The Nation reported yesterday that this postal rate increase would raise their annual costs by $500,000. They too cited McChesney's CommonDreams article.  Incidentally, the US Postal Service is also mentioned in the US Constitution. Paul Starr concludes in The Creation of the Media that the US Postal Service subsidies for news media played a large role in continential unity (aka democracy) compared to the British system that impaired the "popular" press with the Stamp Tax of 1712. Jessica DudaAmerican University-----post-bounces@mgp-forum.org [1] wrote: -----To: post@mgp-forum.orgFrom: Bill Densmore <mediagiraffe@journ.umass.edu>Sent by: post-bounces@mgp-forum.orgDate: 04/16/2007 06:37PMSubject: [MGP-Forum Announce] McChesney warns new postal rates disastrous to small publicationsSmall publications could be forced out of business by proposed postal rates which favor larger magazines, according to an email being circulated by Robert McChesney, the University of Illinois media scholar who co-founded the advocacy group FreePress.net.Here is the text. While I don't know if his analysis of the effect of the rates is correct, certainly postal rates have played a pivotal role in our democracy since the 18th century, so changes should be watched carefully. Are they?-- bill-------------------------------------Bill Densmore, director/editorThe Media Giraffe Project---------- Forwarded message ----------Date: Mon, 16 Apr 2007 15:10:00 -0500From: Bob McChesney <rwmcches@uiuc.edu>To: rwmcches@uiuc.eduSubject: Post Office to First Amendment: Drop Dead 5Dear friend, relative, or acquaintance of Bob McChesney, The news media are covering the tragic murders in Virginia this morning,and as they do an extraordinarily significant story is slipping throughthe cracks. On very rare occasions I send a message to everyone in my email addressbook on an issue that I find of staggering importance and urgency. (Myaddress book includes pretty much everyone who emails me in one form oranother, and I apologize if you get this message more than once.) This isone of those times. There is a major crisis in our media taking place right now; it isgetting almost no attention and unless we act very soon the consequencesfor our society could well be disastrous. And it will only take placebecause it is being done without any public awareness or participation;it goes directly against the very foundations of freedom of the press inthe entirety of American history. The U.S. Post Office is in the process of implementing a radicalreformulation of its rates for magazines, such that smaller periodicalswill be hit with a much much larger increase than the largest magazines. Because the Post Office is a monopoly, and because magazines must use it,the postal rates always have been skewed to make it cheaper for smallerpublications to get launched and to survive. The whole idea has been touse the postal rates to keep publishing as competitive and wide open aspossible. This bedrock principle was put in place by James Madison andThomas Jefferson. They considered it mandatory to create the presssystem, the Fourth Estate necessary for self-government.It was postal policy that converted the free press clause in the FirstAmendment from an abstract principle into a living breathing reality forAmericans. And it has served that role throughout our history.What the Post Office is now proposing goes directly against 215 years ofpostal policy. The Post Office is in the process of implementing aradical reformulation of its mailing rates for magazines. Under the plan,smaller periodicals will be hit with a much larger increase than the bigmagazines, as much as 30 percent. Some of the largest circulationmagazines will face hikes of less than 10 percent. The new rates, which go into effect on July 15, were developed with nopublic involvement or congressional oversight, and the increased costscould damage hundreds, even thousands, of smaller publications, possiblyputting many out of business. This includes nearly every politicaljournal in the nation. These are the magazines that often provide themost original journalism and analysis. These are the magazines thatprovide much of the content on Common Dreams. We desperately need them. What the Post Office is planning to do now, in the dark of night, isimplement a rate structure that gives the best prices to the biggestpublishers, hence letting them lock in their market position and lessenthe threat of any new competition. The new rates could make it almostimpossible to launch a new magazine, unless it is spawned by a hugeconglomerate. Not surprisingly, the new scheme was drafted by Time Warner, the largestmagazine publisher in the nation. All evidence available suggests thebureaucrats responsible have never considered the implications of theirdraconian reforms for small and independent publishers, or for citizenswho depend upon a free press. The corruption and sleaziness of this process is difficult to exaggerate.As one lawyer who works for a large magazine publisher admits, ?It takesa publishing company several hundred thousand dollars to even participatein these rate cases. Some large corporations spend millions to influencethese rates.? Little guys, and the general public who depend upon thesemagazines, are not at the table when the deal is being made. The genius of the postal rate structure over the past 215 years was thatit did not favor a particular viewpoint; it simply made it easier forsmaller magazines to be launched and to survive. That is why thepublications opposing the secretive Post Office rate hikes cross thepolitical spectrum. This is not a left-wing issue or a right-wing issue,it is a democracy issue. And it is about having competitive media marketsthat benefit all Americans. This reform will have disastrous effects forall small and mid-sized publications, be they on politics, music, sportsor gardening. This process was conducted with such little publicity and pitched only atthe dominant players that we only learned about it a few weeks ago and itis very late in the game. But there is something you can do. Please go towww.stoppostalratehikes.com and sign the letter to the Postal Boardprotesting the new rate system and demanding a congressional hearingbefore any radical changes are made. The deadline for comments is April23. I know many of you are connected to publications that go through themail, or libraries and bookstores that pay for subscriptions to magazinesand periodicals. If you fall in these categories, it is imperative youget everyone connected to your magazine or operation to go towww.stoppostalratehikes.com. We do not have a moment to lose. If everyone who reads this emailresponds at www.stoppostalratehikes.com [2], and then sends it along to theirfriends urging them to do the same, we can win. If there is one thing wehave learned at Free Press over the past few years, it is that if enoughpeople raise hell, we can force politicians to do the right thing. Thisis a time for serious hell-raising. And to my friends from outside the United States, I apologize forcluttering your inbox. If you read this far, we can use your moralsupport. >From the bottom of my heart, thanks. BobRobert W. McChesneywww.mediaproblem.orgwww.freepress.netDepartment of CommunicationUniversity of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign_______________________________________________Post mailing listPost@mgp-forum.orghttp://mgp-forum.org/mailman/listinfo/post_mgp-forum.org [3]