a cynic's guide to modern life
media carta
We... are troubled by the way information flows and the
way meaning is produced in our society.
WE HAVE LOST CONFIDENCE in what we are seeing,
hearing and reading: too much infotainment and not enough news; too many
outlets telling the same stories; too much commercialism and too much
hype. Every day, this commercial information system distorts our view of
the world.
WE HAVE LOST FAITH in the institutions of the
mass media. A handful of corporations now control more than half the
information networks around the world. At a time when people worldwide
face hunger, social disruption, war and ecological collapse, only those
who know how to walk the walk, talk the talk or pay big bucks are getting
their message across.
WE HAVE LOST HOPE that our national media
regulators will act in the public interest. Essential rules limiting media
ownership and concentration are being scrapped, while rules protecting
local content and access are diluted.
WE HAVE LOST PATIENCE waiting for reform.
WE IMAGINE A DIFFERENT SYSTEM – a media
democracy. We see great promise in the open communications of the internet
and want that openness expanded into every form of media. We envision a
global system of communications that has as its foundation the direct,
democratic participation of citizens. To this end, we demand the timely
transfer of key media sources back to the people.
As a start, we demand the right to buy radio and television airtime under
the same rules and conditions as advertising agencies. We ask our media
regulators to set aside two minutes of every broadcast hour for
citizen-produced messages. We want the six largest media corporations in
the world broken up into smaller units.
What we ultimately seek is a new human right for our information age, one
that empowers freedom of speech with the right to access the media. This
new human right is: The Right to Communicate.
WE HEREBY LAUNCH A MOVEMENT to enshrine The
Right to Communicate in the constitutions of all free nations, and in the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights.