This week, thousands of Americans are descending on Wall Street to protest the fact that local and state governments (including New York) are cutting social services and firing teachers while failing to go after tax dodging by big banks and other corporations. This offers a perfect opportunity to educate the news media about how to appropriately cover such political actions and confrontations — not just abroad but right here, in our own backyards.

In the wake of Keith Olbermann’s departure from MSNBC, we’re all reminded that while MSNBC was appearing to tilt its coverage toward the populist progressive majority, nonetheless the corporate Right imperative of the media dominates our airwaves. If we want news and analysis that serves the interests of working families instead of corporate boardrooms, we need an independent — but effective — network for the nation. We could create a Hound News Channel if we had more populist progressives with an appetite and talent for entertaining journalism and analysis.

I met Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi for the first and only time about a month before the 2010 mid-term elections. What struck me most was her smile. I don’t mean it struck me in the sexist, “my what a nice smile that female politician has” kind of way, as though the next thing I noticed was her shoes. I was struck that her warm and toothy grin, which I’d seen a million times on television, still managed to seem genuine mere weeks before her party’s predicted shellacking. Then I realized that she still has a lot to smile about.