In an opinion piece by the LA Times blog, Alex Pham tries to determine if Common Sense Media is an advocacy group or a lobbyist firm.
Let us go down the rabbit hole:
"..But there's another aspect to the organization. Common Sense Media has been one of the most zealous voices when it comes to encouraging state legislation limiting the sale of ultra-violent games to minors. Its chief executive, James Steyer as penned numerous letters to state and federal officials, urging them to curb kids' access to 'ultra-graphic violence' depicted in games."
The rest of the article drills down on Common Sense Media's activities from 2005 onward. What is important to note is that the company has been straddling the fence between advocacy and lobbying for years.
It has had its fingers in multiple laws directly and indirectly including the 2005 California Law which it sponsored alongside Leeland Yee; the failed 2005 Family entertainment Protection Act sponsored by Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.), Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn.) and Evan Bayh (D-Ind.); and the 2005 Illinois anti-videogame bill signed into law by convicted felon and former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich (to be fair, the group only offered support via a statement within a press release).
While all of these efforts failed (save the California law which goes before the Supreme Court in November), it was not for a lack of trying on Common Sense Media’s part.
When L.A. Times solicited a comment from James Steyer, chief executive of Common Sense Media, asking for a response about game industry advocacy groups calling it a lobbying firm, he said: that it amounted to "efforts to try to muzzle our voice for millions of parents and educators will only make our support stronger for California’s and other state's efforts to protect the best interests of children and families."
Read the rest of the article here. It is an interesting dissection of Common Sense Media's practices over the years.
Comments
Re: Common Sense Media and What Constitutes Lobbying
He's so, orange.
Re: Common Sense Media and What Constitutes Lobbying
They make up evidence.
They make up causes.
They make up panics.
Lobby? Advocacy? Irrelevent.. they exist in order to give their upper members power and that is it. The actual cause is interchangable.
Re: "Common Sense" Media and What Constitutes Lobbying
No offense, but "CS"M couldn't have a better picture of James Steyer taken so that he didn't look like a creepy little bastard or a potential pedophile? (Note: I was not saying he was one even though his group essentially is no different than NAMBLA with its "for the children" bullshit.)
But seriously, this article makes his group look like the PTC ripoff it is. Even the quote in the article sounds like something that piece of garbage the PTC calls its president Tim Winter would say.
Makes you wonder how much of a role that they played into the dirty politics Leland Yee played to get that piece of shit bill signed into law(including whether they were involved in the illegal substitution of Assemblymen to get the bill out of committee) and how much they gave Schwarzenegger in campaign contributions to sign it.
Geaux Saints, Geaux Tigers, Geaux Hornets, Jack Thompson can geaux chase a chupacabra. Hell will stay frozen over for quite a while since the Saints won the Super Bowl.
Geaux Saints, Geaux Tigers, Geaux Pelicans. Solidarity for the Saints = No retreat, no surrender. 2013 = Saints' revenge on the NFL. Even through the darkest days, this fire burns always.