PoliticalTalk

We Need Increased Funding for Radio Free Middle East

One of the reasons the war in Iraq is not going as well as it could is that we are not waging the war for the minds of Arab believers like we could. In the cold war against communism, Reagan knew that winning the information and media war was as important as military strength. In my judgment, we have not done an adequate job of funding and driving messages from responsible Arab leaders into Iraq and surrounding countries.

Take a look at this daring and enlightening interview stored on the Middle East Media Research Instutute(Memri) TV Project archive! 

http://switch5.castup.net/frames/20041020_MemriTV_Popup/video_480x360.asp?ai=214&ar=1363wmv&ak=null

We should get messages like this out through every channel we have. Yes, they would know it was funded by us, but ideas have strength. We are letting the insurgents control the messages; we can't let that continue without fighting back. We need to fund a robust Radio Free Middle East and extend it to TV and the Internet!

What do you think?

Trading Newspapers for the Internet Has Political Implications

Frank Maguire (http://www.frankmaguire.com), in his most recent online e-zine, Thought News, observes that "The web is the new network news." His observations have political implications for a country that depends on an informed electorate. Here is an excerpt:

"Twenty years ago almost everyone took a newspaper. But in just the last few years, paid newspaper circulation is taking a nosedive. The Audit Bureau of Circulations just released its March 2005 to March 2006 report, and it's big news. The LA Times lost 50,000 readers, a 5% loss. The Miami Herald lost 9% of its readership, the Boston Globe lost 8%, and the San Francisco Chronicle lost a whopping 15%. But people are still getting news. According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, 56 million people visit newspapers online, an 8% increase since last year. But unlike newspapers, people are just getting snippets of information and aren't getting the full and complete story. Yahoo News, the number one news site in terms of time spent on their pages, reports that the average person spends only 30 minutes per month there. That's not much time to take in the world. If you wonder how this up-and-coming generation is spending its free time, it's not watching TV or reading newspapers. The poll showed that 84% of the respondents spend their free time on the Internet, 76% spend their time hanging out with friends, 71% watch movies and 69% watch TV. And they're not watching Katie Couric, by the way. Their favorite networks are Fox, Comedy Central, ABC, MTV and Cartoon Network. This data came from an online poll conducted by Bolt Media and reported in the May 15 issue of Advertising Age."

Neil Postman once said that Americans have a short attention span, a constant need to be entertained, and an inability to look at anything in depth. With what the newest generation is watching, there seems to be a lot of truth to that statement.

Parties are going to have to engage people where they are. They will not read long position papers. They aren't even reading long newspaper reports or 800 word op-ed columns. My suggestion is to capture stories that engage and entertain the audience while conveying important information. The West Wing entertained while communicating political values. Both parties will have to find ways to do that.

That is why I wrote the book, The Dinner: The Political Conversation Your Mother Told You Never to Have. It chronicles a fictional but factual conversation between a Democratic and Republican couple over dinner. The conversation is engaging and informative. The book takes off when the Democrats are surprised that the other couple is Republican, and they are asked to explain why.  If you are intrigued and want to learn while be entertained, try visiting http://www.thedinnerbook.com and find out more.

Now, what would you do to reach today's generation with messages that matter?

Freedom of Information Counts

Ronald Reagan may have created the military pressure and the fiscal crisis that set the stage for the fall of the Soviet Union, but it was the failure of Soviet leaders to control information that helped ensure the end of the communist regime. It was the rapid spread of banned books, VHS tapes, Bibles and early computer access that opened Russian minds to capitalism, evangelism and Western news.

When we visited Russia in 1988 with other LA business people, we saw changes with our own eyes. When I was out running, I was asked by a young Russian man to trade my Nike running shoes for two pair of Russian shoes. When I declined, he said, "You are a smart man. Those are very nice shoes. I will give you two pairs of shoes and Russian Rubles." When I refused stating how little their currency was worth, he replied, "You are a smart man, but you cannot say no to me. I have taken Dale Carnegie Training!" That line almost got my Nike's.

That young man was a rebel with a cause. He had been bitten by capitalism and was part of underground hard currency exchange that many estimated as making up nearly half of the Soviet economy at the time. Those with access to information were ready for change and thrived with the downfall of the Soviet system. They were poised to make capitalism work.

The Internet shows promise of doing the same today! Internet use in China is growing at record pace. Eventually, Middle Eastern clerics and Arab leaders will see their lock on information disappear. It will be harder for them to use controlled media and their education system to impose their will on their people.

Many are now concerned by the Internet search limitations imposed on Microsoft, Google and Yahoo just to enter the market in China. But we should rejoice that they are there. It is imperfect now, but with critical mass getting on-line, more and more will gradually find ways to circumvent the filters. Information will spread, rebels will emerge, and China's culture will change.

I trust the impact of the freedom of information in kindling freedom and opportunity in the hearts and minds of people. I also support the Bush Administration investing over $200 million in increasing the flow of information on freedom, capitalism and Western news to promote positive change in the Middle East. The war over terrorism will continue, but the war for freedom must be won one person at a time. When people realize that there are other ways of finding meaning and taking advantage of opportunity than in participating in suicide attacks, the terrorists will gradually lose their appeal. In the free world of ideas, I trust our freedoms and our values will win the day. The Internet may be the freeway to win that war. It won't be perfect, but it must be encouraged and funded.

( Source: USA Today, March 8, 2006, 10A)