Our Own Framing Language

Have you been wondering how best to make your progressive viewpoint concise, compelling? The framing subcommittee of the BlueWave NJ media reform group has worked to bring you over-riding progressive themes (based on those posted on Daily Kos) and have staked out positions on our values that break down using these headings. Before we take our language "on the road", we want our group to weigh in with comments. A word of congratulations for a job well done, wouldn't hurt either.

DEMOCRATIC/PROGRESSIVE CORE VALUES, THEMES AND FRAMES
THAT DEFINE WHO WE ARE

CORE VALUE: SMART GOVERNMENT
—Therefore we believe that:
• Taxes are an investment in our future. Patriotic Americans pay their fair share.
• Government should be accountable. Government should be responsive, transparent and fiscally responsible.
• There must be electoral reform.
• Government must be effective. It’s important to have a government that does a good job and looks out for its citizens.

CORE VALUE: OPPORTUNITY
—Therefore we believe in:
• Broad prosperity: The American Dream should be accessible to everyone, not just the wealthy. There should be a level playing field for all.
• Quality, affordable healthcare should be the right of all Americans.
• Hard-working Americans should be able to count on a retirement safety net of Social Security.
• Education, from Pre-K through college, as a great leveler.
• Tort laws to protect the little guys from Big Corporations.
• Non-regressive tax laws

CORE VALUE: PRIVACY
—Therefore we believe that:
• People should have the freedom to marry. The state shouldn’t be in the business of telling people who they can and can’t love.
• Family values means being caring, responsible and strong for each other.
• There should be freedom of—and from—religion, and private adult consensual behavior shouldn’t be regulated.
• Decisions about when to have children, the right to die, access to contraceptives and other personal decisions should be made by citizens, their doctors and loved ones, and not the government.

CORE VALUE: US LEADERSHIP
—Therefore we believe in:
• A stronger America that provides leadership on Global issues (terrorism, landmines, global warming etc.)
• Americans should be able to count on their president to present the truth.
• Preserving American liberties, building economic strength and international alliances while providing security for all Americans.
• Americans should be a champion of human rights, here and abroad.
• Leadership in science and technology (e.g. stem cells, alternative energy, reducing our dependence on fossil fuels)
• A strong United Nations/Internationalism

CORE VALUE: CONSERVATION
—Therefore we believe that:
• Americans should protect the environment for future generations through responsible stewardship. Environmental protection is good for the economy.

April Film Festival

We are in the planning stages of a progressive film festival that we hope will take place at the end of April. Our thought is that it will be a one day event organized around a theme of some sort. The films must be compelling and there must be an end of day treat, like a great speaker. We have some ideas about this but not at all adverse to considering others. Please feel free to talk to us here!!

July Meeting Minutes

1. Introductions of new members.

2. Sometime we worry about “talking to ourselves”. Not a problem, we need to activate our base

3) Please note that BlueWave web site has changed to a .org. New url is
http://www/bluewavenj.org

4) Subcommittee Reports:

1. Framing: Cindy Handler and Joann Zippel report on the compilation of “shared values framing that framing group has created. This is a great piece of work and will be distributed to media reform group for comments. We will then post on web and distribute to all of Blue Wave membership. We will post on blog by the end of the week.

We will share this language with George Lakoff’s Rockridge institute as well

2. Speakers: Robin reported on film festival at Wellmont, probably Saturday April 29/06. Possibly Robert Greenwald films. Early planning stage – contact Robin to help. We will be taking your suggestions for film series on the blog. Post will be there by the end of the week.

Robin put 5 ideas of “what is media reform” together in a good handout. Robing will be accepting “5 most important Media Reform Factoids” for another week. You can send them to rseidon@earthlink.net. Remember, if you only had 3 minutes to communicate the most important issues involving media reform, what would these be? Try to remain non-partisan, This issue effects everyone

3. Legislative: Rich and Ann: the Internet is important and will become more so. Wireless internet holds the best promise for internet, phone, radio and television service in the future. It is cost effective and the free flow of information would thrive taking away the gate-keeper of big business. There is a strong movement by big business to outlaw this technology at the community level. Rich’s idea is to spur legislation that would protect our right to use this technology down the road. National legislation has been proposed by McCain/Feingold. We will try and do something preemptive in NJ. Rich has written a letter to Nia Gil. We look forward to her response.

5) Group requested that I send out new blog invitations. I will do so.

6) Group requested e-mail addresses of all present be circulated among this group, will do that.

7) Keep an eye out for International World Television (find this on Google) – global independent news enterprise

8) Because framing group has completed their job for the most part, we will have to re-configure ourselves to that our new language and media factoids forward. There are several ways of doing this. At the next meeting be prepared to take action. Here are some possible ways to become involved:



Editorial Writing -organizing around a topic. Use framing language, organize editorial writing campaign – e.g. Robert Novak issue. Suzy post “ tips on letter writing for print publications.”

Work to get Democracy Now! on NJ-PBS. There are other NJ groups that may want to join the effort. Can also work to get this on Cable Access. 3 of us from group have volunteed to work on committee in Montclair, Robin Seidon is spearheading effort here. Amy Goodman will help. Free Speech TV.

Outreach/education – camera around town interviewing people about whether media is “serving the public interest”. If yes, how so. If no, why not. Then give out media fact sheet complete with important urls and url to our framing language. If appropriate, encourage them to join us

License Renewal for Comcast comes up in 2008. Is Comcast “serveing the public interest’? Is it fulfilling the obligations of it’s contract? To find out, we must have access to their contract and must become familiar with their local programming here.

The Elections of 2006 are key to turning our careening country around. Let’s come up with a platform for what is realistic and what we would like to see in terms of legislation. We must be concrete and communicate these priorities to candidates.

Newsletter? Possibly, for outreach.

Organize a boycott?

Volunteers to monitor
Legislation – Guy is going to give this a shot

Welcomers – make new folks feel welcome and bring them up to speed on info and current activities. Nancy, Carrie, Ann

Blogger – TBD

FCC – monitor still needed

Local cable monitor – still needed

New Technology Monitor - still needed


Next Media Reform Comm. Meeting: Tuesday, August 30 at 7:30-
will send contact info in e-mail

Tips for writing letters to editors of print publications

Unlike letters sent to television stations, letters sent to newspapers and magazines are frequently published. In addition to holding the publication accountable, letters to the editor offer you the potential opportunity to voice your opinion directly to their readership. With a few exceptions ñ such as advice columnists and popular opinion columnists ñ most journalists receive very few letters. If you write a good letter to a local publication, your odds of getting it published are high, and even letters to national publications stand a fair chance of getting published.

With the exception of some major national publications, most newspapers and magazines have a much smaller audience than television news. However, people who read newspapers are disproportionately more likely to vote (around the 80% range), and lawmakers pay careful attention to what is written in the local press.

Why might you write a letter to the editor?
To correct a factual error.
To provide important information that was omitted from the original story.
To criticize a bias or poor analysis.
To offer an alternative analysis or interpretation of the facts presented in the story.
To comment on an issue raised by a story (not necessarily agreeing or disagreeing with the reporter).

Here's how to write an effective letter to the editor:

1) Make one and only one focused point.

2) Keep it short. No more than 200 words, and try for about 150.

3) Reference the article to which you are responding.

4) Reveal a personal connection. Editors love authentic, even eccentric stories (as long as you keep it brief). Personal details also help readers see you as a person, not just a partisan.

5) Do not reveal an organizational or professional connection.The opinions of individuals are more likely to be read as authentic opinions. (Exception: If your organization or profession will establish you as an expert on a matter directly and essentially relevant to your point, then include it. e.g. A civil rights lawyer commenting on a reporter's interpretation of a recent Supreme Court decision.)

6) Cite facts relevant to your point. Don't just assert your position; back it up with evidence. Quote from authoritative sources and cite trustworthy statistics.

7) Match your voice to the publication. Mainstream daily newspapers usually prefer straightforward, respectful writing. Alternative publications often prefer a more controversial, even aggressive approach. Know the publication and write accordingly.

8) Use original and clever language. Editors appreciate writing that uses language in unexpected ways. Boring: "I was outraged by Connie Serve's offensive portrayal of progressives in..." Interesting: "Connie Serve may never have met a progressive she didn't loathe, but quite frankly we don't think much of her either. (And she's never once RSVPed for one of our leftist liberal lunatic parties.)"

9) E-mail or fax your note. In order to be published, letters to the editor generally must be received in a timely fashion: the same day for dailies and within 2-3 days for weeklies. Snail mail letters won't arrive on time, and phone calls don't automatically generate a paper trail. Send your letters to the reporter, the reporter's direct editor, and to whatever address the publication lists for letters to the editor. (Some publications offer online forms for letters to the editor. If you use these, you should still try to send a copy of your note to the reporter and editor.)

10) Remember to write letters praising good stories. It's easy to remember to write a letter when you disagree with a story, but positive letters also make a difference. (And most journalists receive very few positive letters.) Reporters who take noble but unpopular stands in their stories ñ perhaps angering some readers, editors or publishers ñ will have an easier time taking those stands in the future if they can point to letters praising them for their work.

11) Be careful of tangents. Letters to the editor don't have to respond only to what was written in a story. You can use the story as an opportunity to talk more broadly about a related issue not directly addressed by the reporter. Such letters are sometimes printed, but the side issue you raise must be compelling. Otherwise, the letter is unlikely to be published.
Include your full name and contact information. Editors may want to verify or clarify information in your letter. Because they may be doing this on a tight production schedule, make it easy for them to find you: Home phone, work phone, mobile phone, pager, e-mail... whatever you can give them.

12) And a special letter-writing campaign tip:
Don't give a sample letter to the people whom you are encouraging to write. Imperfect but original and authentic letters will mean more than a carefully crafted letter copied a thousand times with minor alterations. Remember that you are sending these to professional writers; they are more likely than most to recognize a form letter campaign. Give your volunteers good information and basic advice on writing a good letter, then let them write in their own words.

What It Means to be a Democrat

By Michael Merrifield, Colorado State Representative

A lady I know, a Republican – a life long Republican - will not be voting for Bush again in 2004.
“The Clean Air Act is not clean,” she says. “The conservatism is not compassionate, the Patriot Act is non-patriotic, No Child Left Behind leaves public school children behind with its dedication to vouchers and tests, and Healthy Forests is a euphemism for ‘healthy profits’ for the mining and timber industries.”
“The Republican Party,” she observes, “has been shanghaied by the zealots of the right.”
I agree. While we Democrats are not without our shortcomings, at least we attempt to recognize them and to stay true to our mainstream principals. We believe, as FDR said, that “The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.”
We abide by Andrew Jackson’s creed of “equal opportunity for all, special privileges for none.” We believe that public education is the cornerstone of the American dream. We share LBJ’s commitment to civil rights and Jimmy Carter’s devotion to human rights. We believe that government programs should be grounded in the values most Americans share: Family, work, personal responsibility, individual liberty, faith, tolerance, diversity, cooperation and inclusion. We support a woman’s right to choose in matters of her reproductive health. We believe in an ethic of mutual responsibility in which government has an obligation to create opportunity for all citizens, but citizens have an obligation to give something back to the community. We believe in being wise caretakers of the planet on which we live.
I also believe that there are many Republicans – such as the friend I just mentioned – who share these beliefs. Sadly, and frighteningly, their party has been taken over by the zealotry of the radical right.
It takes very little thought to be a zealot. In fact, thinking is anathema to zealotry. Zealots replace reason with self-righteousness. They make extremely effective campaigners and advocates and difficult opponents. How do you debate those who are convinced that God is on their side, that they have the one and only answer, and that they have the inside track to God himself (and certainly not herself!)? This zealotry is what has brought forth legislation in the Colorado General Assembly such as the “In God We Trust” bill, the Pledge of Allegiance requirement, the denial of emergency contraception information for rape victims and next year’s debate over whether to create a quota system for conservative professors at our public universities. It was also behind the Republican efforts in Texas and Colorado to redraw congressional boundaries…a zealous attempt to stifle debate and dissent. It is certainly behind Representative Davie Schultheis’ demand that all legislators sign his so-called “Defense of Marriage Pledge.”
What has happened to the Republican party nationally, and even more frighteningly, in El Paso County, reminds me of an old, but pertinent Saturday Evening Post article by Vance Bourjaily in which he states: “Disapprove of me as you will, but to try to give your disapproval the force of law is a crime against freedom.”
That’s the danger of zealotry: it jeopardizes, rather than protects, freedom. It’s a harder task by far to hold firm against the wave of zealotry than to catch the wave and ride it to political power. Democrats, progressives, and yes, thinking Republicans such as my friend, must have the courage to fight the tide until it turns. We must be passionate, not zealous….patriotic, not jingoistic….spiritual, not dogmatic.
As Democrats, we believe that NO party has a monopoly on virtue, righteousness, truth or wisdom. That recognition and the doubts that come with it are the price we pay for our ability to reason and our willingness to do so.