Wednesday, December 15, 2004 Mercer Island Reporter B7
Continued from B1
experienced during filming, and
how important the message of the
film is to him.
"The film raises questions of
what is going on in our democra-
cy," said Miller. "What happens
when we have protesters, but they're
met by an army in the street I
mean, in Miami, they had an ar-
mored vehicle, essentially a tank,
out there. In the film, you'll see
that every time there is a protest,
there's a blurring of the line be-
tween Arherican citizens wanting
to express themselves and 'terror-
ists.' You see the local police chief
talking about protesters in a way that
would be used to justify the vio-
lence used against them. When
you have 15,000 protesters and
10 lawbreakers, does that mean
that the right to free expression
doesn't apply?"
Media consolidation, or the
ownership of all radio, tele~ion and
newspapers being in the hands of
a few conglomerates with deep
pockets, is the greatest concern to
the filmmaker and his subjects.
'q'he problem isn't that the own-
er of Clear Channel is a 'right-
winger,'" said Miller. "The prob-
lem is when a huge corporation has
control over public property, as with
public airwaves, that power can be
and has been abused to have one
political agenda heard and to keep
America from heating a diversity
of opinions. Democracy depends
on an informed public, and with-
out free access to a diversity of
viewpoints and accurate informa-
tion, democracy will wither."
"Tell Us the Truth" is just a
small part of what Miller claims
is a sizable movement of those on
the right and the left to fight media
consolidation. He said that "a recent
decision by the 3rd Circuit Court
in June 2004, in which the court
ruled against the FCC, thereby re-
slricting its pro-consolidation moves,
is something he believes the pub-
lic will see more of as we become
more aware of the issue via films
and television.
"The 'Tell Us the Truth' tour
helps connect people with an activity
they can engage in to protest me-
dia consolidation" he said. "The
people in the film worked with lo-
cal organizations wherever they
went, so every concert hall had ta-
bles in the lobby with information
from local organizations giving
people the opportunity to get in-
volved in everything from letter
writing to street protests?'
Miller points to the recent loss
of Mercer Islands' KMIH high
school radio station as a case in
point for the need for films like
his.
'q'he loss of KMIH is part of
a national trend, started in
Washington D.C. and the board-
rooms of big corporations" he said.
"We have bee~losing local cov-
erage in Seattle area radio. It's been
happening all over the country and
if you don't like that trend, you
need to find out more and do some-
thing about it?'
For more information, visit
www.tellusthetruth.org.
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A movie still from the documentary, "Tell Us the Truth," a
chronicle of a musical tour challenging global trade and media
consolidation issues, featuring artists Billy Bragg, Steve Earle, Jill
Souble and others.
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Roofer
Q. Is there anything I should consider
concerning our roof when decorating
our home for the holidays.
A. As you begin decorating the exterior ofJay Hawblitzel
your home for the holidays remember
to never staple or nail Christmas lights or decorations
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(206) 232-0225
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Can physical therapy help?
A. Knee pain is often a result of weak-
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D.P.T.
MERCER ISLAND PHYSICAL THERAPY
Dr. Douglas Free and Dr. Sarah Shaneman
Doctors of Physical Therapy
(206) 232-9045
7900 SE 28th St Suite 102 Mercer Island
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232-1215