Pubdate: Sat, 26 Aug 2000 Source: San Jose Mercury News (CA) Copyright: 2000 San Jose Mercury News Contact: 750 Ridder Park Drive, San Jose, CA 95190 Fax: (408) 271-3792 Website: http://www.sjmercury.com/ Author: Larry Lauro, San Jose POWER AND RESPONSIBILITY OF THE MEDIA THE last three national elections have had a voter turnout of around 50 percent. Assuming a close vote, the winner represents well less than half of the population. That is hardly enough to claim a mandate to any degree. Why is it, then, that Republicans and Democrats have such ability to define the concerns of today and tomorrow? Where is the discussion about the effects of globalization on our wages and upon Third World countries, the waste of money in the war on drugs, the growing gap between the rich and the poor in the United States, the forgiveness of Third World debt and the disproportionate incarceration of people of color across America? Why is there no substantive discussion about the ability of corporations to strongly influence governmental policies? Many of these issues are important to the 50 percent of the population who do not vote. Why vote if the issues you are concerned about are not included in relevant discussion? The news media have the power and the responsibility to raise the level of discussion and broaden the menu of issues and therefore, interest in the election process. The Mercury News should publish commentaries by people like Noam Chomsky and others who have a different political perspective. The Mercury News should push for inclusion of Ralph Nader and others in the debate, and it should be a forum of discussion that includes the widest possible range of opinions. - --- MAP posted-by: John Chase