5 Reasons That Coporate Media Coverage Is Pro-War

[Hissyspit]

http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2009/12/5-reasons-that-most-corporate-media-is.html

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2009

5 Reasons that Corporate Media Coverage is Pro-War

Note: McClatchy and several other large news sources are exceptions which have reported well on the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

There are five reasons that the mainstream media is worthless.

1. Self-Censorship by Journalists

Initially, there is tremendous self-censorship by journalists.

- snip -

Keith Olbermann agreed that there is self-censorship in the American media, and that:

You can rock the boat, but you can never say that the entire ocean is in trouble .... You cannot say: By the way, there's something wrong with our .... system.

As former Washington Post columnist Dan Froomkin wrote in 2006:

Mainstream-media political journalism is in danger of becoming increasingly irrelevant, but not because of the Internet, or even Comedy Central. The threat comes from inside. It comes from journalists being afraid to do what journalists were put on this green earth to do. . . .

- snip -

2. Censorship by Higher-Ups

If journalists do want to speak out about an issue, they also are subject to tremendous pressure by their editors or producers to kill the story.



- snip -

3. Drumming Up Support for War

In addition, the owners of American media companies have long actively played a part in drumming up support for war.

It is painfully obvious that the large news outlets studiously avoided any real criticism of the government's claims in the run up to the Iraq war. It is painfully obvious that the large American media companies acted as lapdogs and stenographers for the government's war agenda.

- snip -

4. Access

REST AT LINK

[mullard12ax7]

1. Number 2 is the real killer, "No. of corporations that control the media = 5"

K&R, there are still millions of people who have no idea how manipulated their own minds are.

[Mythbuster]

5. That's really scary. n/t

[RufusTFirefly]

7. Imagine that. Just five phone calls to five important people. And you're set.

Scary indeed.

[NightWatcher]

2. how about M$NBC/NBC for example, owned by a military contractor (GE)???

what other "news" owners have dollars invested in the war machine.

[NNN0LHI]

3. Reason 6. Most Americans are complete idiots who will never question authority

See the 90% approval rating Little Boots managed to drum up when he said he wanted to invade Afghanistan for confirmation.

Americans mostly don't want to be told the truth. They want to be stroked. And its stroked they get.

Don

[anonymous171]

8. WRONG. Everyone wants to know the truth.

If you don't believe that then you might as well give up on democracy.

[EFerrari]

9. Who did that poll, anyway?

:)

People want to feel safe, for sure, and there's a bunch of authoritarian follower DNA in this country.

[Wilms]

4. Fear & Silence: Dan Rather speaks out

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7oxH95dy5g

[Edweird]

6. I just figured it was for the same reason they are pro-hurricane/ flood/ tornado/ forest fire/

car chase/domestic violence/ shootout/personal tragedy/terrorist attack... ratings. I'm not diminishing the role or corporate ideology at places like Fox, but news is news.

[ShamelessHussy]

10. yes, but wouldn't there be consequences if they encouraged the arsonist to start a fire so they can

cover it for ratings?

so, why isn't there any for war?

because, they are controlled by the "arsonist", who are in control of the law?

[Quantess]

11. I recently watched "Weapons of Mass Deception"

about media coverage leading up to, and during, the war in Iraq.

It's pretty good. I especially recommend it to journalism students or people in that industry.

[mdmc]

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