Sex, violence, and greed are what the media executives say the public want to read about, see, and hear. Indeed, 22 million TV viewers watched Who Wants to Marry a Multi-Millionaire? However, many individuals and organized groups are now actively trying to change the media. Their concern goes beyond just the sensational and negative stories and programs being produced; they're looking at the big picture-how what we read and see affects our consciousness, and the crucial role of the media in making a democratic society work.

For example, the Association of Transformative Media Arts (ATMA), a nonprofit group trying to encourage the creation of programs that enlighten as well as entertain, states, "Those who control and use the media have the power to impact the beliefs, attitudes, and consciousness of the world. Collectively, the media provide the largest potential driving force for social evolution that the world has ever known. This is an awesome responsibility."

The newly formed National Women's Media Campaign is also examining how the media shape our thoughts and behavior. Kimberly Weichel, an IONS member and one of the founders of this campaign, observes, "Increasing our understanding of consciousness and how we live on a daily basis is closely connected with the idea of creating healthier media. The media, after all, have become our central nervous system. In my view, there isn't any way we can truly become conscious beings if we are fed a daily diet of bad news and violent programming."

As a parent, Weichel is especially worried about how her children are affected by the media. "I'm trying to model the values that I believe in, but the violence, stereotyping, and sexual exploitation in our mass media make my job as a parent so much harder."

She stresses that their group isn't trying to dictate what programs or stories are covered. "We're not saying there should be only inspiring, positive programs, but we are asking for more balance. We believe that a better mix of programs could help create a better society."

"Journalists cover reality and help create it. We do both." -- Joan Konner

The strategy of the National Women's Media Campaign, says Weichel, is to reach out to a cross-section of leaders in business, politics, higher education, and the media. They are also working with ethnic and minority groups because one of the campaign's main goals is to seek more cultural diversity. Their mission statement affirms: "We believe that media activism must be a core commitment for all social justice work, and ask that individuals, businesses, and foundations use their economic power to help transform our media."

Helen Grieco, California president of the National Organization for Women, who has participated in many social causes over the years, explains why she is now involved in this media campaign. "Concerned citizens have stopped wars, put civil rights on the table, abortion rights on the table, lesbian rights on the table, but there has never been one hundred percent support from the whole population. What I believe is visionary about this campaign is that media reform garners a high level of support across the American culture. If you go into any home in America and discuss the quality of the media, you wouldn't strike silence; the public is truly upset about the negative influence of the media on our society, particularly after the Columbine shootings and the way the Monica Lewinsky/President Clinton investigation was covered. I think this is the perfect time to create a media coalition. We'll build, in my opinion, the greatest and strongest coalition we've seen in forty years."

As for the argument that the media dwell on sex and violence because that's what readers and viewers want, Grieco responds, "It's up to those who are socially conscious and disturbed by what they see to ask for something better. Touched By an Angel is a perfect example. It has excellent ratings and is a clear indication that people want positive programming. It's our job to make that loud and clear."

Grieco views this national campaign as the start of a new social movement. "The media impact our culture. That's the first thing you'd have to agree with. And this new movement changes the paradigm for political action. It says that media activism is just as important as political activism because the media have so much power. I daresay the media have even outstripped Washington in their ability to affect the populace of this country."

During the last couple of decades, she continues, we've seen the Hollywood entertainment industry seep into the political world. "When Marilyn Monroe came on stage and sang happy birthday to John F. Kennedy, that was an indication Hollywood and Washington (forgive me) were in bed with each other. When Ronald Reagan became president that also indicated a connection between Hollywood and Washington. When John F. Kennedy Jr launched George, it solidified the relationship between popular culture and Washington. There is now an entertainment angle to the evening news because even the media conglomerates recognize this merger between popular culture and politics. So our media are changing, and it's important for us to understand these trends."

For this reason, the National Women's Media Campaign is planning a march for "positive media" on Hollywood in 2001. "Hollywood impacts politics," maintains Grieco. "We can either be discouraged by this fact or move forward."

Several media watchdog groups have developed over the years, including a nonprofit group called the Center for Media and Public Affairs (CMPA). Formed in 1985, the center conducts its own scientific studies of the news and entertainment media. One of their latest studies finds that profane language is used "once every six minutes on network TV shows, every two minutes on premium cable shows, and every three minutes in major motion pictures." Matthew Felling, media director for CMPA, comments, "Do we really believe that profanity is a necessary component of conversation? We hope that once we hold up these truths we have scientifically amassed, people will come to their own conclusions."

Politicians, educators, parents, and socially active groups, he adds, often use the information provided by the center. "We don't try to implement social change ourselves, but we have been a tool to help people who want to push society in the right direction."

Felling regards the recent media mergers as a possible wrong direction. "I think Americans should be very concerned at the lack of independent voices," he cautions. "It's as if thirty-one flavors of ice cream were suddenly reduced because chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry bought up the market. People aren't getting the opportunity to have their flavor of information any more."

Many TV viewers, he acknowledges, still prefer the flavor of titillating material-hence the large audience for Who Wants to Marry a Multi-Millionaire? "The television diet that people are currently being fed is leaving people with flabby minds. It would be great if producers could come up with something that is both exciting and thoughtful. I don't believe they are mutually exclusive."

At journalism school, a sense of purpose still motivates students as they learn their craft, according to Joan Konner, professor of journalism at the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism, and former dean at Columbia.

"I think people don't go into journalism without some commitment to public service, without a feeling that they want to become involved in the life of their communities or their world. They want to do something important. And, of course, the theory behind journalism is that if you bring issues and problems to light then somebody will step forward and act to make them better."

To understand the media's role in society, says Konner, it is crucial to recognize that public opinion is formed by information provided through the media (what is dramatized, what is left out), and these perceptions ultimately affect how decisions are made, and how people perceive the world around them. "Journalists cover reality and help create it. We do both."

When the public complains that all they hear is "bad news" they need to remember, she continues, that the prime purpose of the media, and the main reason for the first amendment and a free press, is to be a watchdog of power, and to report on any wrongdoing or abuse of power. "There is the definition that says dog bites man is not news, but man bites dog is news. In other words, the aberration is considered to be news. I think those well-worn definitions still have validity, but perhaps the adversarial stances have gone to an extreme, and not enough thought has been given to other important areas of news."

Konner, who has participated in the Pulitzer Prize choices and other awards, knows from first-hand experience that a high standard of journalism exists, but she also realizes that in this overloaded "information age," one often has to sift through the junk media to find the best material. "There will always be a core of committed journalists doing serious journalism. We take the best press a little bit for granted too. Sometimes I feel critical of the public for faulting the press, because if they were more active in pursuit of the information they seek and need they would find exactly what they were looking for."

A few years ago, when Walter Cronkite was asked by the Media Studies Center to give his views on the public's trust of the media, he commented, "There ought to be journalism courses for consumers in school. We ought to be taught how to read a newspaper, how to watch television, how to listen to radio. If people were taught that, they would know that they should not trust any single medium or any single story. Go multimedia. Check it out. Be skeptical. Be skeptical about what you read. There's nothing wrong with being skeptical to the degree that you say, 'Now wait a minute, could that really happen that way? I'd like to check that out.' I mean this seriously, we've got to get people into multimedia."

The art of learning how to analyze and navigate the media culture is being taught by the Center for Media Literacy. They have developed training programs for schools, as well as resources for families and communities, to promote critical thinking about the media. They believe children need to learn not only how to read the words on a page, but also how to "read" messages in visual images by asking such questions as: How does this influence me? What was deliberately left out?

Elizabeth Thoman, founder and president of the Center for Media Literacy, feels we are too often mesmerized by media messages. "It's not that somebody is out there doing something to us, and we are just passing targets," she says. "We are also conscious participants in the constant interplay between who we are and the media messages that are delivered to us. What's important for parents and teachers to understand about media literacy is that there are skills that can be taught to help increase one's consciousness, and therefore hopefully increase conscientiousness at the same time."

How can those working in the media become more responsible for what they write/create/produce? Psychologist Daniel Goleman, a former science writer for The New York Times , who is also known for his best-selling book Emotional Intelligence , has given this subject considerable thought.

"We have seen that if you do journalism differently, citizens respond differently." -- Jan Schaffer

"Two different papers can report the same story," he says, "and the take-home message from one story might be one of fear, anger, and revenge, while the take-home point from the same story, reported differently, could be one of hope, reconciliation, and forgiveness. I don't think anybody is paying attention to this, at least not consciously. There's no dialogue about how stories are framed, and I think there should be."

Goleman does not, however, believe we should avoid "bad news." "For evolutionary reasons," he says, "we're compelled to pay attention to moments when things don't work out; there's a warning or message, or some data that are crucial for our survival collectively, to understand these moments. So I think we're compelled to pay attention to bad events. But how we pay attention to them, and how the story is told, is what we need to look at. Is there a remedy? Is there a positive lesson to be learned? And, as I said, if the story is reported in a way that stirs destructive emotions, then the wrong kind of account has been given. As writers, we need to look at our stories and consider: What's the emotional impact here? What have I left out that might be encouraging? We have to be more conscious about not just the explicit information, but the implicit message we're sending to people. Moreover, if we report the story too shallowly, if we don't give the full information, then people make decisions and judgments with too little information. That could be dangerous."

The question of how people make decisions based on the information they are given introduces the issue of the media's active participation in society. What would happen if the media considered it their responsibility to invite people to take the time to fully discuss significant subjects, even get involved in the issues they cover?

Eric Utne, founder of Utne Reader magazine, considers it critical in today's society, when we are bombarded with bits and pieces of news, to find ways to come together and debate issues. A democracy, he stresses, requires an informed citizenry. "We need to be moved by other people's opinions as well as offer our own for scrutiny. Then you have more of an interaction between what the media print or put out and what you receive."

Therefore, Utne Reader decided to promote the concept of salons. In 1991 they ran as a cover story "Salons: How to Revive the Endangered Art of Conversation and Start a Revolution in Your Living Room." They then formed Utne Reader's Neighborhood Salon Association and within a short time more than 20,000 people began to meet in living rooms on a monthly basis across the United States and Canada. Through these gatherings people exchanged ideas and kindled a sense of community. In an editorial comment about the salons, the magazine quoted Margaret Mead: "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."

Several magazines and news organizations have also begun to explore ways to stimulate more of an interaction between what the media produce and how citizens respond. This type of journalism is being called "civic journalism," and in 1993 The Pew Center for Civic Journalism, a nonprofit group funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts, was specifically formed to help the media experiment with ways to encourage citizen involvement in community issues. Jan Schaffer, executive director for The Pew Center for Civic Journalism, reflects, "We have seen that if you do journalism differently, citizens respond differently. If you invite them into the process, and create more of a two-way kind of interactive news report, you can actually trigger some engagement. It's reporting on news and issues in a way that gives readers and viewers-citizens, if you will-a sense of what they can do to make a difference and provide solutions."

"Many are realizing that the media are the nervous system of an evolving global consciousness." -- Peter Tjeerdsma

Critics of civic journalism question whether objectivity is harmed if news organizations go beyond simply reporting the news. Schaffer replies that civic journalists aren't trying to tell readers and viewers what to think or how to act. "The journalists are simply creating a neutral zone of empowerment, arming citizens-with information and sometimes with methods-to shoulder some responsibility, or to offer some imagination or solutions for fixing a problem. Civic journalists believe you can be a guide dog without relinquishing your watchdog role. And they are all too happy to abandon the attack-dog role."

With the aid of funding from The Pew Center, news organizations have adopted many different approaches to invite citizen interaction. For instance, before the Pioneer Press launched its series on welfare reform in Minnesota, they sent postcards to nonprofit organizations asking them to form groups to discuss the issues raised in the articles.

In Binghamton, New York, the Press & Sun-Bulletin asked citizens to suggest ways to resuscitate their severely depressed local economy. They solicited ideas through clip-and-send coupons and a television call-in program. Then they ran stories about possible solutions, and convened a town meeting and several smaller meetings to focus on specific concerns. Ideas were presented to leaders in the community and several of these were implemented. Eventually, the Binghamton economy bounced back.

The Pew Center reports on the results of their various civic journalism experiments to the journalism community. "It's fascinating to see how many of these efforts have been replicated around the country," says Schaffer. Yet she readily admits, "I don't think civic journalism has all the answers to what ails the media, but it can take a big slice of credit for coming up with some remedies."

There seems to be more willingness to cover stories that not only raise our consciousness but also elevate the human spirit. Joan Konner at the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism has noticed that although the media's interpretation of "good news" is sometimes insipid, there has been far more solid reporting on human goodness in general-frequently translated as news of the spirit-than there was 15 years ago.

In 1997, when the Religion & Ethics Newsweekly television show aired, it was hailed as "a daring new concept in television." Produced by Thirteen/WNET New York for PBS, this show covers the major news across the religious and spiritual spectrum, and also features current ethical issues, such as questions dealing with biomedical research. Bob Abernethy, executive editor and host, comments, "We are reporters, journalists, and our objective is to tell the most interesting stories we possibly can about this area of life-particularly in the area of religion and spirituality, which many people think has been neglected by the major media in the past. We not only try to understand the theological debates, and the institutional arguments, but we also try to get to the essence of it-which is the spiritual experience. And we find, not surprisingly, that when people talk about the experiences that have shaped their lives, it's wonderful television."

The year 1997 also saw the launching of the Wisdom Channel, a television and radio network dedicated to personal growth, social consciousness, and healthier living. Its current audience is nearly four million C-band dish owners in North and South America, and Wisdom will soon be introduced to other parts of the world. Andrew Orgel, president of the Wisdom Media Group, believes its focus on what he calls "life improvement" categories is an exploding movement. "It's no longer 'alternative' or 'new age'," he says. "Life improvement is mainstream now."

He recognizes, however, that other networks don't yet fully understand this genre. "But you will see more and more of this type of programming. On Wisdom you'll see it all in one place, and integrated on radio, television, the Internet, and print."

The biggest revolution in the media world is the integration of the Internet with television. Oxygen's cable network, which was launched this year, uses the Internet with television to reach their targeted audience of women, and their combined approach is an example of what is being labeled "the new media." This network is backed by several business partners, including one of the most powerful women on television today, a person who has helped "spirit" become a household word: Oprah Winfrey.

Honoring the spirit, and maintaining spiritual integrity, advises Peter Tjeerdsma, president of the Association of Transformative Media Arts, has to be seen as a high priority as personal computers and television technology pave the way for the democratization of broadcasting. Tjeerdsma, who is a technical director and business developer in desktop video and electronic media (he works for a company called Play Incorporated), emphasizes that this Internet-television combination is creating new forms of communication. Inexpensive technology now places the tools of production into the hands of anyone who wants to make a show and reach a worldwide audience through the Internet.

Play Incorporated predicts that in the near future "100 broadcast channels will quickly give way to 100,000 'narrowcast' channels delivering highly relevant programming to each viewer."

Yet increased competition can set off the ugly side of human nature. "Many are realizing," says Tjeerdsma, "that the media are the nervous system of an evolving global consciousness. But to make that a wise global consciousness, the individuals who work in media are going to have to find the core of their own personal integrity, and fend off the forces of survival and fear as motivating factors. That conflict is what causes people to compromise their integrity, and work on programs that are not good for the viewer.

"What is really making a difference," adds Tjeerdsma, "is that business models are changing. Through the Internet, the tracking and monitoring of advertising is so much more efficient. A special interest program could be a financial success with just a few thousand viewers, whereas in traditional television, a few thousand viewers is a miserable failure."

Recent mergers, and the opportunities produced by the Internet, seem to be giving us the best of times, the worst of times, and a truly complex era in the media business. Yet the main message being delivered by those intent on changing the media is that we all have to take responsibility for the present picture and future possibilities. Says Tjeerdsma, "The communications media carry the power to transform the world-but more to the point, we must also have the courage to transform ourselves if we are to play a constructive role in the transformations the world is now experiencing."

Gail Bernice Holland is an associate editor of IONS Review, and former editor of Connections magazine.
She is the author of A Call to Connection: Solutions for Creating a Whole New Culture (New World Library, 1998)

Art Credit: Evolution: Notes for the Invasion: Mar Mar March by Paul Kos