Muzzled Media Is Great For Bloggers

NY Times Holds Stories Because They’re Afraid of Conservatives

Now the New York Times has gotten itself in the same old pickle they always do — they are going to be criticized by Republicans when in fact they were trying to be extra fair to Republicans. What they don’t get is that the conservatives view them as the enemy; they are never going to be appeased. So, do us all a favor and just print the damn story when you have it.

Totalitarian regimes don’t tolerate any distinction between journalism and propaganda

How did a born-again, family-values administration get in bed with a purveyor of misogyny and mayhem, trash and titillation?

This undemocratic confluence of politics and propaganda has long been in the making as corporate media have been incrementally empowered while public influence, input and “interest” have been eliminated.

The transformation of active citizens into passive consumers was enabled by the Federal Communications Commission under Ronald Reagan’s Mark Fowler, who declared “the perception of broadcasters as community trustees should be replaced by a view of broadcasters as marketplace participants.”

With the press tasked with reporting only those stories sanctioned by political and market interests, Americans have only one source for information left. Internet offers world news points of view and first hand accounts from bloggers. Of course, you must attempt to choose an impartial source. Impartial sources are rare these days, but there are a few left. OK, no one is absolutely neutral. You can first try looking at your opponent’s point of view, considering the points and locating the balance. No single point of view is without merit; conversely, no single point of view trumps anything else. Today’s world is smaller than it ever was, because of instant communication. The downside of this is knee jerk responses to breaking news, which is always incomplete.

A self-muzzled press and a public traumatized by 9/11 were manipulated by politicians.

CNN’s Christiane Amanpour, was asked her opinion of the U.S. media’s coverage of the Iraq win. She responded: “I think the press was muzzled and I think the press self-muzzled. Television … was intimidated by the [Bush] administration and its foot soldiers at Fox News.” For her honesty, Amanpour was immediately branded by one of those Fox foot soldiers as a “spokeswoman for al-Qaeda.”

Fear of being labeled un patriotic, siding with terrorists or anit-American has stifled public and private opinion. Opinions are always suspect by totalitarian regimes. Has the American body politic had a stroke? Remember what the NAZI regime did to dissenters? No, you are probably too young and don’t connect that behavior with Conservative American trends. NAZIs imposed their prearranged structure upon the population, Communists are still practicing this today. Just watch China and SE Asia. America risks following this path. Let Christians be Christians; Jews be Jews; Muslims be Muslims and let the rest of us alone! We don’t want a dog in this fight. Do not insist on mandatory participation. Holding the media hostage to a single agenda is a tragic mistake. You cannot mandate ignorance.