Color of Change

The US-based black activist organisation, Color of Change has launched a campaign to fight Murdoch TV FoxNews, which it says, "is dividing the country with smears and lies." It is asking people all round the world to join the campaign by signing up for the campaign.

What's the problem with the Murdoch empire?

Rupert Murdoch has constructed an empire of commercial propaganda and quantities of sleeze, interspersed by versions of information about world and local events. Murdoch media interests include frankly pornographic outlets as well as the more mainstream Foxtel, FoxNews etc. The mainstream Murdoch media normalises many unsavoury and undemocratic values, such as the use of women's bodies to sell products, and the promotion of corporate values politics as widely held public opinion. Many people feel that the Murdoch press, because it is so dominant globally and nationally in many countries, has the capacity to influence politicians simply by granting or withholding publicity for them and thus has a huge impact on elections in countries like Australia, where there is little alternative news. Many people subscribe to Fox without realising that they are reinforcing the Murdoch view of the world, which pervades the print media and even reaches into the ABC in the form of Murdoch-trained or backgrounded journalists. See these http://candobetter.org/taxonomy/term/1581 and http://candobetter.org/CourierMail links for other articles about the problem of the Murdoch and other dominant news-medias. Another source of analysis of Fox News is the impressive indy film, Out-foxed, available on you-tube here.

Fox Journalist Glenn Beck

Color of Change give the reason for their anti-Fox campaign as that a Fox journalist, Glenn Beck, has referred to the President of the USA as a racist with a deep-seeded hatred for White people.[1]

According to Color of Change, Beck intends to claim [2] the legacy of the civil rights movement by holding his "Restoring Honor" rally at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC — on the same day and place as Dr. King's "I Have a Dream" speech.[3]

Color of change says, "You can get mad at Beck. You can protest and try to prevent him from stepping on Dr. King's honor for one day. The reality is that the next day — and five days-a-week from there on out — Beck will be back on Fox News, speaking to millions and spreading hate, lies, and fear, as he does every week.

"The real problem is Fox News. Fox News gives Beck his platform, and Fox promotes his events — all despite Beck losing virtually all of his major advertisers in the last year.

"Fox's rhetoric is not just divisive; it's dangerous. Last month, a heavily armed man got into a gun fight with police after he was pulled over on his way to kill people at the Tides Foundation[4] — a non-profit that was little known until Glenn Beck repeatedly demonized it, claiming it to be the center of a great conspiracy.[5] Last year, Kansas doctor George Tiller was gunned down while at church'[6] after Bill O'Reilly called him a Nazi, a "baby killer," and warned of "Judgment Day."[7]

For these reasons Color of Change has launched TurnOffFox, and is asking people to join in their campaign.

Turn off Fox

They say, "TurnOffFox is the first step in our overall effort to beat back the poison, hate, and division of Fox. We'll get Fox turned off in stores, restaurants, and other public places — places where Fox pulls in new viewers and gains legitimacy."

"Click below to declare your household "Fox free" and at the same time call on establishments in your community (and across the country) to follow your lead and turn off Fox. Then invite your friends and family to do the same. Armed with thousands of signatures, including yours, ColorOfChange members will then visit businesses in their community that play Fox, explain how divisive and dangerous it is, and call on them to stop. And we'll give you a FREE Turn Off Fox sticker when you sign on — it takes just a moment:

http://colorofchange.org/turnofffox?id=2432-1205225&pr=to

Some people watch Fox at home because it reflects their view of the world; but there are others who see it on TV in public places and assume that it's legitimate news. Fox News is often on in bars, restaurants, airport lounges, stores — appearing to be real news, while spreading lies and fomenting hate and division.

The goal of Turn Off Fox is to reduce the number of public TVs showing Fox News, while spreading the word about Fox's poison (and how it works) to those who don't know.

Signing up for the campaign is just the first step. We make it easy for you to tell us about businesses playing Fox. If you're willing to talk with them, we'll provide you with straightforward materials that explain why they shouldn't be a party to what Fox is doing. And if there are businesses you know that want to tell the world they would never play Fox, you can help them declare themselves a "Fox-free zone."

As businesses Turn off Fox and stand up as Fox Free, and as we encourage our friends and family to do the same, we'll help make clear, to people across the country, what Fox is about. And we'll reduce their ability to do harm."

See also: stopmurdoch.blogspot.com - editor.

Several news outlets reported yesterday that Google and Verizon are about to cut a deal that would allow giant corporations to control which websites load slowly, quickly, or not at all. The upshot would be that the multimedia and governments would once again hog the internet to the exclusion of democratic alternatives.

ColorOfChange have put out a press release which says "If you value the free, fair, and open Internet, then you need to act now, before two corporate giants deal it away."

It is well referenced, so we are republishing it here.

Google may permit giant corporations to control internet accessibility

If you value the free, fair, and open Internet, then you need to act now, before two corporate giants deal it away.

Several news outlets reported yesterday that Google and Verizon are about to cut a deal that would allow giant corporations to control which websites load slowly, quickly, or not at all.1,2,3 Google used to oppose this kind of corporate control over the Internet, but now it looks like they might be changing their tune. Google’s motto is "Don’t be evil," but it looks like their pursuit of profit might be getting in the way of living up to that ideal.4

Thankfully, it's not a done deal yet -- and with enough pressure, we can stop them from acting. That's why we're joining our friends at CREDO, MoveOn, and Free Press to demand that Google back off this corporate takeover of the Internet. Will you add your voice, and then ask your friends and family to do the same?

http://www.colorofchange.org/google/?id=2432-1205225

The basic promise of the Internet lies in the guarantee that information you put online is treated the same as anyone else's information in terms of its basic ability to travel across the Internet. Your own personal website or blog can compete on equal footing with the biggest companies. It's the reason the Internet is so diverse — and so powerful. Anyone with a good idea can find their audience online, whether or not there's money to promote the idea or money to be made from it.

This is critical for Black communities and others that have had our voices compromised by corporate-controlled media. For the first time in history we can communicate with a broad audience, educate, politically organize, and create new businesses — without prohibitive costs or mediation by gatekeepers in government or industry. It's the strength of your ideas, not the size of your budget, that largely determines your success. In television, radio, and print this can't happen because access is determined by big media corporations seeking to turn a profit.

This deal could take the Internet in a different direction. It could end the Internet's level playing field by allowing rich corporations like Google to pay for faster-loading websites and services. It could destroy the potential for independent voices to compete with giant corporations for an audience — big corporations who can pay for preferential access to Internet users would drown out the smaller voices online. And it could mean that you'll start getting less Internet service at a higher cost.

We expect the big telecommunications companies to try to stifle freedom and equality on the Internet — they've hired an army of lobbyists to do just that. But Google has always said it supports a free and open Internet. Google likes to portray itself as a corporation with principles that go beyond profit, and it would be disappointing to see Google abandon them.

Google has tried to downplay this story. They issued a short, carefully worded statement that says they're still committed to an open Internet, but they haven't denied that they are in talks with Verizon to cut a deal that would give corporations more control over Internet traffic.5

By speaking out, you can pressure Google to walk away from this deal. But time is running out — please sign our petition to Google today.
http://www.colorofchange.org/google/?id=2432-1205225

Source: James, Dani, William, Gabriel, Milton, and the rest of the ColorOfChange.org team
August 9th, 2010

References:

1. "Google and Verizon Near Deal on Web Pay Tiers," The New York Times, 8-5-2010
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/347?akid=1539.1194428.vwNvfC&t=6

2. "Google, Verizon Try to Shape Net-Neutrality Law," Wall Street Journal, 8-52010
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/348?akid=1539.1194428.vwNvfC&t=8

3. "Google, Verizon Said to Strike Deal on Web Traffic Rules," Bloomberg, 8-5-2009
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/349?akid=1539.1194428.vwNvfC&t=10

4."NYT: Google Just Killed Net Neutrality (UPDATING: Google and Verizon Deny Internet Traffic Deal)," Gizmodo, 8-5-2010
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/350?akid=1539.1194428.vwNvfC&t=12

5. See reference 4

Republished from http://www.colorofchange.org/opennet/

Dear friends,

The Internet has made amazing things possible, like freeing the Jena 6 and electing President Obama. None of it could have happened without an "open" Internet: one where Internet service providers are not allowed to interfere with what is seen and by whom.

Comcast, AT&T, Verizon - powerful broadband providers

Now, Comcast, AT&T, and Verizon -- the most powerful broadband providers -- are trying to fundamentally change the way the Internet works. They're seeking to make even bigger profits by acting as gatekeepers over what we see and do online. If they succeed, the Internet would be more like radio and television: a few major corporations would control which voices are heard most easily, and it would be much harder for grassroots groups, individuals, and small businesses to compete with large corporations and well-funded special interests.

Big Money affecting democracy

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) wants to do the right thing and keep the Internet open, but the big providers have been attacking their efforts, with help from Black leaders who have financial ties to the industry. And a recent court ruling just made the FCC's job even tougher.[1] If the FCC is to preserve an open Internet, they will have to boldly assert their authority and press even harder. It's why they need to hear directly from everyday people about the importance of an open Internet, now.

Send them a message

Will you join me in sending a message to the Federal Communications Commission supporting their effort to preserve an open Internet? It takes only a moment:

http://www.colorofchange.org/opennet/?id=2432-1205225

Net neutrality

The FCC is working to create rules that would protect "net neutrality," the principle that protects an open and free Internet and which has guided the Internet's operation since it began. It guarantees that information you put online is treated the same as anyone else's information in terms of its basic ability to travel across the Internet. Your own personal website or blog can compete on equal footing with the biggest companies. It's the reason the Internet is so diverse -- and so powerful. Anyone with a good idea can find their audience online, whether or not there's money to promote the idea or money to be made from it.

Big providers working on controlling internet information stream

AT&T, Comcast, and Verizon are spending millions of dollars lobbying to create a new system where they can charge large fees to speed up some data while leaving those who can't afford to pay in the slow lane.[2] Such a system could end the Internet as we know it -- giving wealthier voices on the Internet a much bigger megaphone than poorer voices, and stunting the Internet's amazing equalizing potential.

Front groups posing as your friend

Buying the support of Black organizations?

President Obama strongly supports net neutrality, and so do most members of the FCC. With so much at stake for Black communities, you would expect Black leaders and civic organizations to line up in support of an open Internet.

But instead, a group of Black civic organizations is challenging the adoption of net neutrality rules. Some of the groups are nothing more than front groups for the phone and cable companies. Others, however, are major civil rights groups -- and all of them have significant financial ties to the nation's biggest Internet service providers. For example, AT&T donated half a million dollars last year to the NAACP, and led a drive to raise $5 million more[3], and boasts of donating nearly $3 million over the last ten years to a number of Black-led organizations.[4] Verizon, meanwhile, recently gave The National Urban League and the National Council of La Raza a $2.2 million grant.[5] Comcast is one of the National Urban League's "national partners" (Comcast Executive Vice President David Cohen now sits on the NUL's Board of Trustees)[6], and the NUL's 2008 annual report notes that Comcast donated over $1 million that year.[7] Many of these groups have now filed letters with the FCC opposing or cautioning against net neutrality,[8,9,10,11] and the Internet service providers are using the groups' support to promote their agenda in Washington.[12,13]

Wannabe gate-keepers false 'trickle-down' argument

The main argument put forth by these groups is that net neutrality rules would widen the digital divide. They say that unless we allow Internet service providers to make bigger profits by acting as gatekeepers online, they won't expand Internet access in under-served communities. It's a bogus, trickle-down argument that has been thoroughly debunked.[14, 15] Expanding access to high speed Internet is an extremely important goal. But Internet service providers are already making huge profits,[16, 17] and if they believed that investing in low-income communities made good business sense, they would already be doing it. Allowing them to make more money by acting as toll-takers on the Internet won't change that. When these civil rights groups have been asked to back up their arguments, none have been able to do so without appealing to discredited, industry-funded studies.[18] Nevertheless, the FCC has taken notice of what these civil rights groups are saying about net neutrality, and is wary of going against them for fear of being perceived as insensitive to minority concerns.[19]

Now it's up to you

Now it's up to you

The FCC wants to do the right thing and implement net neutrality rules. FCC commissioners know, as we do, that the anti-net neutrality arguments coming from civil rights groups are bogus. But they don't want to appear to be on the wrong side of Black interests.[20]

We need to demonstrate that there's support among Black folks and everyone else for protecting an open Internet. Please join me in telling the FCC that we support net neutrality.

You can add your voice here

You can add your voice here:

http://www.colorofchange.org/opennet/?id=2432-1205225

Thanks.

References:

1. http://bit.ly/drWbQ3
2. http://www.savetheinternet.com/threats-open-internet
3. http://bit.ly/akyXZS
4. http://bit.ly/aGOz89
5. http://www.nclr.org/content/news/detail/54262/
6. http://bit.ly/93zDr6
7. http://bit.ly/dnqyq4
8. http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/ecfs/document/view?id=7020141807
9. http://mmtconline.org/lp-pdf/NatlOrgs%20NN%20Comments%20011410.pdf
10. http://colorofchange.org/opennet/jan-letter.pdf
11. http://colorofchange.org/opennet/naacp-letters.pdf
12. http://colorofchange.org/opennet/usindustry-letter.pdf
13. http://bit.ly/d8GdOu
14. http://www.freepress.net/files/nn_fact_v_fiction_final.pdf
15. http://bit.ly/ay0dx7
16. http://bit.ly/9JQSDk
17. http://nyti.ms/cZaGq8
18. http://bit.ly/cpPA51
19. http://huff.to/awKtvk
20. http://huff.to/awKtvk