Media S.O.S. Campaign Starts - Main Street Needs A Bailout

IT IS TIME TO SEND OUT A MAINSTREAM MEDIA SOS

The long term unemployed have now went through the process of sending M-A-Y-D-A-Y faxes to all target members of Congress.  Do you want to give those members of Congress the opportunity to ignore that massive campaign without any mainstream press coverage?  Are we going to allow Tom Coburn to declare that we will get an extension to 103 weeks and extend it even more and then allow Senator Max Baucus say that he believes 99 weeks is enough and there is hardly any mainstream press coverage? 

US Unemployed Blogsite does not believe this is the right thing to do.  Too much time and effort has gone into this cause to allow it to be untouched by the larger audiences that will apply the heat to Congress for that "political will".  When you consider that the one Senator who promised more weeks has voted against the extensions and then you consider the other Senator who said 99 weeks is enough has voted for the extensions - it really proves the point that these people in Washington are saying one thing to the camera and doing another on the Senate floor.  Enough is enough.  They all need to walk the walk if they are going to talk the talk.

If you are sitting there thinking to yourself, "what good will that do?”  Think again please.  Ask yourself again how in the whole wide world this effort could possibly hurt the cause.  If you do not get that job you wanted but doesn't exist today, do you have anything better to do?  The pressure needs to be mounted if Congress needs that "political will".  Remember, the unemployed only represent 9.7% of the United States population. 

Millions of other Americans need to fully know the plight of the long term unemployed because mainstream is failing to report the issue.  If you are employed and not in this nightmare, you may be more inclined to believe the news story that Congress is actually doing an unemployment extension (or has recently already done an unemployment extension and things are fine until June) and not care about the detail that Congress only changed the dates available for existing tiers.  There is still an unemployment crisis in this country and the larger media outlets need to be reporting the whole story.   

Let's not allow mainstream media to report another half-truth unemployment extension story without mentioning the need for Tier 5 Unemployment Extensions!

You can send whatever message to the respective news outlets that you want.  However, for the purpose of saving time, US Unemployed Blogsite has prepared a sample message you can send.  Just copy the text and paste it into the comment boxes for each mainstream news outlet.  Comment boxes do not always leave enough room for space so let's keep the message simple, respectful, and to the point.

Now, if we can send a fax.  We can surely send out an email.  It only takes a few minutes to type an email out and if there is a message pre-prepared it can only take seconds.  We are also going to need help from other sources.  We need the help from the media outlets such as WorldNewsVine, Gather, MLive.com, and the Examiner to help spread awareness to this cause.  We also need to spread this cause by comment forums that already exist.  Everyone who is unemployed who wants to participate in this campaign needs to have access to this opportunity to send a Media S.O.S.

Here is a sample message you are more than welcome to copy/paste (or write your own):
(If in some boxes the message may be too long to fit. If so, simply edit it however you wish.  Just make sure you include the dire need for Tier 5 Unemployment - If I had only three words I could say as an SOS it would be "Tier 5 Unemployment").

This message is a Media S.O.S from the long term unemployed - Main Street needs a bailout and the long-term unemployed need your help. For too long the issue of high unemployment has plagued this country.  We, the unemployed, have lost our jobs due to no fault of our own and still cannot find work and we need your help due to lack of jobs.  We need a Tier 5 Unemployment Extension from the United States Federal Government and we need your journalism and coverage of this issue to urge members of Congress to muster the "political will" for action.  As you know, there are many districts, counties, and states with double-digit unemployment numbers and Congress has neglected those who have exhausted the maximum amount of 99 weeks.  There are not enough jobs for every unemployed American and millions have lost their safety net and millions more will lose this vital assistance in months to come if action is not taken.  Your media coverage of this issue should be simple.  All you need to do is Google "Tier 5 Unemployment".  You will see the efforts of those advocating for a Tier 5.  You will see other news sources such as WorldNewsVine, Gather, Examiner, DailyKos, HuffingtonPost, The LA Times and many others who have already reported on the need for a Tier 5 Unemployment Extension.  However, you will not find your report.  We are asking you to take up this cause and educate your viewers to this problem and please understand that the unemployed are without a safety net and there are not enough jobs for every American and Congress is not taking action.  Neither Democrat, nor Republican members of Congress are willing to help the millions without hope.  Will you help tell the story to larger audiences of Americans who may not be aware that we are at or below poverty and Congress is not taking action?  Millions of Americans are depending on the staff of your network to do the right thing and cover the need for this unemployment extension.  The extension for filing weeks recently done by Congress does nothing for the longest-term unemployed who are in dire straits right now and are being ignored.  Please help by reporting on this issue.  Not reporting or under-reporting on this issue does not cure the problem.  It only seems to make the issue fester. 

There is no need to sign your message. Most mainstream sources use a comment box for your Name and E-Mail. Nothing else is required but a few seconds of your busy day. Please visit the contacts below and write your own message or just copy and paste the message above.  Do it for yourself, your friend, your neighbor, or anyone you know who is unemployed. Do it for your country. If the jobs do not exist then the unemployed deserve attention from the United States Government. The power of the mainstream press has always informed the American audience and the long term unemployed who have exhausted benefits are just as important of a story as any other story on mainstream news today. Mainstream media needs to be covering this story.

Target Contact ABC'S "This Week" with George Stephanopoulos: http://abcnews.go.com/Site/page?id=3428174  (This is a very quick and easy form to fill out, please send it off).

Target CBS News, "Face The Nation"  http://www.cbsnews.com/htdocs/feedback
/fb_news_form.shtml?tag=ftr  (Another easy form to fill out, very simple.  From the drop-down menu choose the option for "Face The Nation" (just for the sake of having a dramatic impact on one mailbox).  If you want to target more shows, go for it.  Just have your copy/paste ready and it should be a breeze to do. 

Target Contact NBC - MSNBC "Meet The Press":  http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10285339/  (Once again, another form that has a drop-down to choose "Meet The Press".  We want to flood one particular source.  If you want to send the same message to other sources, by all means.  It would not hurt one thing.

Target Contact FOX News Sunday:  http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,77538,00.html  (Yes, I know.  However, one cannot look at their ratings and not declare them as mainstream. Additionally, one of their frequent guests, Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) declared in March that long-term unemployment extensions were going to be extended to 103 weeks and then even further. This link has a list of email addresses.  Email Fox News Sunday at:  fns@foxnews.com.  Just another quick copy/paste job.

Target Contact CNN:  http://www.cnn.com/feedback/tips/newstips.html  (The form found at CNN.com is just a plain "Contact Us" Form.  It will get to the right people if they want to do a story on it.  CNN also has a Sunday political show called State of the Union with Candy Crowley.  The person(s) who sort these emails will redirect them to the appropriate department.)

I realize that there are scores of you out there who are exhausted (mentally and physically).  I understand your frustration due to the inaction of government.  I also understand those who may feel this effort would be in vein because you feel that progress has been made enough that eventually the mainstream press will cover this story.  Please consider the possibility of what will be in vein if Congress continues to fail to act and please take a few minutes to send a quick message to the larger media outlets.  All Americans need to hear from us. 

They need to be reminded that we pay taxes on unemployment compensation and they need to know we matter.  They need to know that the economy will free-fall as more and more lose their safety net.  They need to be reminded that it is the simple fact that there are not enough jobs for every American that the long term unemployed still cannot find meaningful work.

I cannot tell one single one of you out there to do this because we are a free country but I sure as hell can beg you and hopefully motivate you to take action.  This is needed.  This is called "earned media".  This is our rights to free speech.  This is our need for the Federal Government to act.  Most importantly, this is the livelihood of each and every unemployed person and their families and no one out there is getting rich from unemployment compensation. 

Please spread the word about this SOS. 

Don't You Think Main Street Needs A Bailout?
Here's a great contact sheet provided by Tier5.webs.com: http://tier5.webs.com/nationalmedia.htm

Open permission to distribute:  Please copy this post or your summary as many places as you can.  No material posted is copyright.  US Unemployed Blogsite gives expressed consent for this message to appear on any forum with or without it's entirety for the sole purpose to educate the American public on the need for a Tier 5 Unemployment Extension.  The Editor encourages the redistribution (in part or full) to any and all sources of journalism which are not currently reporting on this story and the sources who are already reporting on this story and helping their fellow citizens.