Wednesday, April 30, 2008

The media and society

"No government ought to be without censors; and where the press is free no one ever will."

-Thomas Jefferson

Somewhere freedom of the press became a twisted shadow of what Thomas Jefferson spoke of years ago. Freedom of the press is essential to liberty and the lifeblood of any true democracy. However just as in many other aspects of our society some of us will always take something good and pure, and twist it in ways that only help an individual and not the society as a whole.

Talk radio, cable news, and the internet have made news much more personalized, and along with personalization we get a lot more opinion and often time less fact. I am perhaps a bit suspect in that I write a blog, and often deal in opinion (usually my own). To this end, I must try and differentiate myself from journalists; journalists should tell the facts on topics their readers or viewers deem news worthy, and I write about what I feel on things that I may find news worthy. By claiming myself a journalist I am bound by certain rules and have a definite responsibility to tell the honest facts on everything I report. I need to back my statements with factual data, confirmed sources, and in most cases must have some kind of journalism training. To blog all I need is the means and a place to post, and the desire to do so. I have no peers to oversee my work or bosses to appease; my domain is in the world of opinion. And that is where we as bloggers differentiate from actual journalists.

So when I get on my blog and call someone a jerk, it is my opinion and should be treated as such. But when an accredited journalist gets on TV and does it, while pretending to impart facts; he is no longer a journalist and should not be considered one. When Rush Limbaugh or Bill O'Reilly pretend to give factual data and all the while spout complete nonsense; they are not journalists nor entertainers, but charlatans playing on our desire for truth. They are not the only ones that fit this bill, Arianna Huffington, Shawn Hannity, and so many others are just as guilty. I could go on forever naming the guilty members of the new journatainment industry, and never get them all, but that does not make any of them less guilty or responsible.

The reasons we have this problem are many, but we can trace it all too a few major causes. The first and most definitive of all these is the idea that our news should entertain us. If you watch Fox news or CNN to entertain yourself, god help you because you really miss the point. In turn if you as a producer of a news program, rely on entertainment value to draw in your audience or sponsors, you should stop working in the news and look into sitcoms or something else. Believe me when I tell you the news will never entertain you as much as a movie or sitcom, and it shouldn't. One is designed to give information the other is to make you feel something. The ability to feel what is going on without being put into a real situation is what entertainment is all about. When the news you rely on for information does that, it no longer informs you.

The second major cause is corporate owned media. This started with the first mergers that made the telecommunications conglomerates and has escalated nonstop. William Randolph Hurst was perhaps the first to control most of the major media, and his legacy is continued now by Rupert Murdoch and Time-Warner. This control was stalled for many years by a simple law passed back in the early days of radio. This law made it illegal for any corporation, company, or individual to own but a small share of the media in a given market or area. This law in a most efficient and simple way made sure that no one could limit or control the information given to you, and at the same time insured you would have a choice in what you listened to or watched. This also kept outside influence from swaying popular opinion, made sure political candidates got fair coverage, and through competition kept a level playing field. This law was removed by Michael Powell soon after becoming the head of the FCC. His reasons were no one got their news from the radio anymore and it would help improve programming. What a sham, it was actually because this administration and its backers wanted to control your information.

The third and final reason I will discuss here is complacency. We have become so used to our comfort levels we forgot what it cost to attain. I am incensed by so many Americans that demand so much but contribute so little. Democracy is the most advanced form of citizenship we have at this time. It is not simple nor will it ever be, and if you want it simple, democracy is not for you. The reason fascism, communism and socialism are able to survive in the modern world is the idea that people want to be told what's best for them without having to decide for themselves. All other forms of modern government rely on the complacency and ignorance of their people to perpetuate their rule. They tell them first, that they are one of them and understand their plight far better. Then they tell them they want equality and fairness to all especially the poor. It sounds great, but in reality they want to be in charge and decide what is fair for everyone. Over time their idea of fair changes to suit themselves and insure their position of power. And BAM! You got the same thing you had before just with a new name and face.

If you want freedom you better be ready to work for it. When you are asked to vote get off your can and do it. Stop giving your time and energy to those that do not care about anything other than what their sponsors want. It's not hard to spot a corporate lapdog, all you got to do is exercise common sense. If someone in the media is always telling you that one political party is completely bad for America, that the environment is not important, or tell you crap you know in your heart to be wrong, they are getting paid plain and simple.

I will end this by telling you some simple truths that are undeniable.

  1. There have always been those that profit from war, and care nothing for the loss that comes with it.
  2. The poor will never be important to a government until they need to be elected, keep power, wage war, or benefit the rich.
  3. We have legislative, judicial, and executive branches in our government because no one group should ever be allowed supreme rule; each branch oversees the other and keeps things fair and just. That idea is the most profound and important aspect of our government and should be protected at all costs, no matter what the reasons we are given. Just like Thomas Jefferson said so many years ago, we need our censors to watch over our rights. One single infringement of this no matter how small will ruin democracy.
  4. No one party, group, or individual will ever be able to fulfill all your needs. Never choose a party or affiliation over democracy or your rights and freedoms. And any who ask you to are your most dire enemy.
  5. Your wealth does not make me poor, but the poor can make you rich. Social responsibility in a true democracy must be shared equally by all who participate in it, or it will become a form of class rule.
  6. The environment is a balance of many things all working together to achieve a mutually beneficial end. To claim it is not affected by what we do is ignorant and shows the levels of greed some people are capable of.
  7. It is not un-American to disagree with our leaders, nor is it treason to speak out against them or their policies. It is by the very definition put forth in our Declaration of Independence the most American and patriotic thing we can do.
  8. The only time a politician wants to bring morality or religion into government is when they need them. When they no longer serve their purpose they will be ignored again.
  9. Anyone who tells you competition in a market is bad for business is being paid or is part of that business. Lack of competition in any market will only benefit the wealthiest and most powerful of that market.
  10. If it smells like crap, looks like crap, feels like crap, and shows all the signs you associate with crap; than it is crap.

I hope you can remember this is my opinion, no matter how I may believe it to be true. Treat it like it is and go find some factual information to form your own opinion.