Keep a notebook or a file where you list all this information so you can contact
the right person in a hurry.
A Call to Action! - Specific Political-Action Techniques for Netvolks
[Part of my April, 1995, BoardWatch column --jim]
In that issue of BoardWatch, after detailing a sequence of specific threats
to constitutional civil liberties in current congressional proposals, I
wrote:
All of this can have a massive chilling effect on freedom of (electronic)
speech, freedom of (net-based) press and freedom of (online) assembly.
It's Up To Us
Especially in the case of technology-related threats, it is up to the
online community to sound the alarm and pursue redress.
Congress critters and their aides are generally naive and ignorant of the
complexities and ramifications of computerized information and borderless
global networking, and their ramifications for traditional civil liberties.
They are easily sold a bill of goods by adroit bureaucrats seeking - in all
sincerity and good faith - evermore power and more convenience for its
exercise.
The general-circulation press - including, God help us!, the broadcast
"press" - are normally the Fourth Estate of government, responsible for
warning and educating the body politic about threats from the government.
However, with too-few exceptions, most of the working press is almost as
naive and ignorant as are the federal legislators.
So it falls to us to inform them and urge their diligent attention to these
technology-related public-policy issues that - if ill-considered decisions
are permitted - can end freedom as we know it.
Fortunately, we have the two absolute prerequisites for a free society:
Timely access to adequate information on which to base sound decisions
about our national and global community, and operational
mass-communications mechanisms that permit about 35-million members of the
body-politic to conduct timely communications with itself.
We must use this power to help reach the remainder of the public, educate
the press, and pursue Congress - to inform, to advocate, and shine the
bright light of informed insight on technological policies that will impact
the entire nation.
The first mechanism for escalating press and legislative attention is to
escalate public attention. Tell your friends, business associates and
neighbors. Spread the word online and in the "real" world. Do it now.
(First, Flame the Press)
Sadly - infuriatingly - the general-circulation print press, with a few
laudable exceptions, systematically refuses to explain the issues and
policy alternatives to their general readership.
"It's too complicated." Translation: The editor can't figure it out or a
reporter can't make it entertaining.
"Our readers wouldn't be interested." Translation: We'll give front-page
coverage to the FBI's arrest of a computer-cracker, but we won't devote a
solitary column-inch to explaining how the FBI aids crackers by opposing
crime prevention via standardized, end-to-end robust encryption in global
datacomm and cell-phone broadcasts.
"There's not room for it." Translation: After the four-paragraph daily
report on O.J.'s afternoon snack, there's no room left to mention the
multi-decade impacts of national information and communications policy.
"We've covered it - just look in the business section." Of course! Where
else would the average news-paper reader look for articles about
congressional [in]action and national policy that will impact everyone's
daily lives for decades to come?
And as to the broadcast "press" - Computer-cracker Mitnick in handcuffs is
only useful for one or two inaccurate and incomplete voice-over
explanations by an ill-informed news-anchors who wants some angle that
won't offend their credit-card, cell-phone and personal-computer
advertisers.
In its endless preoccupation with what's "interesting" - entertaining to
adults with 5th-grade reading skills - most of the Fourth Estate is
totally-failing its most crucial responsibility to the nation - to spread
the word about the long-term ramifications of major national
policy-proposals.
In fairness, however, they did give extensive coverage to the Exclusionary
Rule "Reform" Act and its efforts to demolish what remains of the 4th
Amendment. But they did so in what was for the most part, pallid,
passionless presentations that made nary a mention of even one of the
numerous abuses of police power - historical and current - that led to the
4th Amendment and the Exclusionary Rule in the first place.
Okay, now that that's out of our system ...
HELP the Press
It's not that the press doesn't care - it's that most editors and reporters
don't understand the ramifications of computers and networks, don't have
the time or resources to learn, and don't realize its universal public
importance. Help them:
It's said that all politics is local. Contact your local newspaper(s) and
local teevee news desk.
Arrange to meet with the editor-in-chief, editorial-page editor, political
reporter(s), political columnist(s) and the technology reporters who are
usually imprisoned in the business pages. Contact the evening news shows'
producers and assistant producers - and broadcast reporters if you can.
Write to them, and write letters to the editor for publication. (Understand
that they don't have any time and will be wondering about your motives in
contacting them.) Vigilantly limit letters to one page, but include
enclosures if needed.
Approach issues in terms of information and communications - which is their
turf - rather than computers and networks. Especially emphasize FOI issues
- freedom of information, and agency's attempts to suppress it. Hot stuff
for journalists.
Urge that these public-policy issues be covered in the news and features
sections, rather than relegating all technology-related stories to the
business pages in lockstep fashion.
Urge the technology reporter(s) to give more attention to the public-policy
issues, rather than monastic preoccupation with gadget stories and money
reports. Most of 'em would love to weasel some stories into the
general-news pages.
If it bleeds, it leads. Reporters do not write about theoretical
generalizations and political philosophy; they write about people.
Emphasize the human aspects and community impacts - on everyone - of
technology-related public-policy decisions. Where possible, cite one or
several actual cases that involve local people, that illustrate your points
- preferably without going to extremes for the examples.
Every time there's a policy-related technology story, immediately fax a
letter to the editor that pitches a policy point that needs to be
publicized, springboarding off of the story. E.g., every time there's a
story about billion-dollar cell-phone fraud, or computer crackers, or phone
phreaques, use it to hammer the point that our government is leaving us
unnecessarily defenseless to these losses and intrusions.
And Oh Yes, Congress ...
Essentially use the same tactics on Congress. Don't go for your elected
representative, unless you are an "important person" or know them
personally or are going in representing a group - they're honestly too busy
for the 500,000 or so mere humans that they represent.
Go for their aides - these are the folks who do have access to your
representatives, and do have time to talk with you. And much of the time,
they are the ones who actually develop policy and legislation anyway, often
guided by their legislator. Meet with them in person, whenever possible.
In spite of my vitriolic, sarcastic cynicism and paranoia, assume that
almost all cops, bureaucrats, public officials, elected representatives,
congressional staffers, reporters and editors ARE honest; ARE trying to do
a good job; DO work hard; and, ARE trying to make things better. In all the
experience I have had, I have found this true - though one sometimes gets
to quibble over what's "better."
Either we do it - or we've had it. Let's get on with it.
Don't worry about what state you live in; newspapers rarely care where you
come from as long as you've read the article on which you're commenting,
at least if you're writing from cyberspace! Keep 'em short and don't
stress about repeating others' arguments: there have been remarkably few
letters in any newspaper on this subject.
Helpful files:
Below are the e-mail addresses for letters to the editor of hundreds of
newspapers. Send your letter to those newspapers in your area, or however
many you want depending on the time you have to spare. Send each
newspaper your letter in a separate message because some newspapers will
not publish a letter if they know it has been sent to other
publications.
Large newspapers which will consider your letter:
A must-send: USA TODAY, E-Mail: [email protected]
FAX: 703-247-3108
Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
The Boston Globe: [email protected]
The Chicago Tribune: [email protected]
The Christian Science Monitor: [email protected]
The Dallas Morning News: [email protected]
National Catholic Reporter - [email protected]
The New York Times: [email protected]
U. The National College Magazine - [email protected]
Washington TIMES National Weekly edition - [email protected]
Birmingham (AL) Post Herald
Florence (AL) Times Daily - [email protected]
Huntsville Times (& Huntsville News) (AL) - [email protected]
Mobile Press-Register -
[email protected]
Mobile (AL) Register - [email protected]
Monroe (AL) Journal -
[email protected]
Anchorage Daily News - [email protected]
Arizona Daily Star, Tucson, AZ - [email protected]
Arizona Republic, Phoenix - [email protected]
Arizona Wildcat (U of AZ) - [email protected]
Phoenix Gazette - [email protected]
Tucson AZ Citizen - [email protected]
-note: Tucson Citizen prints letters from Arizona residents
only.
Yuma (AZ) Sun - [email protected]
Arkansas Democrat Gazette - [email protected]
Benton (ARK) Daily Record - [email protected]
Little Rock (ARK) Times - [email protected]
Morning News of Northwest Arkansas - [email protected]
Northwest Arkanas *Times - [email protected]
Springdale (ARK) News - [email protected]
Bakersfield Californian - [email protected]
Collegian (Moraga CA) - [email protected]
Contra Costa CA Times - [email protected]
Daily Aztec, San Diego State University - [email protected]Daily Californian (Berkeley) - [email protected]
The Long Beach Press-Telegram - [email protected]
Los Angeles Times - [email protected]
Mills Weekly (Mills College, Oakland, CA) - [email protected]
New Times (San Luis Obispo CA) - [email protected]
Orange County Register (CA) - [email protected]
Register-Pajaronian, Watsonville, CA - [email protected]
Sacramento Bee - [email protected]
Note: Will not print letters from persons outside of California
San Diego Union Tribune - [email protected]
San Francisco Chronicle - [email protected]
San Francisco Examiner - [email protected]
San Luis Obispo (CA) -
[email protected]
San Jose (CA) Mercury News
Santa Cruz County (CA) Sentinel - [email protected]
Santa Rosa (CA) Press-Democrat - [email protected]
Stockton (CA) Record - [email protected]
Vacaville (CA) Reporter - [email protected]
Boulder (CO) Daily Camera - [email protected]
Colorado Springs (CO) Gazette Telegraph (Tell It To the Gazette)
[email protected]
The Denver Post - [email protected]
Glenwood (CO) Post - [email protected]
Pueblo (CO) Chieftain - [email protected]
(Denver) Rocky Mountain News - [email protected]
(Note: Rocky Mtn News rarely prints letters from persons who
live outside Colo.)
Danbury (CT) News-Times -
[email protected]
Hartford Courant, CT - [email protected]
Norwich (CT) Evening Sun - [email protected]
Bradenton (FL) Herald - [email protected]
Daytona (FL) News Journal - [email protected]
Florida Today (Melbourne FL) - [email protected]
Gainesville (FL) Sun - [email protected]
Miami Herald - [email protected]
Lakeland (FL) Ledger - [email protected]
Ocala (FL) Star Banner - [email protected]
Orlando Sentinel - [email protected]
Palm Beach (FL) Post -
Pensacola (FL) News Journal - [email protected]
St. Petersburg Times, FL - [email protected]
Sun-Sentinel, Fort Lauderdale - [email protected]
-(Note: The Sun-Sentinel does not publish letters from people
outside of Florida.)
Tallahassee (FL) Democrat - [email protected]
Atlanta Constitution -
[email protected]
Atlanta Journal - [email protected]
Augusta (GA) Chronicle - [email protected]
(Note: Augusta Chronicle publishes letters to the editor from
area residents only.)
Macon (GA) Telegraph - [email protected]
Honolulu Advertiser -
Honolulu Star
Bulletin - [email protected]
Idaho Falls Post Register - [email protected]
Idaho State Journal - [email protected]
-note: Idaho State Journal does not accept out of state
letters
Idaho Statesman - [email protected]
Arlington Heights (IL) Herald - [email protected]
Bloomington (IL) Pantegraph - [email protected]
Champaign (IL) News Gazette - [email protected]
Chicago Sun-Times - [email protected]
Daily Eastern News (Eastern IL Univ) - [email protected]
Daily Egyptian, Carbondale, IL - [email protected]
DuQuoin (IL) Call - [email protected]
Edwardsville (IL) Intelligencer - [email protected]
Harrisburg (IL) Register - [email protected]
Moline Dispatch (Moline IL) - [email protected]
Quincy (IL) Herald Whig - [email protected]
Bedford (IN) Times Mail - [email protected]
Fort Wayne News-Sentinel - [email protected]Franklin Daily Journal - [email protected]
Goshen (IN) News - [email protected]
Indianapolis Star - [email protected]
Kokomo (IN) Herald (weekly) -
[email protected]
Kokomo (IN) Perspetive (weekly) -
Kokomo (IN) Tribune -
Lafayette (IN) Journal & Courier - [email protected]
Lewiston (ID) Morning Tribune - [email protected]
Moscow (ID) Daily News - [email protected]
New Albany (IN) Tribune - [email protected]
St. Charles City Journal - [email protected]
Terre Haute (IN) Tribune-Star -
[email protected]
Warsaw (IN) Times Union - [email protected]
Burlington (IA) Hawk Eye - [email protected]
Daily Iowan (Iowa City,Ia) - [email protected]
Des Moines Register - [email protected]
Dubuque (IA) Telegraph Herald -
[email protected]
Iowa State Daily - [email protected]
Marshalltown (IA) Times Republican - [email protected]
Quad City Times (Davenport IA) - [email protected]
Sioux City (IA) Journal - [email protected]
Andover (KS) Journal Advocate (weekly) - [email protected]
Baxter Springs (KS) Citizen (weekly) - [email protected]
El Doreado (KS) Times - [email protected]
Emporia (KS) Gazette -
[email protected]
Hutchinson (KS) News - [email protected]
Johnson County Sun (KS) - [email protected]
Kansas City Star - [email protected]
Kansas State Collegian - [email protected]
Lawrence (KS) Journal-World - [email protected]
Newton Kansan - [email protected]
Topeka (KS) Capital Journal - [email protected]
Wichita (KS) Eagle - [email protected]
Winfield (KS) Daily Courier - [email protected]
Danville (KY) Advocate Messenger -
[email protected]
Elizabethton (KY) News Enterprise - [email protected]
Kentucky, U of KY, Lexington -
[email protected]
Lexington (KY) Herald Leader - [email protected]
Louisville Courier Journal -[email protected]
Maysville (KY) Ledger-Independent - [email protected]
Daily Reveille - [email protected]
Lafayette Town Talk - [email protected]
Lake Charles (LA) American Press - [email protected]
Times Picayune (New Orleans) - [email protected]
The Capital (Annapolis MD) -
[email protected]
Cumberland (MD) Times-news - [email protected]
The Daily Times (Salisbury MD) - [email protected]
Easton(MD) Star Democrat - [email protected]
Portland (ME) Press-Herald - [email protected]
Boston Daily Free Press - [email protected]
Boston Herald - [email protected]
Lynn (MA) Daily Item - [email protected]
New Bedford (MA) Standard Times - [email protected]
Union News (Springfield MA) - [email protected]
Alpena (MI) News - [email protected]
Ann Arbor MI News - [email protected]
Battle Creek (MI) Enquirer - [email protected]
Detroit News - [email protected]
Tampa Tribune
Flint MI Journal - [email protected]
Grand Rapids Press - [email protected]
Macomb (MI) Daily - [email protected]
Midland (MI) Daily News - [email protected]
Middlesex News (Framingham MA) - [email protected]
Owosso (MI) Argus - [email protected]
The State News (East Lansing, MI) - [email protected]
Times Herald (Port Huron MI) - [email protected]
Sturgis (MI) Journal - [email protected]
Western Michigan Herald (Univ paper, Kalamazoo) - [email protected]
Minnesota
Brainerd (MN) Daily Dispatch - [email protected]
Mankato (MN) Free Press - [email protected]
Minneapolis Star Tribune - [email protected]
Minnesota Daily - [email protected]
St. Paul Pioneer Press - [email protected]
Mississippi
Biloxi (MS) Sun Herald - [email protected]
Vicksburg (MS) Post - [email protected]
Missouri
Missouri Miner (Univ. of Missouri student paper) - [email protected]
Saint Louis Post Dispatch
- [email protected]
Montana
Bozeman (MT) Daily Chronicle - [email protected]
Columbia (MO) Daily Tribune - [email protected]
Farmington (MO) Press-Leader - [email protected]
Joplin (MO) Globe - [email protected]
Missoula (MT) Missoulian - [email protected]
St. Joseph (MO) News Press --
[email protected]
Nebraska
Daily Nebraskan -
[email protected]
Grand Island (Neb.) Independent = [email protected]
Lincoln (NE) Journal-Star - [email protected]
Omaha World Herald - [email protected]
Nevada
Las Vegas Sun - [email protected]
Tahoe Tribune - [email protected]
New Hampshire
Keene (NH) Sentinel - [email protected]
Portsmouth (NH) Herald - [email protected]
New Jersey
Asbury Park (NJ) Press - [email protected]
Bergen Record, Hackensack, NJ - [email protected]
Newton (NJ) Herald - [email protected]
Parsippany (NJ) Daily Record - [email protected]
The Press of Atlantic City (NJ) - [email protected]
New Mexico
Albuquerque Journal -
[email protected]
Los Alamos (NM) Monitor - [email protected]
New York
Albany NY Times Union - [email protected]
Kingston (NY) Daily Freeman - [email protected]
Gloversville (NY) Herald Leader -
[email protected]
New York Newsday - [email protected]
New York Post - [email protected]
Norwood News (Bronx, NY) - [email protected]
Press-Republican (Plattsburg, NY) [email protected]
The Saratogian (Saratoga Springs, NY) - [email protected]
Schenectady (NY) Daily Gazette -
[email protected]
Syracuse Newspapers - [email protected]
Syracuse (NY) Post-Standard and Herald - [email protected]
Troy (NY) Record - [email protected]
The Village Voice - [email protected]
North Carolina
Greensboro News & Record,Greensboro,NC - [email protected]
Fayetteville (NC) Observer-Times - [email protected]
Jacksonville (NC) Daily News - [email protected]
Raeford (NC) News Journal -
[email protected]
Tar Heel (Univ Of NC "Reader Forum") - [email protected]
Wilmington (NC) Morning Star - [email protected]
North Dakota
Bismarck (ND) Tribune - [email protected]
Ohio
Alliance OH Review - [email protected]
Athens (OH) Messenger - [email protected]
Athens News, Athens, OH - [email protected]
(Published Monday & Thursday)
Beachwood (OH) Sun Press - [email protected]
Chronicle-Telegram (Elyria OH) - [email protected]
Cleveland Plain Dealer - [email protected]
Columbus Dispatch - [email protected]
The Lantern (Ohio State U) - [email protected]
Wapakoneta (OH) Daily News -
[email protected]
Oklahoma
Edmond (OK) Sun - [email protected]
Oklahoma Daily (Univ. of OK) -
[email protected]
Oregon
Corvallis OR Gazette Times - [email protected]
Klamath Falls (OR) Herald and News -
[email protected]
The Oregonian (Portland) - [email protected]
Register Guard, Eugene, OR - [email protected]
Roseburg (OR) News Review - [email protected]
Pennsylvania
Beaver (PA) County times -
[email protected]
Carlisle (PA) Sentinel - [email protected]
Delaware (PA) County Times - [email protected]
Easton (PA) Express-Times -[email protected]
Gettysburg (PA) Times - [email protected]
Lebanon (PA) Daily News - [email protected]
Lehighton (PA) Times News -
[email protected]
Lock Haven (PA) Express -
[email protected]
Middletown (PA) Press and Journal - [email protected]
Philadelphia Daily News - [email protected]
Philadelphia Inquirer - [email protected]
Pittsburgh Post Gazette - [email protected]
Pittston (PA) Gazette -
[email protected]
Tribune-Review (Greensburg PA) - [email protected]
(note: Tribune Review does not generally print letters from
outside of PA)
Valley News Dispatch (Tarentum PA) - [email protected]
Rhode Island
The Daily Herald, Brown University -
[email protected]
Providence (RI) Journal Bulletin - [email protected]
South Carolina
Anderson (SC) Independent Mail - [email protected], or
[email protected]
Myrtle Beach (SC) Herald - [email protected]
The State (SC) - [email protected]
South Dakota
Rapid City Journal (SD) - [email protected]
The Argus Leader (Sioux Falls SD) - [email protected]
Tennessee
Chattanooga (TN) Times - [email protected]
Daily Beacon (Univ. of TN) - [email protected]
Kingsport (TN) Times News - [email protected]
(Kingsport Times News publishes letters from local writers only)
Murfreesboro (TN) Daily News Journal -
[email protected]
Nashville Tennessean - [email protected]
Texas
Abilene TX News - [email protected]
Austin American Statesman -
[email protected]
Daily Cougar (Univ. of Houston) - [email protected]
Daily Texan(Austin) - [email protected]
Daily University Star (SW TX U, San Marcos TX) - [email protected]
El Paso (TX) Herald Post - [email protected]
Fort Worth Star Telegram - [email protected]
Galveston News, Galveston, TX - [email protected]
San Antonio Express News - [email protected]
Greenville (TX) Herald Banner - [email protected]
Plainview (TX) Daily Herald -
[email protected]
Plano (TX) Star Courier -
[email protected]
San Angelo (TX) Standard-Times -
[email protected]
Texarkana (TX) Gazette - [email protected]
Wexahachie (TX) Daily Light -
[email protected]
Utah
Deseret News (Salt Lake City) -
[email protected]
Logan (UT) Herald-Journal -
[email protected]
Vermont
Burlington (VT) Free Press - [email protected]
Rutland (VT) Tribune -
[email protected]
Virginia
Beckley (VA) Register Herald - [email protected]
Cavalier Daily (Charlottesville VA) - [email protected]
Danville (VA) Register and Bee - [email protected]
The Fauquier (VA) Times Democrat - [email protected]
Journal Newspapers (VA) - [email protected]
Morgantown (VA) Dominion Post - [email protected]
Newport News (VA) Daily Express - [email protected]
Norfolk Virginian-Pilot/Ledger-Star (Glenn Scott) - [email protected]
Roanoke VA Times - [email protected]
Staunton (VA) Daily News Leader - [email protected]
Washington
The Daily, University of Washington - [email protected]
Everett (WA) Herald - [email protected]
Journal American (Bellevue WA) - [email protected]
Olympia WA Olympian - [email protected]
Seattle Times - [email protected]
Seattle WA Post Intelligencer - [email protected]
Tacoma News Tribune (Tacoma, WA) - [email protected]
Vancouver WA Columbian - [email protected]
West Virginia
Bluefield (WV) Daily Telegraph - [email protected]
Charleston (WV) Daily Mail - [email protected]
Charleston (WV) Gazette - [email protected]
Fairmont (WV) Times-West Virginian - [email protected]
Wisconsin
Ashland (WI) Daily Press - [email protected]
Beloit (WI) Daily News ("Public Forum") - [email protected]
Capital Times (Madison WI) - [email protected]
Daily Cardinal, Madison, WI - [email protected]
Green Bay (WI) Press Gazette -
[email protected] -or-
[email protected]
Lacrosse Tribune, Wisconsin -
[email protected]
Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel - [email protected]
Racine (WI) Journal Times - [email protected]
Wyoming
Casper (WY) Star Tribune - [email protected]
Puerto Rico
San Juan Star, PR -
[email protected]
Thanks to [email protected] for sending out the original list!
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email us with comments or papers we missed!