| Friend,
The 2020 election cycle is almost here and we’ve been dreading it. To make the news less UGH this season we’re calling on major media networks to do better.
We deserve media that seek to tell the truth, call out lies, and disavow racism, sexism and xenophobia. All of this is essential to helping voters make informed decisions at the polls.
Join us in calling on networks and media-makers to clean up election coverage and provide the #NewsWeDeserve leading up to the 2020 election.
In 2016, cable-news networks provided the Trump campaign with billions of dollars’ worth of free media1 and an unchecked platform for spreading its hateful agenda — riddled with misinformation. It was overall a nightmare of over-the-top Trump coverage and sensationalism, marked by racial and gender bias. Attacks on journalists hit an all-time high, and with local newspapers disappearing across the country, it became harder than ever to find reliable information on local elections.
Meanwhile, the media were all too happy to profit from hate. CNN Worldwide CEO Jeff Zucker called 2016 the “best year ever” for cable news2, and then-CBS Chairman and CEO Les Moonves said “[Trump’s campaign] may not be good for America, but it's damn good for CBS.”3 😱
This can’t happen again. That’s why we’re calling on major news networks to do better in 2020: Demand that networks and media-makers report the #NewsWeDeserve this election cycle.
We’re depending on the news to give us real reporting and information as we approach November 2020’s general election. The misinformation and journalistic bias that defined the last election cannot stand this time around.
We need major media networks to defend their hallowed place in our democracy by protecting journalism and journalists. It’s our job to hold them accountable.
But we need your help to get our message across.
Sign the petition calling on news networks to learn from their mistakes in 2016: it’s time to do better and provide the #NewsWeDeserve.
Thanks for all you do—
Lucia, Collette, Candace and the rest of the Free Press Action team
freepress.net
P.S. We’re worried that news networks might not have learned anything from 2016. So we’re here to hold them accountable: Sign the petition calling on networks and media-makers to clean up election coverage and provide the #NewsWeDeserve leading up to the 2020 election.
1. “Donald Trump Rode $5 Billion in Free Media to the White House,” The Street, Nov. 20, 2016: https://act.freepress.net/go/31180?t=9&akid=12915%2E10296224%2E_5Zza5. 2. “Jeff Zucker Talks Trump TV and CNN's Ratings Hot Streak: We've ‘Outshined Everybody,’” The Hollywood Reporter, Oct. 27, 2016: https://act.freepress.net/go/31181?t=11&akid=12915%2E10296224%2E_5Zza5 3. “Leslie Moonves on Donald Trump: ‘It May Not Be Good for America, but It's Damn Good for CBS,’” The Hollywood Reporter, Feb. 29, 2016: https://act.freepress.net/go/31182?t=13&akid=12915%2E10296224%2E_5Zza5 |
