Dear Ken,

John Moody, Fox News Channel's VP of News, has responded with disdain to the idea of mass action to encourage better reporting of the elections. Since early March, Media for Democracy members have written more than 15,000 letters to Fox and other news outlets urging more coverage of the electronic voting debate -- coverage they had failed to provide in depth since the issue gained national attention.

http://www.mediafordemocracy.us/campaign/evote

Tim Karr -- Media for Democracy
m...@mediachannel.org
July 16 2004

Today, Mr. Moody -- whose now infamous newsroom memos http://www.mediachannel.org/views/dissector/affalert228.shtml dictating issues to be covered at Fox are showcased in Robert Greenwald's film "OUTFOXED:Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism" -- sent a missive to a Media for Democracy member who had asked Fox to stop giving "light treatment" to electronic voting.

Here's what Moody wrote:

"I'd take your sentiment a lot more seriously if you actually wrote your own words, instead of cutting and pasting the dictates of some advocacy group. our 'light treatment?' how would you know?"

This follows several other notes sent by Moody to our members, most consisting of only one word ("no") in reply to requests for Fox coverage of important election-year issues. Here's our response to Moody:

"Dear Mr. Moody,

"Thank you for taking the time to write Media for Democracy members on Fox's coverage of the electronic voting debate. With all due respect, Media for Democracy's research on Fox's "light treatment" of the issue formed the basis for our email campaign in the first place. Would you care to see our analysis?

"The organizing principle behind our work is based on the idea that citizens who cannot afford to be represented by wealthy lobbyists have the right and the duty to work together to contact mainstream media outlets to promote more responsible reporting.

"Like Fox News, Media for Democracy IS an advocacy group. Unlike Fox, we are not ashamed to admit it. Media for Democracy advocates more accountable and democratic journalism.

"Given your apparent disdain for our methods, how do you suggest the public contact Fox News to express its concerns about coverage?"

It is ironic that Fox which reports favorably on so many pro-Bush Administration letter writing crusades gets testy when thousands of viewers urge them to offer "objective coverage" of important election-year issues.

The fact that Fox's Moody is willing to write at all -- albeit in a nasty and pejorative manner -- is a sign that email campaigns like ours do get a response. A prominent anchor at CNN responded in similar fashion to a Media for Democracy request for a dialogue, calling us all 'lemmings' for taking action http://www.mediachannel.org/mediaocracy/aaronbrown.html using an electronic advocacy format.

And then, surprise, in the next six weeks CNN broadcast three times as many stories on electronic voting than they given viewers in the previous six months -- denying, of course, that they had been influenced by their own viewers.

Fox -- now under escalating attack for its credibility -- may likely do the same. Keep the pressure up by sending your letter to Moody today. Recognizing that passions about Fox News run high among our members, it's important to remember to keep your letters short and courteous.

Thank You, The Media for Democracy Team

You can take action on this alert either via email (please see directions below) or via the web at: http://www.mediafordemocracy.us/campaign/moody/w83n6gu2yibjwe

Visit the web address below to tell your friends about this. http://www.mediafordemocracy.us/campaign/moody/forward/w83n6gu2yibjwe

We encourage you to take action by November 2, 2004

Send Moody a 'Memo'

INSTRUCTIONS TO RESPOND VIA THE WEB: If you have access to a web browser, you can take action on this alert by going to the following URL:

http://www.mediafordemocracy.us/campaign/moody/w83n6gu2yibjwe

INSTRUCTIONS TO RESPOND VIA EMAIL: Just choose the "reply to sender" option on your email program.

Your letter will be addressed and sent to: Fox News Senior VP John Moody

----THIS LETTER WILL BE SENT IN YOUR NAME----

Dear [decision maker name automatically inserted here],

Thank you for taking the time to write Media for Democracy members on Fox's coverage of the electronic voting debate. With all due respect, Media for Democracy's research on Fox's "light treatment" of the issue formed the basis for our email campaign in the first place.

The organizing principle behind our work is based on the idea that citizens who cannot afford to be represented by wealthy lobbyists have the right and the duty to work together to contact mainstream media outlets to promote more responsible reporting.

Like Fox News, Media for Democracy IS an advocacy group. Unlike Fox, we are not ashamed to admit it. Media for Democracy ADVOCATES more accountable and democratic journalism.

Given your apparent disdain for our methods, how would you suggest the public contact Fox News to express its concern about your coverage?

----END OF LETTER TO BE SENT----

Sincerely, Ken Alston

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