National Conference for Media Reform Update
Ben Scott introduces Bernie Sanders
Ben Scott: “Bernie Sanders is the first national politician to realize that media is a political issue.”
Bernie Sanders: “We have begun the long road to make media a major political issue in America. In campaigns & non-campaigns, (wherever candidates are answering questions) somebody raises a hand ask them ‘what do you think about corporate control over media and what are you going to do about it?’ (We’re in a) critical moment when a critical mass is kicking in. This issue has been specialized by the House and now will be coming to the Senate.
“In terms of the war in Iraq the media failed terribly in covering the facts and following the Bush line and they are now implicated in the disaster that now befalls us.
“Regarding domestic politics, the biggest issue is the collapse of the American middle class. Despite an explosion of technology, productivity, millions have seen a decline in their wages. The working poor work longer than the working poor in any other industrialized nation in the West. This might be the story to be covered, but…. When NAFTA was being debated (in the mid-1990s), there were no stories in major papers – my staff and I pored over newspapers and looked for them.
“People do not understand that their participation in the political process can change the situation. TV is a mirror to the world and we want that mirror to reflect the lives of ordinary people and not the illusions of a few.
“Regarding health care, ‘we have the best health care system in the world.’… (sarcastically) Yuh! (laughter throughout the room) Ask ordinary people how many major countries in the world do not have a free health care for all of its people. Most do not know about the lack of it in the US. They do not know about the health care system in Scandinavia, and all they know about Canada’s are the problems. There was virtually no coverage about single-payer system in the early 1990s when we were debating it in Congress.
“(Have you heard me) been railing about distribution of wealth in America? Have you ever seen another member of the congress asking the question, ‘what are we doing about wealth distribution?’ Have you ever seen a member of the press asking the question?”
Sanders raised the issue of child poverty and tax breaks for rich, and referred to it as a “moral issue,” then continued, asking, “Who has decided that abortion and gay rights is the only moral issue?
“On Martin Luther King Day you’ll see his speech on civil rights and equality on TV, but you’ll not see that he was leader in the anti-war movement as well.
“Regarding the public trust, now is the time to open the question of the fairness doctrine again.
“It is time to stop de-regulation of the media. We are not going to create the kind of democracy we want unless you all go out and create the media. We are not going to address the greatest problems in America unless there are major changes in the media.