The future of independent magazines like Ms., Mother Jones, The Nation, etc. is at risk with a massive new postage hike!
The U.S. Postal Service has accepted a Time Warner proposal that would significantly increase postage rates for smaller magazines, while reducing costs for the nation's largest publishers like Hearst and, you guessed it, Time Warner.
Ms. is working with Free Press, a national non-partisan organization working to reform media, and the Media Consortium, including Mother Jones, The Nation, American Prospect, The Progressive, In These Times, and other independent media to send a massive number of letters protesting this unfair postage hike. But we must act now - we only have until April 23 to respond!
Please take a minute now to cosign a letter demanding that the rules are changed.
Time Warner's plan was chosen - with no public input - instead of another proposal that would have imposed a mostly equal increase (approx. 12 percent) for all magazine publishers. If implemented, the Time Warner plan could force many smaller publications out of business.
This proposal unfairly hurts smaller, cutting-edge publications like Ms., at a time when we need independent media more than ever. You can count on Ms. magazine, not "big corporate media," for the real story on the issues affecting women in the U.S. and worldwide.
Don't let Time Warner and the corporate media win - please cosign a letter demanding that Congress step in to stop the unfair postage hike and save independent media!
For A Strong Feminist Media,
Katherine Spillar, Executive Editor
Eleanor Smeal, Publisher
1 comment:
if i were only a LITTLE more paranoid, i'd think time warner was a little bit afraid of these 'smaller' magazines. if i were a LITTLE more paranoid, i'd think that time warner doesn't want to compete with these 'smaller' mags for the attention of the reading public.
its way past time for the readers, who believe the more 'competition' the better, to step up and sign the letter.
whether you read any of these publications or not, it will keep time warner, et al, on their toes.
the playing field has already been narrowed by the big guys buying up television and radio stations--to the point that a handful of men control what appears in the newspapers and on the radio/television news programs.
we really need the contributions of MS and Mother Jones, just to keep a little bit of balance out there.
unless or until every home in the world has internet access, where the truth can still be found, and facts verified, we need to keep time warner and all the other big guys in check.
we need to stop being a silent majority and SPEAK OUT.
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