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Enough is Enough!
An Open Letter to CNN, FOX News and MSNBC from TvNewsLies.org
30-Oct-2003
Downloadable verson - Send your own copy to the networks!
Send your copy to: CNN - cnn@cnn.com
FOX News - Comments@foxnews.com
MSNBC - viewerservices@msnbc.com
Enough is enough! The manipulation of America has gone far enough. The problem has reached critical mass. You have all successfully mesmerized much of the nation into believing that the fluff you pass off as news actually merits their attention - but some of us have grown tired of viewing the Wizard and we want to know more about the man behind the curtain! All we get s from your networks are smoke and mirrors, and we have had enough!
Don't misunderstand, you absolutely deserve some credit. You deftly blurred traditional lines that once were clearly discernible to the public. You successfully blended tabloid stories, opinion, infomercials and advertisements with real news, and an entire nation failed to notice! This is no small accomplishment.. You masterfully transformed television journalism from its role of guardian of the people and protector of democracy into a ratings game and conduit for the propaganda messages of your corporate owners. After decades of preserving the autonomy of the newsroom, you gave in to corporate masters and surrendered journalistic integrity to the business interests who now have charge of what you tell us and how you tell it. That is profoundly unprofessional and unacceptable, and we have had enough!
It would take volumes to explain every violation of journalistic ethics and protocol you each have committed. However, we can start by pointing out something that is embarrassingly obvious: constant coverage of stories such as the Scott and Laci Peterson saga are not news! It is sad that we have to remind you of the obligation you assumed when you applied for FCC licenses to operate as a "National News" networks. That title clearly defines your responsibility to focus on reporting "news" that is of "national" importance. It required you to inform the public about events and issues that affect the lives of the people who watch your programs. Each one of you has abandoned that role, and we are tired of it. We have had enough!
How in the world do you explain this outrageous betrayal of your journalistic duty to the American public?. How do you justify the majority of your "news" coverage for the past several years that reports events that affect no more than a few dozen people? All we hear about are sensational criminal proceedings, conjoined twins, celebrity scandals and the occasional missing child. These are the consistent filler items that surround your primary role of providing the Bush administration with free promotional time. You have abdicated your role as journalists and disseminators of important and unbiased news, and we have had enough!
Why is it that that virtually everyone in nation knows every detail of the Scott Peterson trial, and virtually nobody even knows that Dick Cheney has been fighting lawsuit after lawsuit in his attempt to keep public information about his energy meetings from the public? Why is it that nobody has ever heard a single mention (never mind explanation) of PNAC despite their being the dominant force driving our international policy? Why is that we all know that Kobe Bryant may soon have a criminal record,yet not one single journalist among you informed the public that convicted felons from the Iran Contra era were appointed to high governmental positions by George W. Bush? This is unpardonable, and we have had enough!
Enough is enough. Since you claim to be "news networks" we have the right to expect you to report the news, the real news, the important news, the news that affects the nation and the world. If we want fluff or sensationalism, we can read our local tabloids. We are tired of being called "dumb Americans," by the rest of the world - a term that is becoming more accurate as each day passes. We are tired of relying on the international press to find out what is going on in our own country. And most of all we are tired of fighting among ourselves because some of us know what is going on and the rest of the public, because of their lack of accurate information, thinks all is fine. We are very tired of it all, and we surely have had enough!.
We demand less Laci, more Cheney, less Kobe, more PNAC, less fluff, more facts. We demand that you restore the integrity you have surrendered to ratings and corporate profits. We insist that you, who control the flow of information to the American people, and who claim to be news networks, once again conducting yourselves as news networks. Show us, the American public, that you care that we are tired of the sham. Show us that you respect our right to know and to view journalism as the watchdog of government, not the mouthpiece. Show us, for we have reached the end of our proverbial rope, and continue, day after day, to be very tired of it all.
Jesse - Editor, TvNewsLies.org
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