MEDIA CHALLENGE !

an action from Peace Coalitions

Latest Action Plan: April 14 2003 - April 27, 2003

The airwaves belong to the people. For a democracy to work, its citizens must be well-informed. Unbalanced coverage by NBC, MSNBC, CBS, ABC, Fox and CNN deprive Americans of the information they need to make wise choices. Join the second round of the Media Challenge! mass Call-In Campaign and request balanced coverage of the war in Iraq. The calls are beginning to work...Keep them going. We suggest you focus your new requests to TV bosses on these two issues:

1. FOLLOW THE CIVILIANS: Embed reporters in hospitals and neighborhoods to cover the daily lives of Iraqis. Cover ALL casualites and the cumulative impact of sanctions, war and now occupation. Tell TV bosses it's not their job to hide the dark side. This includes the huge impact of depleted uranium shells on Iraqi civilians, Gulf War veterans and, potentially, U.S. troops.

2. FOLLOW THE MONEY: Call for in-depth coverage of war profiteering by companies and individuals who promoted this war or contributed heavily to
Administration campaign coffers and for daily reporting on the devastating impact of huge federal budget cuts in education, healthcare, veterans benefits, childcare, poverty relief and transportation as money shifts to these companies.

 

  • Monday:
    • ABC NEWS CHIEF David Westin. 212.456.6200. fax: 212.456.4292
    • NEWS DIRECTOR Mimi Gurbst. 212 456 4050 fax.212 456 2795
    • ABC SWITCHBOARD (ASK FOR NEWSROOM) 212.456-7777.
    • NEWSROOM fax 212.456.2795
  • Tuesday:
    • MSNBC NEWS CHIEF Mark Effron. 201.583.5101. fax: 201.583.5199
      e-mail mark.effron@msnbc.com
    • MSNBC NEWS DIRECTOR Alison Hawley. 201 583 5155. fax. 201.583.5512
    • MSNBC SWITCHBOARD (ASK FOR NEWSROOM) 201.583.5000
      fax: 201.583.5590

    • NBC NEWS CHIEF Neil Shapiro. 212.664.4773. fax: 212.664.2264
      e-mail: neal.shapiro@nbc.com
    • NEWS DIRECTOR Thomas Ferraro 201 583 5231 fax. 201 583 5222
    • NBC SWITCHBOARD (ASK FOR NEWSROOM) 212.664.4444.
      fax: 201.583.5453

    •  

  • Wednesday:
    • CBS NEWS CHIEF Andrew Hayward. 212.975.7825. fax: 212.975.7429.
      e-mail: mg3@cbsnews.com
    • NEWS DIRECTOR Marty Gill 212 975 6121 fax. 212 975 4114
    • CBS SWITCHBOARD (ASK FOR NEWSROOM) 212.975.4321 fax: 212.975.1893


Thursday:

    • CNN NEWS CHIEF Walter Isaacson. 404.827.5111. fax: 404.827.4215.
      e-mail walter.isaacson@cnn.com <>
    • NEWS DIRECTOR Kim Bondy. 404 827 1500. fax. 404 827 1099
    • CNN SWITCHBOARD (ASK FOR NEWSROOM). 404.827.1500.
      e-mail: cnnfutures@cnn.com
    • PBS FACTUAL PROGRAMMING CHIEF Sandy Heberer 703.739.5036
    • NEWS CHIEF SANDY SOWERS 703-998-2150 newshour@pbs.org
    • PBS SWITCHBOARD (ASK FOR NEWSROOM) 703.998.2600.

Friday:

    • FOX NEWS CHIEF: John Moody. 212.301.8560. fax: 212.398.8726.
      e-mail: john.moody@foxnews.com
    • NEWS DIRECTOR Kathleen Ardleigh 212 3013186 fax. 212-301-5067
    • FOX SWITCHBOARD (ASK FOR NEWSROOM) 212.575.4670.
      fax: 212.301.8274

Besides the daily calls, WHENEVER YOU SEE OR HEAR BIASED COVERAGE, CALL THE NEWS CHIEFS AND/OR NEWSROOMS AND INSIST ON RESPONSIBLE, IN-DEPTH JOURNALISM. There is plenty every day to call about. Calls are best because they must halt misinforming the public while they deal with you. If you can't reach policy makers, fax or e-mail.

MEDIA CHALLENGE! is co-sponsored by: Projects4Peace, ICUJP (Interfaith Communities United for Justice and Peace), Neighbors for Peace and Justice, Coalition for World Peace, Global Guardianship Initiative, Code Pink for Peace, Peace on the Beach, Peace Warriors, LA International A.N.S.W.E.R., Not in Our Name, Global Women's Strike and Southern Cal. Americans for Democratic Action.

Work with Media Challenge! on Reclaiming Our Democracy Media Challenge! is engaged in a longterm campaign to break the stranglehold five television companies have on what the public gets to know and therefore the hold they have on our democracy. 58% of the public relies on General Electric (MSNBC and NBC) News Corp. (Fox), Disney (ABC), AOL-Time Warner (CNN) and Viacom (CBS) for its information. This is far too much power in a democracy for a handful of profit driven companies whose "news" deceives more than it reveals.

Our "Call the Bosses" campaign is the first major action we have undertaken to force change in the system. Others we are now encouraging for those who have time and/or commitment are:

* Contact the FCC and your Congressperson and Senators to block the proposed "deregulation" of media which will permit even more monopoly consolidation of electronic media than we now have and further jeopardize our democracy. This is urgent as the FCC is expected to act before June. Contact info is below.

* Cancel your cable news stations and tell your cable operator you are doing so to protest their abuse of "news" coverage, particularly the one-sided drift of the networks to providing propaganda for those in power. Most local cable companies do not include the cable news networks (CNN, FOX and MSNBC) in their "basic" service. Most subscribers pay additional for them and they usually come "bundled" with several other networks in what the cable industry calls a "tier." You can cancel this tier if you are willing to forego the other networks bundled with the cable news networks. Encourage others to do the same.

* Sell stock you may hold in any of the five companies and encourage others to do the same. If you invest through a "screened fund," ask the fund to delist these companies on the grounds that they are socially irresponsible businesses.
For more information about Media Challenge! and what the news networks are
not telling you go to projects4peace.org and click on Media.

 

NETWORK NEWS EXECUTIVES ADDRESSES
ABC News President: David Westin
77 W. 6th Street
New York, NY 10023

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NBC News President: Neil Shapiro
30 Rockefeller Plaza
New York, NY 10112

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MSNBC V.P. Live News Programming: Mark Effron
One MSNBC Plaza
Secaucus, NJ 07094

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CBS News President: Andrew Hayward
524 W. 57th Street
New York, NY 10019

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CNN News President: Walter Isaacson
1 CNN Center
Atlanta, GA 30303

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FOX News Channel Sr. V.P. News Editorial: John Moody
1211 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10036

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PBS FACTUAL PROGRAMMING CHIEF Sandy Heberer
1320 Braddock Place
Alexandria, VA 22314

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Coalition for World Peace
8124 West Third Street #202
Los Angeles, CA 90048
323-653-3292
staff@coalitionforworldpeace.org