Who wants to act on this

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Ok. I'm ticked off and I don't think we can let this one pass. In an earlier post I put out the notice about MSNBC hiring Michael Savage to host his own weekly show. Now we have the same folks killing Phil Donahue's show.

I think that we need to bombard Microsoft, GE, NBC, MSNBC, local affiliates of the same, and anyone advertising on their channels that this is not acceptable. See the extended entry for the full story.

In hiring Savage, "MSNBC president Erik Sorenson described Savage as
"brash, passionate and smart," and promised that he would provide
"compelling opinion and analysis with an edge."

They fired Donahue because (apparently) they didn't want MSNBC to become too anti-war or anti-administration see this article - Exit Phil Donahue from which the following quote comes:

"Media analyst Rick Ellis, who writes for the excellent www.allyourtv.com website, makes a strong case that Donahue is being elbowed off the air at this point -- when his ratings have actually been ticking upward -- precisely because it appears that a war is coming. According to Ellis, Donahue's "fate was sealed a number of weeks ago after NBC News executives received the results of a study commissioned to provide guidance on the future of the news channel." According to Ellis, the study suggested "that Donahue presented a ‘difficult public face for NBC in a time of war" and expressed that, in a time of war, Donahue's show might become "a home for the liberal antiwar agenda at the same time that our competitors are waving the flag at every opportunity.""

So it seems that MSNBC and company are trying to out "right" Fox. The combination of hiring Savage (who is probably the most offensive and inflamatory person I've heard on the airwaves) because his analysis has "edge" and getting rid of Donahue because he makes them "edgy" is rank hypocricy (in my opinion).

I am concerned about the increasing shift not just to the right but into outright hate speech. Has anyone else noticed the increasing racism and sexism of the news, the talk shows, the political analysis shows, entertainment and advertising? This scares me given the power of the media to enflame and normalize. I do NOT want racism, sexism, and hate normalized.

So here is what I suggest. Contact everyone you know an share your thoughts on this. Send emails and letters to the"culprits" and their advertisers and let them know how you feel. AND MOST importantly that you will not watch their stations or support their advertisers. If you have MSN, tell Microsoft you will switch to another ISP. If you have QWEST their ISP is MSN.

I will be sending letter similar to the following (contacts follow below)

Dear xxx,
I am writing to express my outrage at MSNBC's hiring of Michael Savage and the firing of Phil Donahue. This points to a trend of far right extremism on the part of MSNBC. I feel that this decision is a deliberate effort to promote a hate agenda (Michael Savage) and to silence voices of dissent to current US policies (Phil Donahue).

As a consequence of this decision, I will no longer watch or support MSNBC, CNBC, NBC or any of its affiliates in any media form, Microsoft, MSN, GE, Newsweek, or any advertiser on any of your outlets. I am contacting as many advertisers (national and local) as possible to inform them of WHY I will no longer purchasing their products or services. I am also contacting everyone I know and informing them of this "programming change" and how I feel about it. I will be giving them information about how to contact you and encourage them to take the same action I am - a total boycott.

I find the directions of decisions being made to be unpalatable and dangerous and I will not stand for it.

It is my strong hope that these measures will help the corporate powers reevaluate their decisions.

Contact information:
GE: CEO Jeffrey Immelt
Richard F. Wacker
Vice President, Corporate Investor Relations
(203) 373-2468 Email Wacker

CNBC
Customer Services, News, Media Relations
2200 Fletcher Avenue
Fort Lee, NJ 07024
Telephone: (201) 585-2622

NBC
Viewer Services
National Broadcasting Company (NBC)
30 Rockefeller Plaza
NY, NY 10112
Web site: NBC form

Microsoft: CEO Steven Ballmer Chairman: Bill Gates
Microsoft Investor Relations
800.285.7772 (United States)
Investor Relations Department
Microsoft Corporation
One Microsoft Way
Redmond, Washington
98052-6399

MSNBC
Donahue Program
or mail a letter to: NBC News
30 Rockefeller Plaza
New York, N.Y. 10112

MSNBC Affiliate links

KGW (Portland, Oregon affiliate)
MSNBC contact:PDXGuide webmaster

KGW comment form to management

Posted by rowan at February 28, 2003 09:48 PM | Printable Version | [eMail this article!] |