Tell the Media we can't believe there are no civilian casualties in Iraq, as the mainstrean media is reporting.

Take Action:

Contact CNN and Fox News Channel.

CNN, Washington Bureau: 202-898-7900 (ask for the news room)

CNN President, Walter Isaacson: 404-827-1500

Fox News Channel: 212-301-3000 (Jama Vitale), FAX: 212-301-4224

Fox News Channel Comment Line: 888-369-4762; comments@foxnews.com

ABC News: 212-456-4040

CBS News: 212-975-3691

NBC News: 212-664-4971

MSNBC News: 201-583-5000

Alternative Information

You can find a variety of analytical articles and news stories on the following websites: www.commondreams.org, www.alternet.org, www.zmag.org, www.indymedia.org.

On radio, tune in to KPFA 94.1 FM in the San Francisco Bay Area. In other parts of the country, tune in to Democracy Now! at your local Pacifica affiliate station; or check out your community radio station. You can hear Democracy Now on the web at www.wbix.org. You can hear Flashpoints as well as archived DN shows at Flashpoints.org. For a complete list of radio stations and websites see below.

Talking Points:

1. Their coverage needs to include pacifist perspectives. So far the discussions in the mainstream media have centered on which form of violent retribution is preferred. Avoiding discussion of other responses, including non-violent ones, contributes to an atmosphere that further perpetuates the cycle of violence.

2. Their coverage needs to include perspectives that oppose racist and xenophobic stereotyping and behavior, especially against Arabs and Arab Americans. Although outlets have covered the recent spate of hateful attacks on Arab Americans, there need to be voices included that explicitly defend immigrants. Immigrants of all backgrounds have always been, and are today, a central part of U.S. society and our many communities.

3. Their coverage needs to include analysis of the root causes that led the people who perpetrated the attacks on Tuesday to want to kill thousands of civilians (and themselves too). One such root cause is the longstanding, widespread, and devastating violence that has been the result of U.S. foreign policy. Some recent examples include the U.S.-driven sanctions on Iraq which have killed more than 1.5 million children, the billions of dollars in military aid to Colombia which the U.S. has used to fuel a deadly civil war, and the hundreds of millions of dollars in military aid to Israel to enforce an occupation in violation of numerous U.N. resolutions.

Additionally, reporters should acknowledge the role of the United States in training and aiding many parties that the U.S. government subsequently has labeled as "terrorists"(e.g. Saddam Hussein, Osama bin Laden, etc.). Reporting that the terrorists "are against American values" and "hate our freedom" is inadequate.

4. Their coverage needs to include perspectives that oppose new policies that will use the recent attack as a pretext to increase military spending, fast track Star Wars, and curtail civil liberties.

People who can speak to these topics can easily be found by CNN and Fox News Channel through the websites listed above or through the Institute for Public Accuracy, www.accuracy.org.

Other possible actions:

-Forward a list of alternative news sources (above) to friends and family who aren’t already familiar with these media outlets.

- Write a letter to the editor of a newspaper (SF Chronicle, letters@sfchronicle.com; NYT, letters@nytimes.com; LA Times, letters@latimes.com).

-Call in to radio talk shows that don’t include the perspectives described above (AM: KGO 810 AM, 415-808-0810).

NBC: 202-885-4259

ABC: 212-456-4040

CBS: 212-957-3691

For More Info on Alternative News go to
http://www.media-alliance.org/pacifica/peace.html

MEDIA CHALLENGE ! - an action from Peace Coalitions
Latest Action Plan: April 14 2003 - April 27, 2003

The airwaves belong to the people. For a democracy to work, its citizens must be well-informed. Unbalanced coverage by NBC, MSNBC, CBS, ABC, Fox and CNN deprive Americans of the information they need to make wise choices. Join the second round of the Media Challenge! mass Call-In Campaign and request balanced coverage of the war in Iraq. The calls are beginning to work...Keep them going.
We suggest you focus your new requests to TV bosses on these two issues:

1. FOLLOW THE CIVILIANS: Embed reporters in hospitals and neighborhoods to cover the daily lives of Iraqis. Cover ALL casualites and the cumulative impact of sanctions, war and now occupation. Tell TV bosses it's not their job to hide the dark side. This includes the huge impact of depleted uranium shells on Iraqi civilians, Gulf War veterans and, potentially, U.S. troops.

2. FOLLOW THE MONEY: Call for in-depth coverage of war profiteering by companies and individuals who promoted this war or contributed heavily to Administration campaign coffers and for daily reporting on the devastating impact of huge federal budget cuts in education, healthcare, veterans benefits, childcare, poverty relief and transportation as money shifts to these companies.

Monday: ABC NEWS CHIEF David Westin. 212.456.6200. fax: 212.456.4292.... NEWS DIRECTOR Mimi Gurbst. 212 456 4050 fax.212 456 2795...... ABC SWITCHBOARD (ASK FOR NEWSROOM) 212.456-7777. NEWSROOM fax 212.456.2795

Tuesday: MSNBC NEWS CHIEF Mark Effron. 201.583.5101. fax: 201.583.5199 mark.effron@msnbc.com ..... MSNBC NEWS DIRECTOR Alison Hawley. 201 583 5155. fax. 201 583 5512......MSNBC SWITCHBOARD (ASK FOR NEWSROOM) 201.583.5000 fax: 201.583.5590

NBC NEWS CHIEF Neil Shapiro. 212.664.4773. fax: 212.664.2264[ neal.shapiro@nbc.com ....NEWS DIRECTOR Thomas Ferraro 201 583 5231 fax. 201 583 5222....NBC SWITCHBOARD (ASK FOR NEWSROOM) 212.664.4444. fax: 201.583.5453

Wednesday: CBS NEWS CHIEF Andrew Hayward. 212.975.7825. fax: 212.975.7429. mg3@cbsnews.com ....NEWS DIRECTOR Marty Gill 212 975 6121 fax. 212 975 4114....CBS SWITCHBOARD (ASK FOR NEWSROOM) 212.975.4321 fax: 212.975.1893

Thursday: CNN NEWS CHIEF Walter Isaacson. 404.827.5111. fax: 404.827.4215. walter.isaacson@cnn.com NEWS DIRECTOR Kim Bondy. 404 827 1500. fax. 404 827 1099...CNN SWITCHBOARD (ASK FOR NEWSROOM). 404.827.1500. cnnfutures@cnn.com

PBS FACTUAL PROGRAMMING CHIEF Sandy Heberer 703.739.5036... NEWS CHIEF SANDY SOWERS 703-998-2150 newshour@pbs.org ....PBS SWITCHBOARD (ASK FOR NEWSROOM) 703.998.2600.

Friday: FOX NEWS CHIEF: John Moody. 212.301.8560. fax: 212.398.8726. john.moody@foxnews.com .... NEWS DIRECTOR Kathleen Ardleigh 212 3013186 fax. 212-301-5067....FOX SWITCHBOARD (ASK FOR NEWSROOM) 212.575.4670. fax: 212.301.8274

Besides the daily calls, WHENEVER YOU SEE OR HEAR BIASED COVERAGE, CALL THE NEWS CHIEFS AND/OR NEWSROOMS AND INSIST ON RESPONSIBLE, IN-DEPTH JOURNALISM. There is plenty every day to call about. Calls are best because they must halt misinforming the public while they deal with you. If you can't reach policy makers, fax or e-mail.

MEDIA CHALLENGE! is co-sponsored by: Projects4Peace, ICUJP (Interfaith Communities United for Justice and Peace), Neighbors for Peace and Justice, Coalition for World Peace, Global Guardianship Initiative, Code Pink for Peace, Peace on the Beach, Peace Warriors, LA International A.N.S.W.E.R., Not in Our Name, Global Women’s Strike and Southern Cal. Americans for Democratic Action.

Work with Media Challenge! on Reclaiming Our Democracy
Media Challenge! is engaged in a longterm campaign to break the stranglehold five television companies have on what the public gets to know and therefore the hold they have on our democracy. 58% of the public relies on General Electric (MSNBC and NBC) News Corp. (Fox), Disney (ABC), AOL-Time Warner (CNN) and Viacom (CBS) for its information. This is far too much power in a democracy for a handful of profit driven companies whose "news" deceives more than it reveals.

Our "Call the Bosses" campaign is the first major action we have undertaken to force change in the system. Others we are now encouraging for those who have time and/or commitment are:
Contact the FCC and your Congressperson and Senators to block the proposed "deregulation" of media which will permit even more monopoly consolidation of electronic media than we now have and further jeopardize our democracy. This is urgent as the FCC is expected to act before June. Contact info is below.
Cancel your cable news stations and tell your cable operator you are doing so to protest their abuse of "news" coverage, particularly the one-sided drift of the networks to providing propaganda for those in power. Most local cable companies do not include the cable news networks (CNN, FOX and MSNBC) in their "basic" service. Most subscribers pay additional for them and they usually come "bundled" with several other networks in what the cable industry calls a "tier." You can cancel this tier if you are willing to forego the other networks bundled with the cable news networks. Encourage others to do the same.
Sell stock you may hold in any of the five companies and encourage others to do the same. If you invest through a "screened fund," ask the fund to delist these companies on the grounds that they are socially irresponsible businesses.
For more information about Media Challenge! and what the news networks are not telling you go to projects4peace.org and click on Media.
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How to Contact the FCC

To contact via phone (highly encouraged along with emails): Chairman Powell (202) 418-1000

To have MediaTank.org send an email message to the FCC calling for a halt to media conglomeration and breakup of the media giants that are abetting this war, go to http://mediatank.org/fcc_webform2.html

To Contact the Commissioners directly via E-mail

Chairman Michael K. Powell: mpowell@fcc.gov
Commissioner Kathleen Q. Abernathy: kabernat@fcc.gov
Commissioner Michael J. Copps: mcopps@fcc.gov
Commissioner Kevin J. Martin: kjmweb@fcc.gov
Commissioner Jonathan S. Adelstein: jadelste@fcc.gov

To Write letters to any or all commissioners:

Federal Communications Commission
445 12th Street, SW
Washington, DC 20554

Sample FCC Email, Letter or Comment. Also can be used for Congress.

Dear Commissioner:

Regarding the upcoming FCC vote, further consolidation of the media in the false name of "deregulation" must be halted and in fact reversed. TV and radio news in the hands of a handful of profit-driven corporations has undermined our democracy more than any other modern force except the high cost of broadcast commercials during elections. The media companies have failed in their public trust to provide crucial unbiased information to the public about most public issues, most notably the drive to war in Iraq. As an American concerned about our democracy, I call on you to break up the media conglomerates, to open the spectrum to a wide diversity of organizations and independent journalists, and to reinstate the Fairness Doctrine.

Thank you,

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