We lost a giant in journalism on June 26 -- Bill Moyers. In his long career in journalism, Moyers was a persistent, honest voice exposing the nexus of corporate and political power and corruption, especially in regards to corporate media. You'll see that his analyses are just as relevant today as they ever were. Here are just a few examples of his insights, which hopefully encourage you to read more from him:
"The corporate right and the political right declared class war on working people a quarter of a century ago and they've won. The rich are getting richer, which arguably wouldn't matter if the rising tide lifted all boats. But the inequality gap is the widest it's been since l929; the middle class is besieged and the working poor are barely keeping their heads above water. The corporate and governing elites are helping themselves to the spoils of victory -- politics, when all is said and done, comes down to who gets what and who pays for it -- while the public is distracted by the media circus and news has been neutered or politicized for partisan purposes." -- Moyers in a interview with BuzzFlash, October 28, 2003, on the corporate elites' war on the middle and working class.
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"We're not just talking about the media here; we're talking about democracy and what kind of country America's going to be. It's too late to transform the global structure of media ownership or Wall Street's appetite for higher and higher profits no matter the cost to journalism. But we can fight for more accountability to democracy by the big companies, we can encourage alternative and independent journalism, and we keep our searchlights trained on the towers of power, including the contradictions, absurdities and excesses of the right-wing media that now dominate the public discourse.
"That's just the beginning. We have to get people involved in the crucial public policy fights that are taking place. Over the last decade there's been an astonishing explosion of new-media diversity, as online and other digital media have made more outlets for expression possible. The Internet has enabled many new voices in our democracy to be heard, including those of advocacy groups, artists and nonprofit organizations. Just about anyone can speak up online, and often with an impact far greater than in the days when orators had to step onto a soap box and address passersby in a park. The virtual soap box has the potential to reach anyone, anywhere, anytime -- and to spread virally good ideas and good works of journalism. It's where people can fight back." -- Moyers, same BuzzFlash interview, on fighting for accountability and media diversity.
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"I'm going out telling the story that I think is the biggest story of our time: how the right-wing media has become a partisan propaganda arm of the Republican National Committee. We have an ideological press that's interested in the election of Republicans, and a mainstream press that's interested in the bottom line. Therefore, we don't have a vigilant, independent press whose interest is the American people." -- Moyers to the Associated Press, December 10, 2004, on his retirement from PBS and broadcast journalism.
(h/t Silver Spring Bureau Chief Brian)
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