Grassroots Movement: JustSayNODeal.Com

Recently, I learned more about JustSayNoDeal.com and the grassroots movement that is taking place. JustSayNoDeal.com is a grassroots movement that is anti-Obama. It appears that many Democrats are unhappy with the choice for the candidate.

The interesting thing about JustSayNoDeal.com is the fact that the internet has created a way for a grassroots movement to quickly gain momentum. This presidential election is one of the few presidential elections where viral internet content is capable of changing public opinion. In recent years, the media has been heavily in control of the content people read and watch, but no longer. The internet provides an avenue to receive our own news and create an unbiased opinion that is not based on entirely upon the information we receive from our TV news source.

Websites like JustSayNoDeal.com give people a voice when they may not have had one. Before I worked at a news company, I always thought that politics were largely controlled by the public. After all, we have a democratic system right? After I worked for a news station, I realized that the majority of public opinion is controlled by the media. Unfortunately, most of the time the news media does not do a substantial amount of research (if any at all). Also, much of what is seen on the news is the opinion of the people at the top of the news organizations (reporters report stories according to how they are told to report it) and therefore is not factual (many times not even based on facts).

The truth is that the time and money are limited when it comes to the news stories. Therefore, a reporter typically puts in about 2 hours per story which includes driving time (to the location of the story), set up and tear down of the cameras, speaking time and writing the story. Therefore (at least in the local media), there is no time to actually do research and back up sources. This little known fact needs to become better understood so that people will start to do their own research on candidates (such as watch the live campaigning process) rather than listen to the five o'clock news for their understanding about news stories.

I am neither an Obama, nor am I a Clinton, nor do I consider myself a McCain supporter. However, I think it is important that people understand that grassroots movements like JustSayNoDeal.com are a good thing. As voters, we need to educate ourselves to help prepare a good life for the next generation.