You said: "...We need to turn off the demeaning shows and write the newspapers and TV stations that we are tired of people saying bad things about others. We need to raise the level of public discourse beyond name-calling and onto substantive issues..."
If you mean as individuals, taking the personal responsibility to turn off and do not patronize those "newspapers and TV stations that we are tired of people saying bad things about others", then I can agree.
If you are suggesting that the government get involved to do it, I would disagree with you.
The whole thing about the "Imus Affair" is that is was NOT initated by a ground swell of private citizens rising up in outrage, it was initiated (in my opinion) by people who have a vested interest in things other than civility in discourse, who whipped up public outrage.
I’m not asking government to be the arbiter of civility here, I’m asking my readers to be responsible for civility by their own actions.