Writers: Raise Your Voices for Change!

The hope of the world lies in what one demands, not of others, but of oneself.

–James Baldwin

The imprints of six companies fill bestseller lists. KGO Radio talk-show host John Rothmann reports that the radio business is even more concentrated. Four companies control 80% of the nation’s talk-radio stations. They syndicate their shows because it’s cheaper than using local talent and pleases the national advertisers that sustain them.

            Also news to me is that 40 million people listen to talk radio throughout the day at home and while working, traveling, and exercising,  More remarkable still is that 80% of talk radio advocates the conservative agenda. The three leading talk-show hosts fill nine hours of prime time, echoing talking points they’ve been given. They have the power to make a bestseller out of Laura Ingraham’s The Obama Diaries, which you may not even find at San Francisco’s independent booksellers.

            Forsaking truth and fighting change can entertain the public, win elections, and make bestsellers, but it won’t serve the country or the world. More than ever, we need writers who are change agents.

            Through their writing, speaking, the Web, and other media, writers can help provide the ideas, the understanding, the guidance, and the inspiration to act on it. The issues are many, but for some of them, the time for averting disaster grows short. To the keyboard! Write about the change you most want to see in the world.

The Third San Francisco Writing for Change Conference: Changing the World One Book at a Time / November 13-14, Hilton Financial/Chinatown / www.sfwritingforchange.org / Keynoters: Dan Millman (Way of the Peaceful Warrior) and John Robbins (Diet for a New America) / blog: sfwriting4change.wordpress.com