The InterActivist
No replastering; the structure is rotten. -- GrafittoDusting Off The Lens Of The Fourth Estate
Planets align; and like a primitive society of the ancient world we dance, in the limbo of entheogenic trances and a rush of the soon-to-come – reformation and revolution.
In past months, this column has looked at the concept of the invisible hand of the media. However, the gossamer illusion of the media’s swiftly turning tides has been orchestrated in such a way for quite some time. There will always be a bias in the news, in people’s views – it’s impossible to avoid. What to analyze now, as citizens of the red, white and untrue, are the puppeteers. Who control the talking head marionettes? Who - pray tell, James Hetfield - is the Master of Puppets?
Media consolidation is the term applied to the corporate ownership of a vast array of media outlets. The power and function of a grandiose majority of mainstream news sources (and bountiful infotainment for the yuppies!) has been slipping right into the hands of some of the (already) most powerful conglomerates in the world.
What to do, O weary traveler of the press? Well, what’s really the problem here? And what can be done about all this corporate mumbo-jumbo?
The root of the problem lies in the fact that over the last century, news media have gone from, well, news media to property. The news that most Americans do (or do not) consume has been turned into an investment opportunity. What the viewers and readers view and read is simply the byproduct of a business deal carried out on a corporate level.
This transaction has left an unhealthy stain on the fourth estate. Wholesome penny presses and the youthful rite of passage of delivering morning papers have gone the way of the typical sell-out.
The result of all this money changing hands is that our American marketplace of ideas has been infected. Corporate interests have trumped those of the public – to the point where most mainstream news outlets end up reporting the same story and the diversity of information has dwindled to a pathetic state.
The diversification of media is a very important facet of this topic to pursue. With the parasol of conglomerates hanging over the heads of news media, the journalistic instinct of providing the truth has faded away and found its new home in the dusty pages of journalism class textbooks. There is a significant threat being posed to the truth – and the general public has the ability to open their eyes and see this. It’s a blatant fact of this society and it rests calmly on the front page of your newspaper every morning – we’re continuing to live in a society where the distortion of what is considered “news” has pervaded every iota of our culture.
The counter action against this status quo – the necessity of an adversary should be utterly clear – lies in the nationwide media reform movement.
It’s shocking how the state of the media doesn’t even simply take a backseat to every other political issue in the land – no, it’s not even in the car! The reason for this shock is that the media are the lens through which every other issue is sent. If that filter is tainted or corrupted, then the issue at hand will follow suit. This leaves a nation on its own, swapping warped opinions on everything from the war in Iraq to the latest celebrity baby gossip. And, yes – Jamie Lynn Spears’ epic pregnancy drama is important! Don’t you watch the news?
Regardless of whatever pithy issue tickles one’s fancy, it would seem absurd to think that one would take what comes his or her way at face value. The inherent beauty of democracy is the ability (and encouragement) to question.
An issue that all American constituents share is that quadrennial festival of political debauchery and madness: the presidential election! Mudslinging abounds and deceit is free for the employing. Take a step back for a moment and truly look at what our hallowed watchdogs of the country are reporting.
It’s an endless array of mirrors – the same irrelevant statistics surrounding key primary states and shrouded in laymen jargon, either through clichéd terms or simplified metaphor. All ideas bounce off each other in a vacuum of thought where legitimate discourse is checkmated at every turn by euphemistic banter.
Rhetoric abounds throughout the entire media spectrum. Keep in mind, that spectrum doesn’t stop with all of the news media outlets and their parent companies. It’s in you too! The power of reading rhetorically is a necessary attribute that demands to run alongside the effects of a push for media reform.
One of the bottom lines here is that the current status quo (pertaining to our collection of news media) is slipping into a bizarre and greedy jurisdiction. The First Amendment is going the way of the Second – and soon, the warped powers that be will have turned it into an outmoded farce from courtesy of those ancient founding fathers.
The media reform movement is winning battles. It’s also lost a fair share, but the struggle is ongoing and is proving effective thus far. While grandiose consolidation of our entire telecommunications market has reached nearly critical mass, the tides are beginning to turn.
So, what’s the big idea? Why reform the media?
We’re after the truth; and you can leave objectivity out of this. I’m talking about the truth: the underlying principles that dictate quality information. It is this information that is absolutely necessary for this life. Knowledge of the system within which you live is crucial to understanding it all.
Historian Thomas Kuhn is well known for his idea of paradigm shifts within science. As the revolutions necessary for progress, these paradigm shifts change the entire intellectual landscape. A prime example would be Nicolaus Copernicus’ heliocentric epiphany.
OK, fine – the Earth revolves around the sun. Well, let’s move onward into the abysmal depths of today’s news media. Where’s our Copernican revolution? On the battlefield before us, a fascinating dichotomy has grown steadily laced with evil undertones. Money has risen up like a modern-day Prometheus’ fire. And the truth is lingering between the world of the living and the dead – like an exoskeletal silhouette of Keith Richards.
Grassroots movements have been springing up for decades now. With an air of hesitancy, the tenacious moon seems to be mediating a careful turning of the tides. With a society in the depths of a technology binge, much like ours, the need for true public interest within the media is becoming far too great.
Many institutions linked to the governance and operation of a society need have a careful eye place upon them. Reforms may prove necessary and, as sure as tomorrow’s sunrise, they will work their way into the societal foundations upon which we work and live. The people’s awareness is, however, required. Acting as the swift undercurrent to this monthly media watch, the theme of public perception and its inherent stake in the news is of the utmost importance
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