Free Speech TV Will Be Premiering Interviews With Lawrence Lessig, Noam Chomsky, and the Launch of Occupy the Media During Their Spring Pledge Drive Kickoff, April 16th - May 7th

DENVER, April 11, 2012 -- National Multimedia broadcaster Free Speech TV will be premiering a special series of interviews focusing on the current political climate during its Spring pledge drive, which runs from April 16th - May 7th . These sit-downs with journalists Laura Flanders and Marcy Miranda include figures such as Lawrence Lessig and Noam Chomsky discussing campaign finance reform and Internet & copyright legislation. The network's major news programs - Democracy Now!, The Thom Hartmann Program, Al Jazeera English and Gay USA - will still air during the drive, and they will continue to offer compelling interviews and in-depth coverage of stories not typically covered in the mainstream media.

Also participating in the Spring pledge drive is the Free Speech TV original program, Occupy the Media. This weekly program is hosted by Marcy Miranda and Jared Maher, who interview leaders of the Occupy movement from around the country and take calls from viewers across the U.S.

Co-host and Occupy the Media producer Marcy Miranda says, "This program was created as a direct response after months of talking with viewers and Occupy protesters who felt the media were not covering the issues that were important to them. We believed that a movement this large and profound warranted a dedicated weekly program to talk with protesters as developments emerged."

The independent network will be showcasing the launches of several new initiatives during this Spring pledge drive. "Free Speech TV is excited to share our content in ways independent media has never been able to until now," said Executive Director Don Rojas. "The launch of our newly redesigned website and our streaming Roku channel are very exciting and will no doubt prove to be immensely successful. We're communicating with new audiences that don't rely on traditional cable and satellite to get their news. It is a critical goal of ours to have honest and reliable media available - without limitations - which we can offer to everyone."

Free Speech TV has also launched a radio project, "New Future Network," which blends hip-hop variety with talk radio for a younger demographic. Since NFN went live in early December it has brought in new and emerging talent from Denver, New York, and L.A. NFN is broadcasting live from their website, nfnradio.com.

Free Speech TV is an independent, non-profit, multi-platform media pioneer. Promoting voices and perspectives under-represented in the media, Free Speech TV broadcasts and streams independently-produced programs addressing social, political, cultural and environmental issues. Free Speech TV currently reaches 37 million U.S. homes, airing full-time on DISH Network (channel 9415), DIRECTV (channel 348), Roku, freespeech.org, and part-time on more than 200 cable affiliates.

SOURCE Free Speech TV

Author Gives Reality Check to Public on Political Situations That Are Destroying America in Memoir

Shawn Matthew Smeltz discusses the impact the economy has had on the financial industry and the American people in "USA Unaware Scared and Angry"

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C., March 7, 2012  -- In his book "USA Unaware Scared and Angry" (ISBN 1468024698), Shawn Matthew Smeltz gives a step-by-step account of how the collapse of the housing industry negatively affects the financial market and thousands of innocent Americans throughout the country. Smeltz believes the country is on a downward spiral because of the demonization of our capitalistic and free market society and because of the exponentially increasing size and scope of government.

Smeltz reflects on his time in the financial industry and gives detailed examples of how the government has forced the foreclosure of thousands of homes, creating a never-ending cycle of destruction within America. Smeltz says that the nation is lacking leadership and with the 2012 elections right around the corner, Americans will have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to change the outcome of America's future to one of success and prosperity.

"Some of the stories in the book will make you cry, some will make you angry and all of them will make you think and look deep inside yourself in search for what you truly believe needs to happen in order for our country to regain its greatness and for its people to begin to prosper once again," Smeltz says.

Smeltz's depictions of real events display what working Americans are up against in today's society. He offers a glimmer of hope in these trying times for those who are willing to commit to doing what is right to better the country.

"USA Unaware Scared and Angry" is available for sale online at Amazon.com and other channels.

About the Author

Shawn Matthew Smeltz earned a bachelor's from Radford University. He has worked in the finance industry for the past decade and has held management positions in different markets throughout the country. Since 2006, Shawn has worked in the capacity of district management for two of the largest financial institutions in the world.

MEDIA CONTACT
Shawn Matthew Smeltz
Website: http://Protectyourusa.com
Email: Info@protectyourusa.com
Phone: (913) 956-1819

REVIEW COPIES AND INTERVIEWS ARE AVAILABLE

SOURCE Shawn Matthew Smeltz

Mixed Feelings About How President Obama is Doing

Moderate decline seen in positive attitudes from one year ago

NEW YORK, Feb. 8, 2012 -- As President Obama starts his fourth year in office, people have many opinions of the job he has done so far and these opinions have changed over the past three years. In looking at fourteen different statements there are three that have changed fairly substantially over time. In 2010, almost three in five Americans (57%) said President Obama made other countries feel better about the United States. That number dropped to 50% last year and is now even lower, at 43% this year.

Over half of U.S. adults (55%) agree that President Obama is not changing things fast enough and in 2010, 43% felt that way. Another large shift is in the speed of change. In 2010, less than two in five (38%) agreed the President was changing things too fast; this year one-quarter of Americans (26%) feel this way.

These are some of the results of The Harris Poll of 2,016 adults surveyed online between January 16 and 23, 2012 by Harris Interactive .

Looking at some of the more positive statements, each shows a decline in the number of Americans who agree. While majorities believe that the President is trying to put the country back on track (57%), trying to bring about much needed change (54%) and is open, honest and trustworthy (50%), two years ago, in 2010 between 54% and 61% agreed with each statement and in 2011 between 53% and 59% agreed.

Looking at some of the more negative statements, more than three in five Americans say President Obama has not lived up to his campaign promises (63% up from 56% who said this last year) and that he spends too much time talking and there isn't enough action (61% up from 56%). In 2010, three in five U.S. adults (61%) believed the President hadn't done much for them yet and that dropped to 56% last year but is back up to 58% this year.

Other findings of this poll include:

• A few things haven't changed too much since last year. About half of Americans agree President Obama does a good job of explaining issues to people (49%) and that he is working for the people's best interests and doing the right thing (49%);
• Less than half of Americans (47%) believe the President provides a fresh outlook with new ideas, down from 52% last year and 56% in 2010;
• Three in five Americans (59%) say the President is spending too much and creating too much debt, which is down from 61% who said this in 2010 and up from 56% who agreed in 2011; and,
• Up from 41% last year, this year 45% of U.S. adults say President Obama doesn't care about people like them.

Partisan Differences
As it has been in the past two years, it is not surprising that Democrats agree with more of the positive statements about the President, and Republicans agree with more of the negative ones. There are, however, a few interesting similarities that came out in the data. For example:

• Majorities of Republicans (52%), Democrats (55%) and Independents (59%) say President Obama is not changing things fast enough;
• But, at the same time, two in five Republicans (40%), one-quarter of Independents (24%) and 14% of Democrats say the President is changing things too fast; and,
• While four in five Republicans (82%) and almost two-thirds of Independents (64%) say President Obama has not lived up to his campaign promises, so do almost half of Democrats (48%).

So What?
President Obama has had a complicated year. The economic indicators are improving, but Americans are only slowly coming around to that. He's had some big national security wins, but with the focus on the economy and jobs, the President is not getting a lot of credit. And, there is also the focus on the Republican candidates vying to challenge the President in the fall. All of this is something President Obama has to contend with and could help explain why Americans are a little conflicted about their feelings towards him at the moment. He has some time before he has to convince the American public to re-elect him, but in order to do that he will need to work diligently to alter some of these views.
 

TABLE 1 POSITIVE STATEMENTS ABOUT PRESIDENT OBAMA "Do you agree or disagree with the following statements about President Obama?"
Base: All adults
	AGREE (NET)	Strongly agree	Somewhat agree	DISAGREE (NET)	Somewhat disagree	Strongly disagree	Not Sure
	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
He is trying to put the country back on track.	57	32	25	38	11	27	5
He is trying to bring about much needed change.	54	28	26	39	13	27	7
He is open, honest and trustworthy.	50	26	24	42	14	29	8
He does a good job of explaining issues to people like me.	49	22	27	45	17	27	7
He is working for the people's best interests and doing the right thing.	49	24	25	45	13	32	6
He provides a fresh outlook with new ideas.	47	18	29	46	17	30	7
He has made other countries feel better about the United States.	43	18	25	45	16	29	12

Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding

TABLE 2 NEGATIVE STATEMENTS ABOUT PRESIDENT OBAMA "Do you agree or disagree with the following statements about President Obama?"
Base: All adults
	AGREE (NET)	Strongly agree	Somewhat agree	DISAGREE (NET)	Somewhat disagree	Strongly disagree	Not Sure
	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
He has not lived up to his campaign promises.	63	36	27	30	16	14	7
He spends too much time talking and there isn't enough action.	61	37	23	33	18	14	7
He is spending too much and creating too much debt.	59	41	18	34	18	16	8
He hasn't done much for us yet.	58	35	22	37	19	18	5
He is not changing things fast enough.	55	24	31	36	19	17	9
He doesn't care about people like me.	45	30	15	49	19	30	6
He is changing things too fast.	26	15	11	66	29	37	8

Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding

TABLE 3 POSITIVE STATEMENTS ABOUT PRESIDENT OBAMA – BY PARTY "Do you agree or disagree with the following statements about President Obama?" Percentage saying "Strongly/Somewhat agree"
Base: All adults
	Jan. 2010	Jan. 2011	Jan. 2012	Political Party
				Republican	Democrat	Independent
	%	%	%	%	%	%
He is trying to put the country back on track.	61	59	57	23	84	59
He is trying to bring about much needed change.	60	58	54	23	83	53
He is open, honest and trustworthy.	54	53	50	18	79	51
He does a good job of explaining issues to people like me.	NA	51	49	18	80	48
He is working for the people's best interests and doing the right thing.	51	51	49	15	81	49
He provides a fresh outlook with new ideas.	56	52	47	18	75	44
He has made other countries feel better about the United States.	57	50	43	14	71	43

Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding; NA indicates not asked in that year

TABLE 4 NEGATIVE STATEMENTS ABOUT PRESIDENT OBAMA – BY PARTY "Do you agree or disagree with the following statements about President Obama?" Percentage saying "Strongly/Somewhat agree"
Base: All adults
	Jan. 2010	Jan. 2011	Jan. 2012	Political Party
				Republican	Democrat	Independent
	%	%	%	%	%	%
He has not lived up to his campaign promises.	60	56	63	82	48	64
He spends too much time talking and there isn't enough action.	57	56	61	82	41	61
He is spending too much and creating too much debt.	61	56	59	87	34	59
He hasn't done much for us yet.	61	53	58	83	35	60
He is not changing things fast enough.	43	45	55	52	55	59
He doesn't care about people like me.	NA	41	45	73	21	44
He is changing things too fast.	38	33	26	40	14	24

Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding; NA indicates not asked in that year

Methodology
This Harris Poll was conducted online within the United States between January 16 to 23, 2012 among 2,016 adults (aged 18 and over). Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region and household income were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents' propensity to be online.

All sample surveys and polls, whether or not they use probability sampling, are subject to multiple sources of error which are most often not possible to quantify or estimate, including sampling error, coverage error, error associated with nonresponse, error associated with question wording and response options, and post-survey weighting and adjustments. Therefore, Harris Interactive avoids the words "margin of error" as they are misleading. All that can be calculated are different possible sampling errors with different probabilities for pure, unweighted, random samples with 100% response rates. These are only theoretical because no published polls come close to this ideal.

Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have agreed to participate in Harris Interactive surveys. The data have been weighted to reflect the composition of the adult population. Because the sample is based on those who agreed to participate in the Harris Interactive panel, no estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated.

These statements conform to the principles of disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.

The results of this Harris Poll may not be used in advertising, marketing or promotion without the prior written permission of Harris Interactive.
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The Harris Poll ^® #14, February 8, 2012 By Regina A. Corso, SVP, Harris Poll, Youth & Education and Public Relations Research, Harris Interactive.

About Harris Interactive
Harris Interactive is one of the world's leading custom market research firms, leveraging research, technology, and business acumen to transform relevant insight into actionable foresight. Known widely for the Harris Poll and for pioneering innovative research methodologies, Harris offers expertise in a wide range of industries including healthcare, technology, public affairs, energy, telecommunications, financial services, insurance, media, retail, restaurant, and consumer package goods. Serving clients in over 215 countries and territories through our North American and European offices and a network of independent market research firms, Harris specializes in delivering research solutions that help us – and our clients – stay ahead of what's next. For more information, please visit www.harrisinteractive.com.

SOURCE Harris Interactive