Journalist 1: “Did you see those protesters outside? There were some really wild signs they were waving around.”
Journalist 2: “Apparently the people want to hear how the candidates would substantially cut military spending.”
Journalist 3: “No—that is a non starter—they both want to increase military spending.”
Journalist 1: “Yes—and there are some people that want them to debate how to break up the too big to fail bank.”
Journalist 3: “Again- smell the coffee people. No difference between them there.”
Journalist 2: “What about breaking up the big media companies?”
Journalist 1: “Are you crazy? That is how we got this gig.”
Journalist 3: “Exactly.”
Journalist 2: “Should we ask them to debate the restrictions on liberty and the invasions of personal privacy?”
Journalist 1: “Well isn’t trampling on the Constitution justified by the war on terror?”
Journalist 3: “It’s doesn’t matter—they both agree on it.”
Journalist 2: “Should we have them talk about the outsourcing of jobs and tax avoidance by multinational corporations?”
Journalist 1: “Who do you think is sponsoring this debate?
Journalist 3: “And candidates? And our networks?”
Journalist 2: “I guess we should get the appearance of a different point of view in here.”
Journalist 1: “With leaders of the two parties co-chairing the debates? That is never going to happen.”
Journalist 3: “It clearly seems to be two parties with one owner.”
Journalist 2: “Well my concern, from the perspective of television ratings, is how do we make this interesting when there really isn’t much difference between them?”
Journalist 3: “Stick with the social distraction topics. We’ve been talking about that for 30 years. Sex and sexuality—and that is always a good with viewers for ratings.”
Journalist 1: “Exactly: gay marriage, abortion,, pedophilia, birth control”
Journalist 2: “and don’t forget legitimate rape.”
Journalist 3: “Oh, good one, we can spend at least 15 minutes on legitimate rate alone.”
The Man With The Crown: “If you want to change the direction and future of this country then we need a different point of view. The two candidates are not going to be talking about the real issues: exploding debt, unfair taxation, two standards of justice, and corporate control of what used to be our democracy. If you want to see these and other issues fixed : Occupy the debates.”
We’re not backing down in the face of Trump’s threats.
As Donald Trump is inaugurated a second time, independent media organizations are faced with urgent mandates: Tell the truth more loudly than ever before. Do that work even as our standard modes of distribution (such as social media platforms) are being manipulated and curtailed by forces of fascist repression and ruthless capitalism. Do that work even as journalism and journalists face targeted attacks, including from the government itself. And do that work in community, never forgetting that we’re not shouting into a faceless void – we’re reaching out to real people amid a life-threatening political climate.
Our task is formidable, and it requires us to ground ourselves in our principles, remind ourselves of our utility, dig in and commit.
As a dizzying number of corporate news organizations – either through need or greed – rush to implement new ways to further monetize their content, and others acquiesce to Trump’s wishes, now is a time for movement media-makers to double down on community-first models.
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