Free the Press: The Maddow Movement! A Policy Statement

Rachel Maddow says:

The real issue is story selection, is editorial control. I can only control what it is that I get asked to speak about in a very blunt way. That said, the way that I handle that is that I, I am gunning to get my own show. I would really like to be hosting a show on cable television, rather than guesting because I would like to exert more control over what gets discussed, over what counts as important.

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The Press, the Fourth Estate, is the gatekeeper of Truth in our country. If the Press does not report it, it effectively never happened as far as the all important reaction of the citizenry is concerned. Where the Press shines it’s light, freedom follows.


Where the press is free and every man able to read, all is safe.

Thomas Jefferson

Information is the currency of democracy.

Thomas Jefferson

This has never been better demonstrated than during the reign of George Bush. The Press has not only blinded its own light in regards to scandalous crimes, it has on far too many occasions, such as the lead up to the Iraq Occupation and domestic spying, and in the latest iteration of the military analysts, actually aided and abetted in the criminal acts and despicable propaganda activities of the Worst President Ever. The Bush Administration has corrupted both the Press and the Justice Department to such an extent that is has literally, in the case of its Torture activities, gotten away with murder. It is up to us as citizens to do what we can to stop this. To take back our government and to restore a Free Press.

Even as we speak, “The Architect” of the Bush Administration is now employed as a pundit instead of making license plates. Blatantly injecting propaganda and lies into the public discourse whenever his lips move on Fox News, itself the equivalent of the State Propaganda Agency.

Just as it is our responsibility as citizens to take our government back from these aspiring despots, so is it our responsibility and duty to reclaim the Fourth Estate to our service, rather than service to the state. Free The Press!

The only question is…how?!?

Our “Free Press” is now a wholly owned subsidiary of a few major corporations,  corporations with a vested interest in what news is presented to the public and how that ‘news’ is framed. In the case of NBC, for example they are owned by a major defense contractor, General Electric, which raises a serious conflict of interest concerns when it comes to unbiased reporting on anything having to do with war and defense.

So a frontal assault will not be successful lol, until we have the resources to buy our Free Press back!

The Maddow Movement then, is part of an incremental campaign, combined with rigorous criticism (heh!) to change the Press, to move it slowly but steadily in the right direction. The Maddow Movement represents an achievable, desirable goal on the part of the Netroots to meaningfully change the framing, spin and tone of the news by helping to get more progressive…and less conservative…voices heard in the national media conversation. Thus both flexing our power as news “consumers” and helping to move the national media away from its role as apologists and eablers of the failed policies of the right wing of America.  We need to battle against the influence and framing that commercialism, sensationalism and partisanism have formed to discourage real reporting and journalism.

The policies and playbook of the Conservatives have indisputably failed, and its spin and blatant influence on the news ‘industry’ has failed us all. The capitulation of the entire modern day media to Fox-like journalism, ethics and editorial judgment must end. We must change the paradigm, and changing the players is a part of that. Rachel Maddow being free to report from an independent progressive editorial viewpoint is one step towards that end.

Free The Press!

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  1. Photobucket

  2. I specifically got satellite radio just for that. Also just because radio in my area is horrid. As time passed I realized that it wasn’t that great, many of the hosts annoyed me ect ect.

    But I love Rachel. She funny, smart, brave, ironic. She is my “drive into work” dose of sanity.

  3. it’s all about ebb and flow. and it’s up to the other humans. what’s credible. do they believe their pocketbooks and the weather or do they believe Murdoch and Wal Mart?

    blogs are now part of the news media. we control content and we add plenty of analysis.

    we need to do more e-mailing of our stories and editorials to non-blogging friends and family.

    and we can exploit the internet, from youtube to facebook. we know it better, our voices work in and were made for this medium.

    don’t hate me for my repetition. but change the game. change the board. change the rules.

    it is time.

  4. Racheal Maddow is a nothing person who doesn’t need to be on TV or Radio. She’s bland and empty and has no insight. She’s playing the game too and trying to fit in..

    She has NOTHING TO SAY….

    Buddydharma said this

    “The Maddow Movement represents an achievable, desirable goal on the part of the Netroots to meaningfully CHANGE THE FRAMING spin and tone of the news by helping to get more progressive…and less conservative…voices heard in the national media conversation”

    As long as you insist on FRAMING and SPINNING you are doing nothing but COPYING the CONSERVATIVES….the CORPORATE MEDIA…

    TELL THE FUCKING GODDAMN TRUTH.

    The TRUTH has an air and power of it’s own and spinng and framing is JUST LYING and dispicable and condescending and KEEPING PEOPLE DUMB….

    Rachel Maddow is nothing….there are really articulate people out there…anyone on MSM is a hack. That includes Keith Blabberman….who’s show is 75% silly, goofball bullshit and 25% hard hitting commentary…..

    I’m disgusted you would promote this ambitious person Maddow….who isn’t interested in TRUTH but SELF PROMOTION.

    Where is your insight?

    It seems to be lost in America. Americans don’t percieve anymore….they are all on medication that CORPORATE AMERICA provides for liberals so they can’t discriminate or generalize or percieve in any other way other than how it Makes THEM feel.

  5. probably you’ve already seen this; but I hadn’t, until now: it’s the funniest clip I’ve seen all week.

    http://www.crooksandliars.com/

  6. If Holy Joe can have his own morning show, I see no reason to not have a strong, liberal woman as a counterbalance.

    • jim p on May 16, 2008 at 04:22

    she wants a show, I’m very excited about the idea. Got a summary of the action steps handy, anyone?

    Just having the questions raised and explored by a Rachel Maddow would change the very atmosphere. We’ve seen everytime even a little chink in Media’s Propaganda Wall pops through, more people start to think, and sense, and reject the lies.

    One drop of Maddow in a sea of merde might just be something that changes the whole makeup of things.

  7. But it does have to do with the media and MSNBC.

    Did you see what Tweety did today?

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