That Librul Media
Jun 20th, 2006 at 10:22 am by Susie
Contrary to the counterclaims in 1996, there was, as The Nation noted then, copious hard evidence of corporate meddling with the news, and also, even more important, lots of subtler evidence of reportorial self-censorship throughout the media cartel. And yet what stood out as egregious back then seems pretty tame today, now that the press consistently tunes out or plays down the biggest news, while hyping trivialities, or, if it covers a disaster, does so only fleetingly and without “pointing fingers.” (New Orleans is now forgotten.) The press that went hoarse over Monica Lewinsky’s dress is largely silent on the Bush regime’s subversion of the Constitution; its open violation of the laws here and abroad; its global use of torture; its vast surveillance program(s); its covert propaganda foreign and domestic; its flagrant cronyism; its suicidal military, economic and environmental policies; and its careful placement of the federal establishment into the hands of Christianist extremists. Whether it’s such tawdry fare as Jeffrey Gannon’s many overnights at Bush’s house, or graver matters like the Patriot Act, or the persistent questions about 9/11, or the President’s imperial “signing statements” or–most staggering of all–the ever-growing evidence of coast-to-coast election fraud by Bush & Co., the press has failed in its constitutional obligation to keep us well informed about the doings of our government.
In short, our very lives and liberty are at unprecedented risk because our press has long since disappeared into “the media”–a mammoth antidemocratic oligopoly that is far more responsive to its owners, big shareholders and good buddies in the government than it is to the rest of us, the people of this country.
All true?
But is there any way to change this, or are we screwed unto eternity?
Oops, that first line should have been emphatic declarative (as in “!”), rather than interrogative (as in “?”)
Great quote, Suzy.
Izquierdo, I talked to Derecha and asked her your question. She told me yes, we are screwed, but not quite unto eternity. Just unto the forseeable future. Until we can find a way to create a form of Samizdat powerful enough to out-propagandize the Ministry of Truth.
Derecha is my evil twin, right?