Fox News Channel headliner Glenn Beck has turned his nightly program into a megaphone of misinformation. He just took down presidential adviser Van Jones, one of our most visionary and principled young leaders. 

What happened to Jones is outrageous. President Obama should have ignored the media's smear campaign and rejected all calls for Jones' ouster.

This madness is a failure not only of the media, but of our president to stand up against modern-day McCarthyism:

Tell President Obama: 'Glenn Beck Doesn't Speak for Me'

Emboldened by their success, Glenn Beck and other right-wing blowhards have begun media witch hunts against people in all aspects of public life. If we don't speak out now, the champions of the issues you care about will be run out of Washington.

Surveys show that most Americans want health care reform, good schools and clean air. But if you watch Glenn Beck's show, you would think the opposite is true: that the only proponents of these ideas are dangerous, anti-American radicals operating out of the White House basement.

I'm urging you to take a stand with me and sign this open letter to the president. Glenn Beck's fear-mongering is endemic to a media system that cares more about ratings than about the truth. We need President Obama to take a stand against such hysteria, which only distracts us from the real issues at hand.

President Obama Must Stand with Us for More Diverse Media

Beck has a First Amendment right to stoke fear and prejudice -- and we're not asking for him to be censored or silenced. But we all have a responsibility to condemn his behavior and defend the public servants and innocent people who are being attacked. This is not about censorship... It's about sanity.

Mainstream media have failed. Too many of our leaders have stayed quiet. We must speak out now.

Thank you,
Josh Silver
Free Press