Thanks to Matt from Diamonds for forwarding this item.
Dear friend, relative, or acquaintance of Bob McChesney,
The news media are covering the tragic murders in Virginia this
morning, and as they do an extraordinarily significant story is
slipping through the cracks.
On very rare occasions I send a message to everyone in my email
address book on an issue that I find of staggering importance and
urgency. (My address book includes pretty much everyone who emails me
in one form or another, and I apologize if you get this message more
than once.) This is one of those times.
There is a major crisis in our media taking place right now; it is
getting almost no attention and unless we act very soon the
consequences for our society could well be disastrous. And it will
only take place because it is being done without any public awareness
or participation; it goes directly against the very foundations of
freedom of the press in the entirety of American history.
The U.S. Post Office is in the process of implementing a radical
reformulation of its rates for magazines, such that smaller
periodicals will be hit with a much much larger increase than the
largest magazines.
Because the Post Office is a monopoly, and because magazines must use
it, the postal rates always have been skewed to make it cheaper for
smaller publications to get launched and to survive. The whole idea
has been to use the postal rates to keep publishing as competitive and
wide open as possible. This bedrock principle was put in place by
James Madison and Thomas Jefferson. They considered it mandatory to
create the press system, the Fourth Estate necessary for
self-government.
It was postal policy that converted the free press clause in the First
Amendment from an abstract principle into a living breathing reality
for Americans. And it has served that role throughout our history.
What the Post Office is now proposing goes directly against 215 years
of postal policy. The Post Office is in the process of implementing a
radical reformulation of its mailing rates for magazines. Under the
plan, smaller periodicals will be hit with a much larger increase than
the big magazines, as much as 30 percent. Some of the largest
circulation magazines will face hikes of less than 10 percent.
The new rates, which go into effect on July 15, were developed with no
public involvement or congressional oversight, and the increased costs
could damage hundreds, even thousands, of smaller publications,
possibly putting many out of business. This includes nearly every
political journal in the nation. These are the magazines that often
provide the most original journalism and analysis. These are the
magazines that provide much of the content on Common Dreams. We
desperately need them.
What the Post Office is planning to do now, in the dark of night, is
implement a rate structure that gives the best prices to the biggest
publishers, hence letting them lock in their market position and
lessen the threat of any new competition. The new rates could make it
almost impossible to launch a new magazine, unless it is spawned by a
huge conglomerate.
Not surprisingly, the new scheme was drafted by Time Warner, the
largest magazine publisher in the nation. All evidence available
suggests the bureaucrats responsible have never considered the
implications of their draconian reforms for small and independent
publishers, or for citizens who depend upon a free press.
The corruption and sleaziness of this process is difficult to
exaggerate. As one lawyer who works for a large magazine publisher
admits, It takes a publishing company several hundred thousand
dollars to even participate in these rate cases. Some large
corporations spend millions to influence these rates. Little guys,
and the general public who depend upon these magazines, are not at the
table when the deal is being made.
The genius of the postal rate structure over the past 215 years was
that it did not favor a particular viewpoint; it simply made it easier
for smaller magazines to be launched and to survive. That is why the
publications opposing the secretive Post Office rate hikes cross the
political spectrum. This is not a left-wing issue or a right-wing
issue, it is a democracy issue. And it is about having competitive
media markets that benefit all Americans. This reform will have
disastrous effects for all small and mid-sized publications, be they
on politics, music, sports or gardening.
This process was conducted with such little publicity and pitched only
at the dominant players that we only learned about it a few weeks ago
and it is very late in the game. But there is something you can do.
Please go to www.stoppostalratehikes.com and sign the letter to the
Postal Board protesting the new rate system and demanding a
congressional hearing before any radical changes are made. The
deadline for comments is April 23.
I know many of you are connected to publications that go through the
mail, or libraries and bookstores that pay for subscriptions to
magazines and periodicals. If you fall in these categories, it is
imperative you get everyone connected to your magazine or operation to
go to www.stoppostalratehikes.com.
We do not have a moment to lose. If everyone who reads this email
responds at www.stoppostalratehikes.com, and then sends it along to
their friends urging them to do the same, we can win. If there is one
thing we have learned at Free Press over the past few years, it is
that if enough people raise hell, we can force politicians to do the
right thing. This is a time for serious hell-raising.
And to my friends from outside the United States, I apologize for
cluttering your inbox. If you read this far, we can use your moral
support.
From the bottom of my heart, thanks.
Bob
