The Media Roundtable Pledge

By Dan Granger, Founder & CEO
Oxford Road

Last week, we announced the launch of MediaRoundtable.com and asked you to join the effort to unite advertisers, marketers, and leaders in Media to reduce our support for content that tears us apart, and reward that which edifies and unites instead. We encouraged each of you to visit MediaRoundtable.com and sign our pledge in support of these efforts. This week, we want to go into a bit more detail on what the pledge stands for and what it means to be a member of the Media Roundtable.

American Media is a vital ingredient for a healthy democracy. However, the current state of modern media has become toxic. News content now often seeks to persuade, while editorial content often seeks to divide. Instead of championing balanced coverage of different points of view, we have reverted to earlier forms of partisan publications, rewarding outrage over outcomes, entertainment over excellence, and destruction over dignity.  

The American people have had enough. Media Roundtable is an alliance of leaders in Media, Marketing, and the Business community coming together to replace our current vicious cycle in the media with a virtuous one. Instead of waiting for positive change and accountability to be initiated by government involvement, or pressure from third parties, we will make efforts to get our own houses in order, for the sake of the public whom we serve. Each participant will seek to live up to our stated beliefs in their own way and with their best intentions and efforts. These beliefs include: 

 ·  Unity In America Is In Decline Due To Our Increasingly Hostile Divisions.

·  Modern Media Is Deepening Our National Divide By Rewarding Polarizing Forces With Outsized Attention; Accountability To De-escalate Tensions Is Required.

·  Brands Can Help Unify The Nation By Supporting Media That Favors Fairness, Decency, And A Respect For All People.

·  Brands Can Have A Greater Impact By Collaborating With Media Partners Before Terminating Relationships Where Divisions Occur.

·  Media Can Play A Role In Unifying Our Country By Restoring Journalistic Integrity, Even-handed Coverage Of Divisive Issues, Disclosure Between News And Opinion Journalism, And A Sense Of Respect For Those With Whom They Disagree.

·  Corporate Stakeholders Are Better Served When The Nation Is Not At War With Itself.

We believe that those of us in advertising and media have a special opportunity to help put our fractured nation back together!  If you haven’t already done so, please sign the pledge today. After signing the pledge and becoming a member of the Media Roundtable, you will receive resources and tools to help put our collective mission into action and send a powerful message to the industry there is real demand for content that unites more than it divides.

-Dan

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