Back to NewsThe Influence of Powerful Media
THE GIST
On October 15th it was revealed that Fox anchor Sean Hannity’s team had been reaching out to pressure GOP members of congress opposed to Jim Jordan’s appointment to speaker.
SHOULD WE CARE?
Damn right! Unfortunately, our media being biased to one side or the other has become nothing new. This story is just one example of the layers of influence that corporate America, including mega media outlets, can have over politicians, and it comes from both sides. In 2016, investigations by Politico and other outlets confirmed that CNN had leaked debate questions to acting DNC chair Donna Brazile, who then shared them with the Hillary Clinton campaign ahead of multiple scheduled CNN town hall debates.
HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE?
Congress members of both parties arrive in Washington already under the thumb of their corporate donors. Virtually zero members of congress today were elected without the help of PAC funds. Much ado was made of democratic pledges to disavow corporate donations, but investigations into those claims and promises have shown them to be little more than propaganda. To date, republicans have made no notable claims to refuse corporate cash.
To make matters worse, as soon as they arrive in Washington, members of congress are expected to spend 30 hours a week fundraising for their party and for their next campaign, up from 20 hours a week in 2012. That’s right- instead of working for us, our tax dollars are largely paying Congress members to raise money for themselves!
Some members have been critical of this wasteful (and corruption inviting) side of congressional workload. Rep. Dean Phillips of Minnesota introduced the On The Clock Act in 2022, which attempts to “prohibit members of Congress from directly soliciting campaign contributions while their respective chamber of Congress is in session.” As of October 2023, its status in Congress is still just “introduced.”
Because of the powerful impact that media coverage has on election campaigns, this puts all news media in a dangerously powerful position. Implied threats like those from Fox to Congress members this month are nothing new, and they illustrate how our elected officials are more at the beck and call of corporate media giants than they are beholden to US, the voter. If these media powerhouses stop giving any one politician screen time, that politician will have far more trouble fundraising and may soon find themselves out of a job.
DRIVING THE MYTH OF OUR DISAGREEMENTS
Directly connected to media’s power over Congress is the increased impact that extremists in both parties have upon the broader electorate. Studies have shown that extreme members of both parties enjoy far more time on air than do moderates. Showcasing extreme views over those of moderates is largely to blame for the divided electorate plaguing America today. A sad reality, when the truth our media could be showcasing is that the majority of Americans to do not align with extreme views, and in fact actually agree on almost everything.
THIS IS NUTS! HOW CAN THIS CHANGE?
Sound undemocratic? Of course- it doesn’t resemble democracy in any way. That our media, which not long ago was held accountable for bias, is now legally able to bend congress to its whim should absolutely terrify us.
The first step to getting corrupt media influence out of government is to get rid of our donation-based campaign process. In other more representative democracies around the globe, the potential corruption of campaign funds has been minimized by means such as forbidding candidates from advertising on TV, by giving them all free air time, publicly funding all campaigns, and forbidding any campaigning until a short time before the election.
We need to demand mostly tax funded, equitable campaigns and campaign regulations, with reasonable donation and spending limits for all state and federal elections.
Next, we demand that the Fairness Doctrine be reinstated into law, which will help get our “news” outlets back to something resembling honest, fair, unbiased coverage, not attempting to bully congress for the benefit of corporate donors and sponsors.
Without the need to spend all of their time worrying about fundraising screen time, and by regulating the bias in media we can get our Congress members out of the lime light and back to law-making!!!
Tell your state and federal Congress members, and especially anyone on the campaign trail that you only stand for…and will only vote for candidates who will promise these changes for US, the American majority!