Control of the Media: might be easier than you think

[Q]

- People stare at you like you're sprouting a second head when you tell them about the corporate/republican control of the media in America. But it could easily be done with enough money and time.

- It's not as difficult as some may think to own or control a newspaper or a radio or television station/network. Granted...it takes a LOT of money...but there are people in this world with the type of money it takes to buy up a monopoly in enough markets to make a difference. A few names come to mind: Scaife. Murdoch. Moon.

- Once they own a newspaper or network...all that's needed to change the ideological slant is to replace the editorial board and/or fire those don't tow the line. Those journalists willing to go the extra mile and avoid the truth are richly rewarded.

- Probably the best example of control of the media in America is the way they covered 9-11 and the Iraqi war. Wall Street Journal Bureau Chief Gerald Seib was the guest on CSPAN this morning. A caller said that all one had to do to understand why we're in Iraq is to compile a montage of the Bush* administration before the war pushing the WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION theme.

- Those of us with a few working brain cells know this caller was absolutely right. Bush*, Cheney and the rest made Saddam sound like he couldn't wait to spill our blood or throw a nuke at us. It was 24/7 Iraq and weapons of mass destruction. Yet...Bureau Chief Seib called it 'debatable'. Instead of admitting the obvious saturation coverage of Iraq/weapons of mass destruction by American television and print media leading up to the war...he dismissed the caller as a 'conspiracy theorist' or 'angry' partisan.

- You can see how easy it is to frame the debate and rewrite history if you put someone like Seib in charge of a news bureau. He can make something a 'non-story' by simply pretending it doesn't exist and order that his 'reporters' do the same. Those reporters who refuse to tow the line are simply replaced with someone that will.

- The American Media is not free to tell the truth and is under the control of conservative ideologues who are rewriting history to favor Bush* and his benefactors: corporate America. You should no longer be wondering why the news doesn't reflect the reality you've come to understand by researching the web and listening to 'alternative' media. The reality is that you're being lied to and kept from knowing the whole truth. Now...go out and shop for Christmas.

[SpiralHawk]

1. After this week, there can be no mistaking the real nature of our media

By the way they have handled the Kean 9/11 Commission sotry -- burying it for the most part, and then picking up the slack by running stories on Kean's backtracking -- makes it crystal clear. The media is not going to tell us the truth. It's over.

In regard to the mass media, I have now lost faith altogether.

[Q]

3. "Handled" is indeed the appropriate term to use...

...and thanks for responding. I was beginning to think that the whole board had me on ignore.

- CSPAN is broadcasting from the offices of the Wall Street Journal this morning. It's clear that the WSJ and ALL their reporters/journalists have no intention of enlightening the people or informing them about the true nature of their government. They actually act AFRAID when callers bring up George's AWOL status, 9-11 or how he lied this nation into war.

- George Orwell's world of the 'Ministry of Truth' has come true.

[lostnfound]

6. Good. The first step is recognizing the problem.

If we can convince another 100 million Americans of the same thing...

[lostnfound]

7. Dupe

[cthrumatrix]

2. it's not "news" it's "entertainment....this is also what the rep wingnuts

on radio fall on whne they are called on thier bullshit....it's "entertainment first"

While Clear Channel continues to brainwash people on the Dem. candidates from now until the "selection".

This wears on people to "tired to think for themselves" and the propaganda folks know this.

[Q]

5. Eight years of Clinton scandals...

...have burned out the minds of most viewers. The RWing media uses this to their advantage...saying that the people are 'tired' of scandals.

- Look for a rerun of the 2000 election...where the Democratic candidate is portrayed as a 'waffling liar' and the Bush* record is ignored or rewritten to make him look like a Demigod.

[KoKo]

8. They keep on "feeding the scandals" though to burn out what's left of our

brains. Clinton was sucessful for ratings, so we had trumped up scandal after scandal from Gary Condit, though to the current Michael Jackson.

Did you see the report (sorry, don't have link but it was posted here on DU) that the 29 and younger males aren't watching TV? That's the target audience for advertisers. The article speculated whether they were playing intenet games...whatever because they didn't like the programming. Maybe that's why the idea of the "Lingerie Half Time Show" came up as a pay per view for Football audiences sponsored by Chrysler, (fortunately Chrysler dealers pulled the plug on that one!)

I think people are tuning out what they hear and see. They don't know what to believe anymore so they don't believe anything. Yet the "soundbytes" of the Repugs stay in their heads. It's a successful "mind control." Hopefully those who don't opt for "mind control" are out here on the internet, finding ways of getting the truth. It's the only hope we have, because the television and traditional print media has defintely been totally taken over. The Saddam Capture completed it. I had to turn it all off again in boycott after sneaking back for awhile.

[Soloflecks]

4. Good link here.

http://tvnewslies.org/