Seton Motley's blog on NewsBusters.org |
GLENN: All right. So I got a briefing this morning about a guy, about a guy about a guy. Robert McChesney. He is from the University of Illinois. And also John Bellamy Foster. They are two of the three co founders of Free Press. The guy who has been looking into this is Seton Motley of the Media Research Center and contributor at NewsBusters.org. Seton, why should I care about, why should I care about who Robert McChesney is?
MOTLEY: Well, Robert McChesney is an avowed Marxist. So when he found an organization predicated on tenets regarding Marxism and then they start having large influence and holding great sway in the development of policy for the Obama administration, I believe one should care about what McChesney has to say. I'll
GLENN: Has he ever said anything about September 11th? Or has he ever called the Republicans a bad name?
MOTLEY: I'm not sure if he's a Truther.
GLENN: Okay.
MOTLEY: That I don't know about.
GLENN: We should look into that because that's apparently the only thing the press cares about when they find a Marxist.
MOTLEY: Right. They might name other offenses, but if you are a Truther, forget it.
GLENN: Okay.
MOTLEY: No, McChesney has a very distorted view of the first amendment. He views the media marketplace in the same way that Mark Lloyd, the chief diversity officer
GLENN: Of the FCC.
MOTLEY: Af the FCC views the media marketplace, meaning he doesn't like any private ownership of media. His quote with regard to the First Amendment is a little disturbing. To the extent commercial activities are given First Amendment protection, it makes the rule of capital increasingly off in the political debate and government regulation. In my view progressives need to stake out a Democratic remember how Lloyd used Democratic to describe Chavez's revolution interpretation of the First Amendment and do direct battle with the Orwellian implications of the ACLU's commercialized First Amendment. So when you are to the left of the ACLU, how far from the path have you strayed?
GLENN: Well, but you also have on your own board at the Free Press you have oh, that's weird. Van Jones.
MOTLEY: Van Jones is on the board of the Free Press.
GLENN: Okay. And what a surprise. He is at the University of Illinois.
MOTLEY: Yes.
GLENN: That is so weird. All right.
MOTLEY: It's a series of coincidences.
GLENN: Okay. Here's, in December 2008 in an op ed he said on the U.S. economic crisis, he was quoted as saying, quote: There is no real answer but to remove brick by brick the capitalist system itself, rebuilding the entire society on socialist principles.
MOTLEY: Yes. There's our guy.
GLENN: He is having meetings at the FCC or where is he having meetings?
MOTLEY: Well, Vince Scott is his policy director, and he had three disclosed meetings developing Internet policy with the FCC.
GLENN: Okay.
MOTLEY: But it goes beyond just that because FCC chairman Julius Genachowski named former Free Press spokeswoman Jen Howard as his press secretary.
GLENN: For who?
MOTLEY: For Julius Genachowski, the chairman of the FCC. The Free Press spokeswoman was Jen Howard and she is now Genachowski's press secretary.
GLENN: That is really weird. Let me just go through some of these quotes. On media reform he argued that, quote: Any serious effort to reform the media system would have to necessarily be part I'm quoting of a revolutionary program to overthrow the capitalist system itself.
MOTLEY: Yes. Once again, once again we found another radical leftist that has its tentacles in the Obama administration.
GLENN: He is also a strong defender of Venezuelan, Hugo Chavez?
MOTLEY: Right. And he, too, like Mark Lloyd admires the way Chavez has handled the media in his country and actually wants thought that the last lone free TV station should actually be tried for treason.
GLENN: Okay. Let me tie this in now to a couple of stories that we do know about, that we've talked about on the program here just yesterday. America, if you were listening yesterday, you heard me tell you that there was this new how do we save journalism? This new study done by the FTC where they're talking about maybe the government should have, you know, special tax breaks for certain kinds of news organizations. Maybe we should have new laws to help maybe we should bail newspapers, et cetera, et cetera out. How can we help?
This guy also wrote something here on the substantial intervention by the government in journalism. He wrote, quote: Only government can implement policies and subsidies to provide an institutional framework for quality journalism. The Democratic state, the government, must create the conditions for sustaining journalism so that it can provide the people with information they need to be their own governors.
So this sounds exactly like what's coming out of the FTC now.
MOTLEY: Exactly right. And again look at his use of the word "Democratic."
GLENN: Oh, yeah, I know.
MOTLEY: Every time they say Democratic, think Marxist because that's what they mean. But yes, no, this is what the FTC's talking about. And don't forget, at the FCC when Commissioner Michael Copps was acting chairman awaiting the confirmation of Genachowski, he started a notice of inquiry which is the first step in a notice of rule making at the FCC called this state of media journalism, which is along the lines of what the FTC is talking about. They want to look at top to bottom the business of radio and television and print journalism and how the government can probably play a greater role in making it into our Democratic process.
GLENN: But only helping.
MOTLEY: Yes.
GLENN: Then eliminating advertising on media, he says advertising is the voice of capital.
MOTLEY: Right.
GLENN: We need to do whatever we can to limit the capitalist propaganda, regulate it, minimalize it, perhaps even eliminate it. The fight against hypercommercialism becomes especially pronounced in the area of digital communication.
So in other words didn't yesterday this is so weird, completely unrelated. Didn't yesterday the government go in to regulate advertising with bloggers?
MOTLEY: Yes. As a matter of fact they did.
GLENN: To protect the people from unscrupulous bloggers?
MOTLEY: Yes.
GLENN: Huh.
MOTLEY: Yes, that's the view that McChesney has, that Mark Lloyd has, that all of these people have, that you can't decide for yourself. You can't look at the landscape and pick and choose what you believe, what you think, what you see as true. They're going to do the choosing for you. And that's where when you start regulating bloggers, your next step is net neutrality where your next step is regulate the entire Internet. You have that bill before written by Senator Rockefeller which gives the president emergency powers to nationalize Internet service providers. So
GLENN: I'm Seton, how long do you think we have? I mean, they are just waiting for an event. I mean, how long
MOTLEY: 2:30.
GLENN: But I mean, I'm serious. These people have all of the players in place. They are embedded everywhere. Do you know that you can't well, you know this. You can't get Mark Lloyd for an interview anymore because he's just, he's just a staffer at the FCC.
MOTLEY: Well, yes. And that was actually from our news division, CNS News that inquired about that interview. And what I wrote yesterday was, fine, that's great. In a September 17th hearing where all the FCC commissioners including Chairman Genachowski appeared, congressman Greg wall done said, will you make him available to us, to speak, to ask him questions. And Genachowski said yes. So I wrote yesterday when will that be? Isn't it time that he answer questions directly from people? Genachowski has promised to the subcommittee, let's make him available, Mr. Chairman.
GLENN: Let's have more conversation with you tonight on television, Seton, and then I would like to roll up my sleeves with you on this and pop the hood because there are too many things that are happening that are coincidentally reflective of these Marxist views.
MOTLEY: You and I are of one mind on the many, many marshalling of forces that are going on throughout the government of marshalling against the First Amendment, free speech and the free market.
GLENN: Thank you. We'll talk to you tonight.
MOTLEY: Talk to you tonight, Glenn, thanks.
GLENN: I'm telling you, gang, this is why my gut has been saying your voice is going to be the voice that counts. Your voice is going to be the voice that counts because we are dealing with forces beyond your wildest imagination, beyond your wildest imagination. We'll be here to tell you as much as we can for as long as we can, but you must educate yourself and spread the word yourself. Just be rooted in the truth and speak without fear.