petition hawk with clipboard and lollies

I've been getting notices from all sorts of small magazines for what actually feels like years regarding this issue: postage rates have essentially increased for the little guys, not the high-volume, "turn 'em and burn 'em" media conglomerates. It's one of those depressingly bold maneuvers that benefits the moment's Carnegies, Rockefellers, Gateses, and Turners, while driving the boot into the back of the good kids. Stomp, grind, kick, dead. So take a look at this and see if you feel inclined to sign my petition. I'll give the first among you a lollipop and a "free-press hero" sticker. (It'll catch on.)

From The New York Review of Books:

On July 15, the postal rates for many of this nation's small magazines increased by 20 to 30 percent, due to a decision made by the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) that turns against more than 200 years of postal policy.

We believe this issue to be of such importance to small intellectual publications on both the right and left that we felt it imperative to alert our readers.

This rate increase has the effect of shifting costs from the large publishers, such as Time Warner, to smaller publications, such as The New York Review, Commentary, The National Review, and The Nation. These unfair and onerous rate hikes threaten the future of many smaller, independent publications.

Congressional hearings have been scheduled for next Tuesday, October 30. Prior to that, we are requesting that all concerned readers sign a congressional email petition that can be found here:

http://www.freepress.net/postal/

Free Press, working with a wide variety of small publishers, is hoping to collect well over 100,000 signatures by the end of this week in order to get the attention of the committee members prior to the hearing.

We hope you will join in this effort. These new postal rates threaten the existence of the small independent magazines and journals that are so important to a free press and a vibrant democracy.