Kucinich Releases Media Reform Plan
The following is a press release from December 13, 2003, by the Kucinich campaign
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Kucinich Releases Media Reform Plan
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 13, 2003
Democratic Presidential Candidate Dennis J. Kucinich is scheduled to speak on the topic of media reform on Sunday, Dec. 14, at 3:30 p.m. Central Time at Briar Cliff University, Stark Student Center, 520 Rebecca St., Sioux City, Iowa.
Kucinich today released this statement: "The response of the American people to the exchange between Ted Koppel and myself demonstrates that there is great concern about the proper role of the media in a democratic society. The American people clearly do not want the media to be in a position where they're determining which candidates ought to be considered for the presidency and which ought not to be considered for the presidency. Such practice by the media represents a tampering with the political process itself. The role of the media in this process has now become a national issue central to the question of who's running our country, and I intend to keep this issue before the American people, and I look forward to engaging America's news organizations as to what they might be able to do to be more responsive to the public concerns that are reflected in the powerful response to the issues I raised in the exchange with Ted Koppel."
On December 9, Congressman Kucinich publicly stood up to big media on a nationally televised debate. Dennis told debate moderator Ted Koppel, "I want the American people to see where media takes politics in this country." The crowd cheered. "We start talking about endorsements, now we're talking about polls and then talking about money. When you do that you don't have to talk about what's important to the American people."
The day after the exchange between Koppel and Kucinich, ABC News notified the Kucinich campaign that it was going to be covering the campaign less. On "Democracy Now" radio on December 12, ABC News Vice President for Media Relations Jeffrey Schneider explained: "I can tell you that I am certain that the decision was made by our news desk in the days leading up to the New Hampshire debate. It was actually communicated to those producers that we needed them to come back to New York and to continue to cover these campaigns."
Host Amy Goodman raised the question about the exchange between Kucinich and Koppel: "After he [Koppel] asked each of them, singling them out, is this a sort of vanity candidacy, and Dennis Kucinich's response brought down the house and was a bit embarrassing to Ted Koppel. On Kucinich's campaign they said that the reporter or producer had just gone through the whole schedule of the Kucinich campaign and was herself surprised on Wednesday when..." Schneider interrupted: "Well, that may be that may be true and as I told you I know that the decision was made back here prior to the New Hampshire campaign, and it was you know it was made clear to her on the day after."
On Thursday and Friday Kucinich supporters took it upon themselves to protest outside ABC affiliates around the country. Here's an example: http://arizona.indymedia.org/news/2003/12/14121.php. Supporters also launched a petition at this site: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/455575483. The campaign started a petition at this site: http://www.kucinich.us/abcnews.php. Fairness And Accuracy In Reporting picked up the cause: http://www.fair.org/activism/abc-candidates.html.
ABC's The Note has addressed the matter as well, stressing that the reporter had thus far spent a lot of time with the campaign but failing to mention that almost none of that material has ever made it on the air, and that this comment in The Note is probably the longest mention the campaign has yet received there: http://abcnews.go.com/sections/politics/TheNote/TheNote.html
DENNIS KUCINICH'S PLAN FOR MEDIA REFORM
Kucinich will, as President, work for serious media reform, including substantial free air time for candidates and parties. Given the high cost of campaigns, the power of corporate special interests, and the fact that the networks are given free use of the public's airwaves, Kucinich will require that the networks give something back other than "reality" shows.
Media conglomerates are currently among the most powerful lobbyists against media reform, but Kucinich believes that were the media to provide substantive coverage of politics it would actually boost both media ratings and voter turnout.
In addition to requiring free air time for political campaigns, Kucinich will create a greater diversity of viewpoints in the media by breaking up the major media conglomerates, encouraging competition and quality, as well as diversity. Kucinich will place new caps on media ownership and would ban the granting of exceptions to those caps. Kucinich will limit the number of media outlets one corporation can own in a given medium, such as radio, print, or television. He will strictly prohibit cross-ownership and vertical integration.
Kucinich will involve people in the maintenance of their airwaves, creating public media outlets controlled by community boards similar to the model of Pacifica Radio. He will greatly expand funding for public broadcasting channels on television and radio, assuring the existence of media outlets free of the influence of advertisers.
Kucinich will promote knowledge of the public process through which citizens can challenge the licenses of local broadcast outlets failing to provide local coverage and coverage directed at the whole community, or outlets airing excessive violence.
Kucinich will allow not-for-profit groups to obtain low-power FM radio-station licenses. He will encourage the development of new, community-based, noncommercial broadcasting outlets.
Kucinich will work to withdraw the United States from the World Trade Organization, which media companies are currently lobbying for the creation of trade sanctions against countries that fund public broadcasting, limit foreign ownership of media, or establish standards for local content. For similar reasons, Kucinich will block US participation in the proposed Free Trade Area of the Americas.
Kucinich is the only presidential candidate in the race with a strong record on media reform. He is the only one who has filed formal objections with the FCC to their deregulation of the media. He is the only one who has held hearings on Capitol Hill on what the media weren't telling people about a war.
Kucinich holds a Bachelor's and a Master's degree in speech and communications from Case Western Reserve University. He was honored by Case Western Reserve as being one of the top 50 students in that program in the last 50 years.
Kucinich worked as a copy boy for the Cleveland Plain Dealer and a copy reader at the Wall Street Journal. He has had his own radio shows, did on-camera television reports for Channel 8 in Cleveland, had his own TV production unit, and carries a card as a member of the IATSE, the cameraman's union.
One of the leaders of Kucinich's campaign in Iowa is former FCC commissioner Nick Johnson, author of this column in yesterday's Des Moines Register: http://desmoinesregister.com/opinion/stories/c5917686/22992327.html
For more information: http://www.kucinich.us
For Rep. Kucinich's Schedule: http://www.kucinich.us/schedule.htm.
Contact: David Swanson 301-772-0210, cell 202-329-7847, fax 301-772-7293, swanson@kucinich.us
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