Mass Media

Mass media is a key ‘power asset’. It includes the programming, distribution and marketing of information that shapes perceptions.

What’s the interest? Ask yourself at least these two questions..

If, for example, there was large scale corruption, or immense conflicts of interests in the mass media industry that would shake the public trust, who do you think would tell you about it?
Are large corporations (dominating all of mass media) the only voice worth listening to?

There is much to understand about how mass media omits news via self-censorship, generates propaganda and how facts tend to become official just because they were uttered by an authority figure. It’s important to know who is at the controls and why. We must recognize the mutually beneficial relationships media giants share with government and corporate clients.

Quote: ”We are moving rapidly in the direction of a tiny handful of giant corporations controlling virtually everything that the ordinary American sees, hears or reads.”

Bernie Sanders, Congressman, April 2002 (I-VT) Read Article

Video

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Orwell Rolls In His Grave: a must-see documentary by Robert Kane Pappas. 1 hr 43 min.

Propaganda DVD Inserted Into U.S. Newspapers: a DVD was inserted into the newspapers in many swing-states about the obsession of Islam and terrorists. It’s purpose appears to be to bolster voting for McCain and to continue funding military pursuits. Article and video. The Raw Story. Sep 2008 I

U.S. censorship and propaganda: viewpoints by the DemocracyNow org regarding media coverage in the Middle East and how news is managed. 31 min.

The Century of Self - excellent series on how the public is manipulated. It includes the key role played by the “father of public relations”, Edward Bernays, American nephew of Sigmund Freud. Recommmended 58 min. 4 parts.

Part 1 - 58 min

Part 2 - 59 min

Part 3 - 58 min

Part 4 - 59 min

Media firings: refusals to show real truth in Iraq war results in firings. 4 min.

Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch’s War on Journalism - a Robert Greenwald film about the inner workings of Fox News shown not to be ‘freedom of the press’. Recommended. 1 hr 17 min.

Reading

Mainstream Media - primer on mass media objectives, ownership, methodology, etc. Web page

The “Big Ten” - media outlet ownership as of 2002. Web page

And Then There Were Eight - media outlet ownership as of 2007 Web Page

Articles

Wikopedia Censorship - opposing views to human causes of global warming are wiped off of Wikopedia. Just one example of this behavior. CBS News, Jul 2008 Article

Top Journalists Expose Media Coverups - some award winning journalists explain instances of coverup. Recommended Article

Media Bias vs. Media Corruption - good and short article about the progression of a biased media to a corrupted one. BlogCritics Magazine. Article

Corporate Control Up, Quality Down: Congressman Bernie Sanders (I-VT) discusses TV media’s corporate control. Baltimore Chronicle & Sentinel Article

Pentagon Media Fixing: efforts in Iraq prior to invasion. Inter-Press, May 2007 Article

Rupert Murdoch: an article about a number of this media baron’s views. 2004 Article

Dan Rather - piece on Rather’s $70M lawsuit against CBS. Sep 2007 Article

Quotes

“Military secrecy orders are severe, and a major incentive to secrecy. In addition, the history of the U.S. media shows unsettling developments, not least of which is penetration by the intelligence community. By the early 1950s, the CIA had cozy relationships with most major media executives in America. The most significant of these were with the New York Times, The Washington Post, The Christian Science Monitor, The New York Herald Tribune, The Saturday Evening Post, The Miami Herald Time-Life, CBS News, Scripps-Howard Newspapers, Hearst Newspapers, the Associated Press, United Press International, the Mutual Broadcasting System, and Reuters. In addition, the CIA had major ownership over many proprietary publications throughout Europe, Asia and the Americas.”

Richard M. Dolan, Author and Cold War Historian, 1999