Media Reform

Following the first National Conference on Media Reform, Bob McChesney and John Nichols offer some ideas for what should be the future agenda of the media reform movement.

"We have to make media policy part of the 2004 presidential debate and all the campaigns that will follow it," they urge. "And we have to make it a part of the kitchen-table debates where the real course of America can, and should, be plotted. To do that, the media reform movement that captured the imagination of antiwar activists and others in 2003 must burrow just as deeply into labor, church, farm and community groups, which are only beginning to recognize how their ideals and ambitions are being damaged. If the initial challenge was one of perception--making media an issue--the next challenge is one of organization. 'Media reform has become an issue for millions of Americans,' says Bernie Sanders. 'Now, we've got to make media reform more than an issue. We have to make it a reality for all Americans.'"

Also check out Bill Moyers' keynote address to this past weekend's conference in Madison, Wisconsin.