whorulesamerica.net - a great website

http://sociology.ucsc.edu/whorulesamerica/index.html

It's run by William Domhoff, a sociologist and research professor at UC Santa Cruz who offers tips from his perspective on what the left should do to successfully organize and implement its values. It's a pretty dense read, but i think it would do great service here since DU is a major forum for liberal/progressives who are interested in taking the inititive in organizing.

Thanks for this resource, definitely bookmark material. :patriot:
And some good stuff about the importance of social networks in the managerial class, none of it conspiratorially minded either, I might add.

had to chuckle though when I saw the URL -- whorulesamerica.net
at first I read it as WHORES rule america -- works for me both ways... :rofl:

But rather that the "leftist program" that is unappealing to most people.

Fact is that "leftist programs" get very little coverage in the MSM - if any at all.
For instance, how much time did Kucinich get on FOX to explain his progressive views? Well then.

The site is concerned with "who rules America" but does not acknowledge the role of the media as a means to rule.
That to me is suspicious.



Stop Blaming the Media!
by G. William Domhoff
October 2005
http://sociology.ucsc.edu/whorulesamerica/change/media.html

"Like everyone else, progressives have a strong tendency to blame the media for their failures. As horrible as the media can be, they are not the problem. Blaming the media becomes an excuse for not considering the possibility that much of the leftist program is unappealing to most people..."

<snip>

The general leftist view of the media begins with the fact that ownership and control of the media are highly concentrated, and growing more so all the time. It also stresses that the media are based on advertising dollars, which makes them sensitive to the concerns of big corporate advertisers. The media are also said to be biased because they rely on easy sources of information like government officials, corporate leaders, and experts. Constant criticism of the media by their advertisers and other corporate leaders keep them in line, as do shouts of "collectivism" and anti-Americanism when they print something the powers that be do not like. Finally, the media are said to play a big role in setting the agenda in terms of what issues people think are important enough for the government to address.

There is a little something to be said for each part of this overall analysis, but taken as a whole it greatly overstates the case. It also ignores the many openings that are available to left activists when they learn how to use the media for their own purposes. In addition, it overlooks the way in which the media can be bypassed on some occasions.



It should be obvious that "some occasions" isn't nearly enough.
People's opinion (public opinion) is formed by what people hear repeatedly, not by what people hear on "some occasions".