Sojourners’ Health-Care Truth-Telling Campaign: Now Targeting Advertisers
by Ryan Rodrick Beiler 09-16-2009Members of Sojourners’ action alert list have received the first three messages of a week-long campaign on truth-telling in the health-care debate. We’ve been targeting some of the most well-known, most egregious examples of media distortions on the issue, including statements by Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, and today, Bill O’Reilly.
We’re not pushing a particular bill or plan, but we’re targeting the most obvious distortions and outright lies about what health-care reform would and would not do. Our strategy has been to feature the real stories of real people, appealing to the humanity of these broadcasters to consider individuals’ experiences of our broken health-care system when they make statements such as:
“There really isn’t a crisis in health care in this country … In fact, the odds of you being wiped out by a catastrophe or accident once the government gets started running this stuff is greater than if the private sector does – but day-to-day, there’s no health-care crisis in this country.” –The Rush Limbaugh Show, 6/18/09
“[If health-care reform passes, we’re] gonna have a government rationing body that tells women with breast cancer, ‘You’re dead.’ It’s a death sentence.” –Sean Hannity, Hannity, 6/19/09
To read the stories that we’re sending them that debunk these kinds of statements and to participate in our campaigns, click on these links: Joshua’s story; Robin’s story.
But we’ve also been hearing skepticism from our readers that even powerful stories of personal tragedy will ever change these pundits’ minds. They’ve suggested that we include their advertisers, as other organizations have successfully done with Glenn Beck. Thanks to research by foxnewsboycott.com, we’ve now got the lists of advertisers, and we’re including some of them on the remaining campaigns. We’re not calling for a boycott as such, but we’re ccing the advertisers to let them know that we’re holding them accountable for sponsoring shows that regularly promote the kind of fear-mongering, distortions, and yes, outright lies that are poisoning this critical debate.
So we didn’t get the list of advertisers in time for today’s e-mail alert to Bill O’Reilly, but we’ve added them now, and are giving those of you who have yet to participate the opportunity to take action now. Here’s the statement by O’Reilly that we’re responding to today:
“If the government takes over health care … and begins to tell people when they can live and when they can die, and the country goes bankrupt in the process … more people will be harmed, including poor people.” –Bill O’Reilly, The O’Reilly Factor, 8/19/2009
If you want to read more and respond, click here to take action.
Ryan Rodrick Beiler is the Web Editor for Sojourners and a photographer whose work can be seen at www.ryanrodrickbeiler.com.
