orb@whuxl.UUCP (SEVENER) (03/06/86)
> from Mike Sykora > > It is not clear that it is necessary to be "where the public congregates" > in order to reach it. Modern telecommunications technology has provided > means to communicate easily with masses of people, such as cable television, > this and other networks. There may well be other means that have occurred to > neither you nor I. > 1)to gain access to electronic media in general one has to have $$$$$ Should every political organization be rich to promote their views? 2)even *granted* $$$, there is no guarantee that one will be allowed to place critical views on the electronic media. Helen Caldicott tried to place a Public Service Announcement on all 3 American networks (which are not *free*) and was not allowed to. The College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists were also banned from placing their ad on the importance of responsibility in preventing pregnancies. They took no explicit stand in favor of contraception or abortion but simply suggested that one should consult an obstetrician and carefully consider pregnancy. 3)I have seldom seen a representative from the Physicians for Social Responsibility, the Nuclear Freeze, SANE, or other peace groups asked to join panels commenting on speeches or programs dealing with the arms race. Such panels are almost always stacked with members of the Foreign Policy Establishment -e.g. Kissinger, McNamara,etc. While I have great respect for McNamara, his views hardly represent the many people involved in the Peace Movement. Thus I find it peculiarly ironic that ABC should catch flak for allowing Vladimir Posner to respond to Reagan's vast collection of lies and distortions in his defense speech. How is it that a *Soviet* spokesman can get broadcast time but Randall Forsberg, Retired Rear Admiral Gene LaRocque, Helen Caldicott, Bernard Lown and other representatives of American peace groups who are critical of *both* sides part in the arms race can never get such time? Perhaps the reason is that a Soviet's responses can be more easily labelled as "propaganda" than a response from *American* peace groups. tim sevener whuxn!orb