If you happened to watch most of the network and local TV news coverage of the One Nation March On Washington, you probably noticed several massive distortions of the truth.  The most glaring and most prevalent out and out LIE came from several broadcast "journalists" who stated or implied that the One Nation March was hastily done in reaction to the Tea Party rally that was fielded by a certain right wing talk show host one month earlier.  Correct me if I'm wrong, as I recall, the One Nation March was announced in early spring (in March, I believe) of 2010, probably planned way earlier.  The second major distortion of the truth was the inevitable crowd size comparison between the September march and the One Nation March, there was none because the One Nation March had double the crowd size!  Finally, we had to subject ourselves to the glib remarks implying that the the purpose of the march was to shore up support for a Democratic Party that is desperate for help in November.  Hello mainstream media, the One Nation March On Washington's purpose was to unite working people, the unemployed, the middle class, the poor and fight for their interests!  The march wasn't a mere pep rally for the Democratic Party!

We have a couple of ways to fix sloppy journalism, be it intentional or otherwise.  We can call the offending station's news department and demand that the "journalist" in question be given a course in remedial journalism 101 where he or she will be reminded of the meaning of the five W's of journalism.  We can call the offending TV stations and tell them that we are going to boycott their sponsors until they clean up their act.   While those methods provide immediate personal satisfaction, they only fix a small part of a widespread problem.

The only way we can fix the distortions and undue political influence that is rampant in the broadcast media is to contact our electeds and demand that they enact modifications to the Communications Acts. similar to the Fairness Doctrine, etc.  that empower the FCC to enforce equal, fair and undistorted broadcast journalism.  As a broadcaster, I know that biased and slanted reporting in some segments of the mainstream media can literally change the results of an election by what is said or not said about a person or issue.  We're talking about a future of our democracy issue here!  If you can distort how you report the news, are Federally licensed to use the airwaves, a natural resource that is owned by every American and on loan to you to be used in the public interest and are big enough to influence enough potential voters, you should be subject to regulatory oversight.  We the people can no longer allow you to hijack the truth on behalf of a few corporate interests!