Join the Boston Progressive Media Watch

Progressives need a media watch in Boston. It's been too long since we've had a dedicated group of folks on the broad political left who have been willing to keep an eye on the regional media and offer criticism and corrective to coverage that isn't up to snuff by standards of democracy and social justice. In fact, the last time such a group existed most people were not getting their news on the web - and the media watchdogs were doing their thing via letters and phone calls. But much has changed for the news industry in the last decade.

Every significant news outlet in the nation now puts its content on the web, virtually every one of those outlets accepts direct commentary online. Much of that commentary, looking at any major Boston area newspaper or TV news show website on any recent day, is coming from the political right. And much of what pressure is put on the dwindling and weakened news media is coming from that quarter as well.

This is problematic for a variety of reasons, but probably the most important one is that there are critical issues in the news right now where the left perspective is absent or else our voice is so faint as to be functionally invisible. On the international level, the Israeli War on Gaza is an obvious example of this kind of situation - at least as regards the American media - but we're just as concerned about the situation right here at home.

Every day, the financial crisis is deepening. More layoffs, more foreclosures, more cuts in public services, more immiseration ... and how does the local and state government respond? Do they talk about raising taxes on the rich and corporations that can afford to pay to raise needed public funds? No. They talk about raising regressive taxes that hit working people. They talk about privatizing public services on the Mass. Turnpike. They talk about wage freezes on public workers. They talk about "belt tightening" as the CEOs who created this looming new economic depression run free and take huge amounts of public money to keep their lifestyles up while there's nary a bailout in sight for the rest of us.

So when, for example, Gov. Patrick says there's no money to be had, and there have to be huge cuts to education or healthcare or name-your-critical-public-good and huge layoffs of public workers, the media reports it - and fair enough that they do - but the voice of the opposition is generally either absent or one quick line from one professor at one of our many fine local colleges.

Oftentimes there are significant organizations and coalitions mobilizing on the ground on precisely the issues being discussed, but you'd never know it. Many of these folks don't have time or wherewithal to organize a long term media response to the endless drumbeat of neoliberal policy. Maybe a couple of folks respond in the comment section of one news outlet's website, and now and again maybe an advocate gets a letter to the editor (or station manager) published (or broadcast). But this is rare.

What we need is a lively group of progressive folks that are willing to work together to a) spot stories that seem slanted too much in favor of corporations and the political right or center, b) share them with other like-minded people, and c) comment on those stories with the immediacy that the web allows us.

As it happens, technology makes this kind of group reasonably straightforward to bring together, and we've decided to do just that here at Open Media Boston.

Starting today, we're pleased to announce the launch of the Boston Progressive Media Watch. We invite everyone on the left side of the political fence who is kind of a news hound, and loves to keep up on local and regional happenings, to join up.

And becoming a Watchdog is easy. Here's what you do.

1) Go to http://www.openmediaboston.org/media-watch-signup

2) Fill out the very short signup form - including your full name, city, state, and email.

3) Expect a response email within 24-48 hours.

That's it. Once you're signed up, we'll put you on a low-traffic, moderated, members-only email list, and invite you all to submit tips on news coverage on local and state issues that you think need a fast response from a dozen or three progressives. We'll also give you more detailed instructions about how you can participate. In general, you can decide which of the tips we post that you'd like to act on and which you wouldn't. You get to be a media activist. You get to have a real effect on the public debate. And all from the comfort of your own computer.

We'll run the Media Watch in a low key way like that for a while, but at a minimum we fully expect that we can help shift the balance of commentary of the Boston media to the left on some critical issues of the day. Plus, we hope to have a positive effect on the reporters who will certainly read our comments and critiques, and maybe change their minds about how they should best cover certain issues and events.

In really critical situations, the Media Watch will also function as a center of protest against straight-out bad or propagandistic news coverage, but the important thing is for this effort to be a constant drum beat for better and broader news coverage every day of every week.

So sign up today and check it out.

One click.

http://www.openmediaboston.org/media-watch-signup

We think that an easy step to take towards a better news media.