The controversial filmmaker crusades to save the Internet from corporate control.

The Internet may have saved Michael Moore's career. His most recent book, Stupid White Men, was scheduled for release on September 12, 2001, which, of course, turned out to be a bad day to do just about anything. Moore's publisher immediately decided to shelve the book, afraid to release such a scathing rant against the Bush administration in such a fragile political environment.
That didn't sit well with the librarians. Upon learning that Moore's book was being scrapped, a mob of furious librarians hit Internet message boards, demanding the book's release. Moore's publisher knew better than to mess with thousands of ticked-off librarians. Within weeks the book was released, and to everyone's surprise -- mostly Moore's -- "Stupid White Men" went on to become one of the best-selling nonfiction books of the past year. It's now in its 31st printing, all thanks to the Internet.
"Thank God for this medium," Moore tells "The Screen Savers."
Watch Martin Sargent's interview with Moore on Thursday's episode of "The Screen Savers" to hear more of the writer/director's potent opinions on the evils of mass media, the power of digital filmmaking, and the "bogeyman" of videogame violence. You can also watch the full, unedited, 20-minute interview by clicking on the links in the video highlight box above.
Kill your TV, save the Web
Moore is extremely suspicious of everything he hears on mainstream TV news and everything he reads in newspapers owned by large media conglomerates. He feels that local TV news in particular has poisoned the American public with unfounded fear. But there is a cure.
"The Internet actually has been the antidote," Moore tells Martin. "The Internet is where you get the truth. It's on the Internet that you can find out what the real facts are."
Case in point: this summer's child abduction scare. From watching the news reports, most of us were convinced that child abductions were on the rise, but the truth is that nonparent kidnappings are actually down from previous years.
"Now where do you find that truth out?" Moore asks. "You don't get it from the Fox News channel. You've got to go on the Internet. You've got to go and read stories that are being printed elsewhere."
Moore's favorite news sources
Here are just a few of the independent newspapers Moore relies on for the true stories behind the headlines.

Internet under attack
One of Moore's greatest fears is that the Internet will come under the same corporate onslaught as FM radio. It's hard for many of us to imagine, but FM radio used to be a lot like the Web. It was open, inexpensive, and independent. The music was all that mattered.
"Then they sucked the life right out of it," Moore growls, referring of course to the corporate interests that bought out the FM frequency in the 1970s. The result is mind-numbing musical homogeneity. "It doesn't matter where you go today," Moore laments. "The FM station in St. Louis sounds like the FM station in Tampa."
The same fate could await the Web. "Sooner or later," Moore warns, "the forces of capitalism are going to say, 'Wait a minute, this should only be about making money. If it's not making us money, it shouldn't be on the Internet.' We have to prevent that from happening."
Fight the power
The Web is a wonderful resource for activists of all stripes. Here's a sampling of sites chosen as Moore's Link of the Week:

'Bowling for Columbine'
Learn more about Moore's latest provocative documentary, Bowling for Columbine, now playing in select theaters nationwide.