It is a sad and frightening state of affairs, but the truth is, truth, if actually disclosed and disseminated, sounds so much like the bizarre rantings of mad men, that we the people do not pay attention.
For your consideration (after all, the truth these days does sound like the twilight zone, for you people fortunate enough to remember the old TV show):
The major network and cable news outlets this week have been absolutely consumed with Jeremiah Wright. Hours and hours of Jeremiah Wright talking, or being talked about. A little bit of Jeremiah Wright coverage is probably warranted, but there has been room for nothing else. Very little coverage of a little war that is raging in Iraq, or negotiations for a Palestinian settlement, or any number of other insignificant events. Perhaps slightly more newsworthy than Brittany or Paris or Anna Nicole or Michael or Kobe, Rev. Wright has served the same purpose of using up precious news time.
The New York Times reported this week that almost every talking head retired general that appears on the major network and cable news shows as an expert, unbiased analyst of all things military (Iraq, Palestine, Afghanistan, Pentagon, weapons, etc.) is a stockholder, director, or employee of corporations that are major defense contract holders. These are the folks that the networks put in front of us to give insight and opinion as to government policy regarding war, military budgets, foreign policy, etc. Could there possibly be a conflict of interest?
As far as I can tell, the major broadcast outlets buried the story.
Perhaps this is not too surprising. I laugh when people talk about the "liberal" media, referring to every broadcast outlet other than FOX news. But if one does a very brief look at the owners of the major networks, it is easy to see that they are all subject to economic benefits from a healthy defense budget. GE, Boeing, Viacom, Sunsystems, and many other defense contractors are intimately connected to the major networks. They all make a lot of money from federal defense contracts. There are also ties to large pharmaceutical companies and others. Big media is now owned by big business. Not only are they owned by big business, but their revenues come from big business.
So why are we not told of these connections? Get real. Corporations have no conscience, other than to make a good profit for investors. That is not the fault of corporations. Wake up people. Corporations are not human. They are a creation of statute. They are doing what they were designed to do.
As an old school journalist wannabe, it hurts my heart. In journalism school we were taught that the ethic of the journalist was critical to the well-being of the country. Being a tough, ethical journalist was an extreme act of patriotism. All conflicts were to be disclosed, and if necessary, were to disqualify the journalist from the story. What a quaint notion.
What happened? Where did journalism lose its ethic, its fierce independence?
A few years ago the government lifted long time ownership restrictions on media of all types. There were rules about how many media outlets could be owned by one entity. One person or corporation could not own more than one broadcast station and newspaper in a given market, and all transfers were examined by the Federal Communications Commission to assure diversity of ownership. The idea was that the independence created by the limitations would assure that the truth would come out and a diversity of ideas and entertainment would result. There was no opportunity for big money to be made. But now, the restrictions are gone. Huge corporations own hundreds of radio and television broadcast stations, networks, cable systems, and newspapers, because they can make a whole lot of money. The independent news outlets are on the endangered species list and nobody cares, nobody knows, because the behometh media conglomerates are certainly not going to disclose a story that is contrary to their interests.
So big deal, you might say. We still get a lot of news.
But what happened to stories about the more than 100,000 private contract employees that the U. S. government has employed to do jobs formerly done by the military, including combat duties without the niceties of the Geneva and other conventions to slow them down. What happened to the stories about the billions of dollars of waste in the prosecution of the war? What happened to stories about pharmaceutical companies knowingly marketing drugs which are hazaardous to life? Where are the stories about how sub-prime loans became possible? What happened to stories about the destruction of the Bill of Rights as a result of the Homeland Security Act? What happened to stories about what really happens in war? What happened to stories about Saudi Arabia's connections to terrorist groups? I could go on and on.
You won't see these stories, or any that get to the heart of the matter.
Deregulation. It sounds good. Why put restrictions on creativity? Because corporations have no conscience except to serve shareholders with profit. As a result of deregulation airlines do not arrive on time, all radio stations sound the same, drug companies can put out defective product, oil companies can make record profits while disaster befalls its neighbors (see Katrina), and we the people have no media outlet we can trust for the truth.
Sound like the rantings of a madman? You are right. I am mad.
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