About America Talks BackSM
America Talks BackSM is a web site that allows the public to talk back to the major media outlets and major media personalities.
In today’s world, news is still provided within a “broadcast” paradigm, in which major media outlets determine what is news, frame each story, and then present that story. It is a system rife with opportunities for distortion and bias. It is also a system in which “authority” speaks to, and thereby controls, the lay population.
It was thought that the internet might change this paradigm; and it has, to some extent. Bloggers have successfully redirected the media’s attention with regard to certain issues. However, only a small percentage of the populace seek out and read Blogs. As a result, the huge majority of the population still receives its news from the major media outlets.
Many people feel frustrated by their inability to be heard on issues raised by the major media outlets. There is widespread irritation with and distrust of polls, since the polls are commissioned by partisan interests and because polling questions can be subtly phrased to obtain a desired outcome.
Many people find themselves in a vacuum wondering what the rest of the country actually thinks about certain topics. We may be outraged by a news story, but we have no way of knowing if others are similarly outraged. If, after a few days, there is no hue and cry on that topic, we are apt to assume that the majority agree with the news story. As a result, we begin to see our own views as those of a minority.
It is time that the public be heard in some substantial way.
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