the Federal Communications Commission whose members are seated through political appointments. What is more, the lobbying arm of television broadcasters (the NAB) employs one lobbyist for every five elected officials in our nation’s capitol, thereby giving broadcasters immense power that is not balanced by the voice of the public. It is time for the public voice to be heard regarding programming that truly serves the public’s interest. We acknowledge that the media has not lived up to its responsibility for publicizing social, political, and economic issues at local, national, and global levels. Over the past decade, broadcasters have cut back on Public Service Announcements, community news, issues programming, and equal time allotted for different perspectives. How can our democracy thrive with this impoverished diet of communication about critical public concerns? As citizens, we own the airwaves that broadcasters use. Therefore, we have the right and responsibility to ask broadcasters to make a diligent effort to genuinely serve the public interest. Therefore we urge you to join our non-partisan coalition. It’s time to challenge the pervasive violence, stereotyping, lack of diverse perspectives, and limited coverage of the critical issues of our times. It’s time to balance the power of the handful of conglomerates that use our airwaves, virtually for free, placing their profits over the public interest. It is time for our media voice to be heard. We must join together to insure that the media lives up to its potential to be a positive social force addressing the growing needs and concerns of our society. Our Media Voice’s goal is to have an annual coalition meeting where we set our national agenda for media accountability—including grassroots education, regulatory, legislative and judicial strategies that we develop together and work on year-round. Working together we can amass the political power necessary to ensure the media is democratic and accountable. Please join us! The Our Media Voice National Coalition is a broad-based, multi-perspective, diverse, non-partisan coalition that adheres to a zero-tolerance policy on hate in membership consideration or continuing participation.
Sample Resolution to Present to your Board of Directors Please print and mail, or download a printable PDF (requires the free utility Adobe Acrobat Reader) and mail to us. Whereas, we recognize the immense power and impact the majority of mass media has upon our society, Whereas we recognize the role media plays in publicizing social, political and economic issues from a local, national and global level which impacts our democracy, Whereas, the media are abusing their power and failing to meet their legal obligation to serve the broad public interest. Whereas, we support the goals of Our Media Voice: Campaign for Accountability, Therefore be it resolved, that (add your name here) joins Our Media Voice’s National Coalition For Media Accountability.
Our Media Voice Thank you. Your financial contributions support our organizing activities.
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