Operation: #SLAM – Stop the Lying A** Media

Media in the United States enjoys special privilege and protection under the First Amendment to the Constitution. Our Founders, in their timeless wisdom, knew the value of a press, free of government interference, serving as a watchdog and keeping the public informed. The vision was that a free press would serve to both inform the public and to serve as an additional check on the power of government.

Of course, with this power in the hands of the media, the potential for corruption was great. Until recently, the cost of presses, cameras, and other equipment concentrated the power of the press into the hands of an elite few. As a result, those controlling the media abused their power and moved from informing the public to shaping policy or aiding those that shape policy by withholding information, reporting misinformation, or simply ignoring the actions of those they serve.

Public Distrusts Traditional Media

Increasingly, the public has become aware of the biases and abuses in the media. The most recent Gallup survey on the subject shows only 28 percent have a high level of confidence in print media and only 27 percent have a high level of confidence in television media. Another poll by Rasmussen reports that 55 percent believe media bias is a bigger problem than large political contributions.

Traditional media outlets have clearly set themselves to be the arbiters of public opinion, driving public opinion, instead of reporting facts.  Mike Church, Sirius Patriot Radio, takes the issue even further, calling them the “Parrot Press Corps.” His correct assessment is that the media no longer reports the news, they simply parrot the information given to them by their masters in government or other interests. This position has gone unchallenged until recently.

Enter “New Media” Competition

Today, with the advent of YouTube and other video sharing sites, blogging, easy web domain management, and readily available technology in the hands of the general public, a new media is rising. More and more people are turning away from traditional media for their news and getting a more complete picture through the internet. As a result, traditional media purveyors of propaganda have seen their viewership and revenues slide. Many are on the verge of bankruptcy or are in the midst of large cutbacks.

However, far too many people still receive the majority of their news from traditional media outlets, and these well-meaning people are still being deliberaly misinformed. How else can you explain that a group like the Tea Party movement, whose only goal is to shrink the size and control of government, is starting to have a growingly negative opinion with the public when most Americans agree with the stated goals? The constant drum beat of “Tea Party Terrorists,” “Hostage Takers,” etc., is clearly having the desired effect.

Time to Stand Up

It’s time to stand up and say, “No more.”

But how exactly do we change the editorial slant of the media? How do we get them to report the full story on issues like “Fast And Furious” (gun sales by the U.S. government to drug cartels) and similar issues? It won’t happen by asking the media to tell the truth. There are far too many ideologues firmly entrenched in journalism.

The jugular vein of the media is where it is with any business: Money.

Reporters may not care that they are angering 40 percent of consumers with about 50 to 60 percent of purchasing power. However, their publishers have to make payroll, and they do it with advertising. Many of the traditional media outlets are public companies with boards of directors and shareholders.

Simply canceling subscriptions is not enough. Most media rely on subscription revenues for only a portion of their overall revenues. The way to attack the media and force them to tell the truth and report all the facts is to go after their sponsors.

One might ask, “What can I do? I’m just one voice.” Let’s look at recent example:

Media Matters for America, a far left supposed media watchdog group, in the past two years decided to go after Glenn Beck’s show on Fox News Channel. They could not touch Beck directly, nor would Fox News listen to such a fringe group. However, Media Matters managed to successfully motivate a rag tag group of liberals with only a couple hundred angry members to bombard Beck’s advertisers through social media, e-mail, and phone calls. One by one, many advertisers pulled away from the show. Each time, this group crowed about their accomplishment.

Now Is The Time

The timing for a similar assault from conservatives and fair minded Americans in the middle of the political spectrum could not be better.

Recent economic events have caused consumers to become very careful in their spending. Only 67 percent of American men have jobs at this time. The lowest in U.S. history. More people are on food stamps, living below the poverty line, than ever before. The consumer that still has money is deleveraging (paying off debt) and cutting back on all expenditures due to increasing fear of the economic future.

As a result, many of those already advertising in the media are already suffering reduced revenues and customer traffic in their businesses. Many of the largest corporations are also now becoming aware of the power of social media such as Twitter and Facebook and are actually hiring full time staffers to manage their online presence and engage with consumers. These businesses are maintaining accounts in social media, and increasingly, these are monitored with staff 24/7, watching for negative news, customer complaints, anything that would serve as an early warning sign with the customer base.

And finally, with decreased revenues and struggling readership and viewership numbers in the traditional media, many advertisers are seriously questioning their financial commitment to advertising in these arenas.

The timing could not be better for consumers to tell the advertisers that they have had enough of the lies and deliberate blindness of the media to the current encroaching tyranny in the lives of every day Americans. The media is vulnerable financially, and the advertisers are desperate to make sure they are not alienating a shrinking customer base.

OPERATION SLAM

The operation is simple and can be carried out with minimal organization. A few volunteers collecting information and providing it to the rest of the public to use will be sufficient to obtain the results needed. Remember, the traditional media is already vulnerable.

In the next few days, we will present a list of sponsors of various traditional media outlets. This information is already being compiled. Once we have it, we will present it to the reader in useful format including the name of the sponsor, the media outlet they are supporting with our consumer dollars, social media account contact information, e-mail addresses and phone numbers.

If a few hundred people will devote about 30 minutes to contacting the sponsors of the media, one by one, they can be peeled away.

We will start with a smaller media outlet that is already in dire financial condition, such as MSNBC. They have recently been acquired, and they are hemorrhaging cash. They are extremely vulnerable to a boycott of their sponsors.

The key to making it as success will be to have a steady drumbeat of consumer opposition to sponsorship. Sponsors must hear daily that customers are taking their business elsewhere. The sponsors must hear from a number of people all around the country, via e-mail, phone, and social media. The pressure must be relentless.

We have seen a small group of liberals push their agenda by being well organized. As a result, they have appeared to be a much larger group than they are.

We ARE the majority in America.

We ARE the consumers in America.

We ARE fed up with being lied to and our corrupt government being given shelter by an even more corrupt media.

The time is now.

Watch for updates regularly, and please e-mail, tweet, and otherwise forward this link to every freedom loving American you know.