This is what happens when the Govt. controls the media. Its the whole "Look at this shiny thing over here" while they kill and murder millions of people in other countries. Good Times!!!
This is what happens when the general population of the country is overly concerned about the private lives of celebrities... This isn't one where you blame the government, its the media and gossip queens that cause it.
And this is what happens when conspiracy theorists don't take their meds on time. Do you really think someone in the government is putting headlines out there?
"This is what happens when the Govt. controls the media"
Wrong. This is what happens when the media controls the government. We illegally occupy foreign nations for corporate profits. I think you might have it backwards.
Advocating smaller government in effect curtails this problem to some extent, but also provides less protection for the little guys like myself. Essentially the Govt is our big brother keeping the bullies at bay, but when we create opportunities for business to manipulate our national agenda, we find out later big brother is friends with the kids that stole our lunch money.
I agree, CNN has become nothing more than a tabloid newspaper over the years...including larry king and now they run stories every day on the paparazi harrassing celebs...doesn't that perpetuate it? It's like running a story on your own news site how shitty the current news stories are are your site.
Ron Paul 2008! And I am not even political and have never voted!
This is what happens when the general population is concerned with the wrong thing. People need to wake up, not the government. The government will do whatever they want until the people wake up and fight for whats right. We had a small taste of it in the 60's.
The liberal media just caters to the millions of americans who have no idea whats going on. They sppon feed you news about britney and paris and whatever else they want.
They let the sheep see only what they want.
People who watch CNN, FOXNews, MSNBC, and all the other mainstream media sources are being spoon fed biased propaganda.
Get your own news, be proactive and not just sit there and get brainwashed. Find out for yourself whats really going on.
Dont loose your skepticism or snese of wonder. Ask questions about everything.
This is just more distraction news to keep the people preoccupied, when they air a real debate between the real frontrunners of this race and stop ignoring the will of the people only then will msm gain any credibility again
The general population is drunk on entertainment. More entertainment > more contentment > more distractions > less inclination to get pissed off and make a difference.
As long as we have our SUV, our celeb gossip, our XBoX, our Dorito Chips and our Pepsi Cola we don't give a damn about anything else.
#1 Cause of death in the 20th century...Governments gone bad. So maybe you should continue to take your antidepressents they will keep you in denial. We are headed toward fascism/corporatism...get educated.
Meanwhile... Notice that whoever captured this screen Clicked on the link to "Pregnant Skydiver falls 50mph into pavement" and NOT the one about the Torture Chamber, War or Killer visiting kids.....
I'm thinking that anything you had a taste of in the 60's is probably illegal in most states today.
The media is controlled by the corporations who are the same corporations that control the government via the lobbiests. You see exactly what they want you to see and nothing more. It suits the corporations to keep us occupied with trivial matters of what Britney (etc) are doing than the violations to the constitution and other human rights that are trod upon daily.
It's much easier to lead when those whom you are leading are ignorant of what they're being lead into.
What amazes me is that, and I am not a lawyer, no one is looking at prosecuting her boyfriend for statutory rape. I know out on the left coast they tend to look the other way when young girls are involved (Don Henley), but I would thinks someone would say "WTF!". Maybe it's just me. Oh well, back to my Doritios and Judge Judy!
the media is a reflection of our interests. can't you imagine that the media outlets observe how many times a 'Britney' article is clicked on versus a 'War Spending' item, and realize they should probably build a Britney section on their site?
Really? Ya'll are kinda slow this has been old news. Its the combination of the american population being dumbass, and corperate america sucking the tit of its stupidity.
People care about who is having sex with who, not what their government is doing or that small rebellions are happening around them.
Society is going down the toliet faster then my breakfast
i think some of you are only getting part of the point. the corporate media is NOT just a reflection of society, it is actively trying to distort reality. They lie to us both directly, and also by failing to report items that don't serve their interests, lies of omission. Sites like Digg prove that there is a market for the truth (real news) but the corporate media outlets are actively dumbing it down and lying to serve their fascist ideology. More media consolidation is on the way too...
you have elements of the military industrial complex advertising on cnn, thats money coming from tax payers. you're paying for this shit. vote ron paul .
Hey folks, you are all losing the focus here. Much akin to losing the forest for the trees. Consider, American thirst for celebs? You all elevate them to demigod status. Get off your a**es, shut off the TV. Maybe go outside, take a walk, or just exercise for a while. After that read a book or two, shut off the electronic games, and think for yourselves. Scary, huh?
It's pretty clear that no one really cares about what effects them personally whether it's a direct affect or not. What matters, is everyone else's misfortunes.
CNN is reporting what majority want not what makes sense to report. If the reported what made sense they would lose a lot of viewers that advertisers want.
Things are a lot simpler than most think. It's the compounding issue that looks like a conspiracy.
With that said though out history men have NEVER conspired to accomplish something that some would consider evil. ;)
Writting from Europe...americans you need to wake up. something is wrong... there's either brain wash going on a large scale, or people are loosing their sense of reality. Where in the world are the real jurnalists? 70Billion (please repeat that in your head) of your money is thrown into killing people arround the world, and we watch young sluts on cnn... land of the "free"?
What a bunch crap. Not just CNN’s placement of the so-called story, but the motives attributed to it. It’s simple folks – television is a business, and each rating point is worth millions of dollars. Programmers are continually doing focus groups, duplicating approaches that attract eyeballs, and trashing storylines that fail. Television journalism is an oxymoron. It’s all about entertainment. Clearly the bosses upstairs at the cable networks have figured out people will tune in for tawdry stories about so-called celebs. The knocked-up sister of a train wreck is cheap and easy to cover (double entendre intended). Prudes and tsk, pervs can fantasize, girls can dream about being trampy sisters of celebrities, and parents can get that uncomfortable feeling in the sphincter as they look at their teenage daughters. See, there’s something for everyone.
And I also agree with the guy who is going to have a meltdown the next time he hears the term “liberal media”. Please get real and pull your head out of the above noted sphincter.
By the way Michael, I was just taking a look at the most popular stories on your blog:
-Comcast tech caught sleeping on the job -KFC logo first to be seen from space -Michael Vick flips off fans -Prototype walking tractor -World's largest rabbit
Man, it's nice to know that somebody out there is publishing the important stories, and that people are responding and reading them.
But it begs the question - do stories about big bunnies, walking tractors and sleeping on the job make you part of a government conspiracy?
Will these stories contribute to the societal slide into stupidity while the corporate powers take us over and the liberal media corrupts our minds?
Thanks for the thoughtful comment. While I wish I had the Web traffic and the international clout that cnn.com has, I don't.
But I also don't claim to be the leader in global news and I don't have a hefty payroll of Ivy League educated journalists working for me. The world doesn't look to me for up-to-the-minute news and discussions about issues that affect our lives.
If I was in such a position, however, I can assure I would not prioritize a story about Britney Spears' sister being pregnant over other issues that we can agree are far more important, like terror, torture, and the War in Iraq.
If CNN had a blog named "technobabble", as I do, and only strived to promote interesting things that they find on the Web, as I do, perhaps they wouldn't be held to such a high standard.
In short, I don't set the standard for the mainstream media, nor have I ever claimed to. CNN should be held at a different standard than my blog.
In the meantime, I'll continue to post pictures of big bunnies and sleeping Comcast technicians, and I hope that you'll continue to read.
To whomever said "This is what happens when the Govt. controls the media":
You, friend, are an uninformed fuck.
CNN is not government controlled media. In fact you could argue that is PRECISELY WHY it's so sensationalist. CNN and almost every other popular news outlet are beholden to the corporate interests of their advertisers. Their top stories are predicated upon keeping viewers interested and entertained to keep their ratings up and their advertisers happy.
This is going to be news to you, but if you want to find real sensationalism-free journalism look no further than PBS and NPR. Take, for example, the PBS program The News Hour. It is by far the most in-depth, unbiased mainstream source for news on television. They have no advertisements and guess what. It's funded in part by our government. You would never see a Britney Spears story even mentioned, let alone put as the lead.
I find it pathetic that you can be simultaneously disgusted with sensationalism in the media but at the same time show your support for libertarian Ron Paul. If elected he would almost certainly deregulate the media even further, which would lead to homogenization of the news. More bubblegum crowd pleasing stories would inevitably result. He would also severely cut funding to -- if not totally do away with -- NPR and PBS, the last few sources of journalism with integrity in this country.
Don't call people that support Ron Paul adolescent fucks. Ron Paul wants to END the shit in the small print. I'd rather have sensationalism than FUCKING WARS ON OTHER COUNTRIES because we can't get our energy policy right.
Its not a choice between having a press imbued with integrity and having a rational foreign policy. We can and should have both. Ron Paul claims to ensure only one. I will continue to call his supporters adolescent fucks until they recognize this and all the other insoluble problems his presidency would create.
That's why you have this thing called checks and balances. It's important that the Republican party is fiscally conservative like Paul. We need more libertarians to out number the neo-cons who are destroying America much more than sesationalism.
Besides, Paul has consistently been the most outspoken critic of the more important issue of the two. IMO he has 1 up on every one else running for the presidency except for maybe Kucinich or Gravel.
Shame on the right wingers here trying to turn this into a political war. Fox News is just as guilty, THEY BROADCAST TMZ NOW. The facts are, this is what morons want to see, and believe it or not, this country has more morons than otherwise (see last 2 election results). Money, money, money, ladies and gentlemen. Everything is a business, even your misinformation.
This is what happens when you get people with no lives of their own, who care too much about someone's life. To the point that you are going into a seizer because they have to find out what their F#&k up of the day is. Grow up, get a life, and stop blaming "the f#&k ups" for humanity's problems.
A Ron Paul presidency would be a threat to the quality of the media in this country period. There is no denying this.
His first move would be to deregulate as much as he possibly can in the industry, opening the doors for a small number of very rich companies to own the vast majority of all the media voices in the US. This means radio stations, TV networks, newspapers, magazines, and yes eventually major websites. These few companies will care very little about providing a public service and very much about providing fluffy nonsense to capture an audience for their advertisers.
Ron Paul will also immediately kill some of the only serious mainstream sources of journalism -- sources completely free of sensationalism -- that rely on government money to do their work untainted by overwhelming corporate interest PBS NPR etc.
Ron Paul is not the only candidate out there who is opposed to the "neo-cons" as you seem to put it. Many other candidates are with him on that point as well. While I admire his opposition to the terrifying and increasingly idiotic foreign policy that we have now, I am opposed to many, many of his other goals, including the complete deregulation of the media.
The point of this blog entry was, after all, about rampant sensationalism that keeps our media in such a poor state. So my message is for you and anyone that is offended by the quality of the journalism you see on the top of this page:
You describe a scenario in which the deregulation of the media would allow a few major corporations to take control of most of the information we recieve through news broadcasts, radio, and the web, but you fail to acknowledge that 5 or 6 major corporations ALREADY own all mainstream news networks, and thus the information we ingest.
You said, "These few companies will care very little about providing a public service and very much about providing fluffy nonsense to capture an audience for their advertisers." This is also ALREADY the fact of the matter. PROFIT is the only motive of our entire American system!
So basically, you have it a bit backwards. Deregulation does not narrow the scope of media, it creates DIVERSITY in media! Think about it.
Regulation = limiting freedom Deregulation = allowing more freedom
This is exactly what America needs. Diversity in media. Currently, mainstream media is majorly focused on issues of little importance, distracting the masses from the huge global issues which all of us should be made aware of and thinking about. A more diversified media might be willing to do what our current setup isn't willing to do, like tackle the tough issues like our failed foriegn policy, immigration, social security, etc, something CNN and Foxnews either don't care about, or don't want us THINK about.
And in regards to government-funded media: do you really think ending this would be a bad thing? Let's analyze this. The US government has become too large for its own good. It cannot keep track of itself, and is thus overspending, over-regulating, and getting into unwinnable civil wars. A government like this is only going to grant money to organizations and media outlets which will directly benefit it. This is achieved by either bending the truth of the information it dispenses, or by outright MISINFORMATION, which is the way in which CNN and Fox both already operate.. Why would a government like ours give ANY money to a media outlet that will bash it and expose it for the corrupted syndicate it is? It wouldn't.
The best media we have these days is FREELANCE! What's the keyword in freelance? FREE! Freelance reporters do what they do because they're passionate about spreading the truth, not because they're payed to do so. Eliminating goevernment-funded organizations would not hurt this country.
"Quit buying crap like britney spears cds" is a good start, but it's actually her direct and indirect sponsors that keep her overpriced purse stuffed with FRNs.
It might take some research, but a list of corporations should be identified/published ahead of a formal MSM boycott. Anyone game?
Look, the news story isn't ABOUT spears...it's about parenting teenagers, and a potential crisis moment in that. While I agree that it's a damn shame that teenagers care, since they already DO care, it's actually TRUE that most folks SHOULD be more concerned on a moment-to-moment basis with their own children than yet another specific story about an ongoing conflict.
the same interests who control mainstream media ALSO control the government at the highest level. while it involves putting out crap for people to mistake as "news," the real danger are the talking anuses (beck, o'reilly) who have carte blanche to insert their ignorant, racist opinions every chance they get.
They've effectively rigged the presidential election by cherrypicking candidates to cover and relentlessly debate over, pretending to be "fair and balanced" by pitting one phony team against the other, on non-important issues like global warming, gun control, gay rights, etc. despite the fact that whichever party gets picked, they serve the same interests just the same. "Republicans" and "Democrats" don't even matter anymore because they only differ publicly about things we don't care about (our Democratic Congress could have cut the funding for this war but DIDN'T despite voicing excessive meaningless disapproval)
Meanwhile you have people like Mika from MSNBC's Morning Joe trying to set the Paris Hilton script on fire ON AIR. If you pay attention you can see which anchors are fed up with the nonsense they're told to report (not wolf blitzer of course) and that's the best indicator we'll get that the end of life as we know it is approaching.
But then again, Ron Paul was on the view (i have no idea how that slid).
To the anonymous well-intentioned, poorly-informed libertarian:
You are correct in that a small number of companies already own a large amount of the media. What you seem to not understand is that this situation is relatively new and a DIRECT RESULT of deregulation by the FCC. It was not until after the deregulating telecommunications act of 1996 took effect did you see companies like ClearChannel go from owning 40 stations (the legal cap) to 1200 stations in all 50 states. Where before they had myriads of competitors -- many other stations in many other markets -- they now have exactly ONE competitor: Viacom.
Haven't you ever wondered why no matter where you go in the country the radio is now almost uniformly lousy? You can find examples of corporate consolidation in all the other major forms of media as well.
Now I ask you to reconsider your "deregulation leads to diversity" stance. Ron Paul, whom you seem to support, would encourage and endorse outright corporate monopolies in the media. He would would be quite happy with a single corporation owning all the media. Ask him.
I agree with two of your points:
1. Deregulation = allowing more freedom 2. PROFIT is the only motive of our entire American system!
Deregulation is simply the removal of restrictions that are already in place. However media ownership restrictions are ONLY IN PLACE FOR LARGE MEDIA COMPANIES. They simply do not apply to individuals and even small businesses. Even medium-sized businesses! So yes deregulation of the media provides "more freedom" but that new freedom is only enjoyed by the large corporations (not individuals!) who -- getting to the other point I agree with -- have only a profit motive. These corporations with their new freedom -- unfettered by the policies Ron Paul intends to destroy -- would eventually, through buyouts mergers and etc, own all major voices in the media.
I agree that exactly what America needs is diversity in its media but I completely disagree that deregulation is the way to get there.
Now lets talk about government-funded media. Lets compare some shall we?
Compare the BBC to Fox news. One is government funded and one isn't. Which cares about informing the public more?
Compare NPR to CNN. Both are very capable of providing good journalism however one often (especially recently) lapses into ludicrous pandering for their advertisers. One doesn't.
You ask "Why would a government like ours give ANY money to a media outlet that will bash it and expose it for the corrupted syndicate it is?"
You obviously have no fucking idea what you are talking about. Ever watch Frontline on PBS? Every fucking episode is a scathing rebuke of current government policy. And hey its funded in part by the very government it is bashing. This is something to be proud about your democracy. Bill Moyers has been on PBS since nearly its inception and he has been ever-critical of the government. Want more balance? Watch the NewsHour. Listen to fucking NPR news. Or the BBC. God the fucking Mclaughlin Group even.
I am not advocating a media that is ONLY government-funded. That would be ridiculous! I am however fighting to keep the (already poorly funded) media we have alive. Ron Paul would without a doubt kill public broadcasting. Period. Not many reasonably-minded people who raised their kids with Sesame Street in the background would agree this is a good thing.
You end with some very pathetically naive statements -- namely that the keyword in freelance is "free". This is the dumbest thing I have ever heard. You clearly have never worked in any freelance capacity. Freelance journalists, yes, are very important but they need and deserve to get paid. (Did you forget the profit motive point you made?) If you think posting some 14 year old's blog entry from your Mom's computer to Digg is fucking journalism then you're retarded. Digg is trash. If you are a real journalist you are out devoting your life to covering things that matter to you and to the public and you can't survive to do your job unless someone is there funding you -- whether its the government or otherwise.
The naivete of you Ron Paul supporters is astounding.
urdoch stepped out into the street. The action in and of itself was as trivial as could be. Eyes judging the distance, legs moving, weight shifting. Of course, the kinetic energy embodied by the double decker electric bus bearing down on him could hardly be considered trivial considering his few kg's of body mass. A normal man might succumb to the images of his own body being tossed into the air like a bowling pen and the jolt in his heart rate as he realized his fate and take immediate action to step aside and avoid it, but Murdoch let his attention fall on the Ron Paul sticker that had been neatly, if illegally, arranged behind the bike rack. How fitting it was that his last moments were consumed by this bumper sticker. It would all come out of course. The lies, the cover-ups, the bribes. He was being tossed out of the club, thrown to the wolves. That damn Ron Paul supporter had broke the story with his blimp fly-over pictures and exposed the tip of the iceberg. Now, it was all comming out...
This happend when people don't read books. Media are as intelligent as their market target. In this case stupid CNN for stupid Americans. Sorry for my english but this isn't my native language. Stb
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74 Comments:
This is what happens when the Govt. controls the media. Its the whole "Look at this shiny thing over here" while they kill and murder millions of people in other countries. Good Times!!!
Ron Paul 08'
When the Gov't controls the media?
This is what happens when the general population of the country is overly concerned about the private lives of celebrities... This isn't one where you blame the government, its the media and gossip queens that cause it.
And this is what happens when conspiracy theorists don't take their meds on time. Do you really think someone in the government is putting headlines out there?
Come on, get real.
"This is what happens when the Govt. controls the media"
Wrong. This is what happens when the media controls the government. We illegally occupy foreign nations for corporate profits. I think you might have it backwards.
Advocating smaller government in effect curtails this problem to some extent, but also provides less protection for the little guys like myself. Essentially the Govt is our big brother keeping the bullies at bay, but when we create opportunities for business to manipulate our national agenda, we find out later big brother is friends with the kids that stole our lunch money.
This is what happens when CNN competes with sites like TMZ for internet advertising dollars...
I agree, CNN has become nothing more than a tabloid newspaper over the years...including larry king and now they run stories every day on the paparazi harrassing celebs...doesn't that perpetuate it? It's like running a story on your own news site how shitty the current news stories are are your site.
Ron Paul 2008! And I am not even political and have never voted!
This is what happens when the general population is concerned with the wrong thing. People need to wake up, not the government. The government will do whatever they want until the people wake up and fight for whats right. We had a small taste of it in the 60's.
When the government controls the media?
HA HA HA WRONG.
The liberal media just caters to the millions of americans who have no idea whats going on. They sppon feed you news about britney and paris and whatever else they want.
They let the sheep see only what they want.
People who watch CNN, FOXNews, MSNBC, and all the other mainstream media sources are being spoon fed biased propaganda.
Get your own news, be proactive and not just sit there and get brainwashed. Find out for yourself whats really going on.
Dont loose your skepticism or snese of wonder. Ask questions about everything.
DONT BELIEVE THE HYPE
This is just more distraction news to keep the people preoccupied, when they air a real debate between the real frontrunners of this race and stop ignoring the will of the people only then will msm gain any credibility again
RP 08!
The general population is drunk on entertainment. More entertainment > more contentment > more distractions > less inclination to get pissed off and make a difference.
As long as we have our SUV, our celeb gossip, our XBoX, our Dorito Chips and our Pepsi Cola we don't give a damn about anything else.
This is what we get when the Dems control CNN. The Fox News website would have led with the War headline... Ka-Boom!
Britney vs. Dick Cheney.... Pick a side.
#1 Cause of death in the 20th century...Governments gone bad. So maybe you should continue to take your antidepressents they will keep you in denial. We are headed toward fascism/corporatism...get educated.
Meanwhile... Notice that whoever captured this screen Clicked on the link to "Pregnant Skydiver falls 50mph into pavement" and NOT the one about the Torture Chamber, War or Killer visiting kids.....
"We had a small taste of it in the 60's."
I'm thinking that anything you had a taste of in the 60's is probably illegal in most states today.
The media is controlled by the corporations who are the same corporations that control the government via the lobbiests. You see exactly what they want you to see and nothing more. It suits the corporations to keep us occupied with trivial matters of what Britney (etc) are doing than the violations to the constitution and other human rights that are trod upon daily.
It's much easier to lead when those whom you are leading are ignorant of what they're being lead into.
What amazes me is that, and I am not a lawyer, no one is looking at prosecuting her boyfriend for statutory rape. I know out on the left coast they tend to look the other way when young girls are involved (Don Henley), but I would thinks someone would say "WTF!". Maybe it's just me. Oh well, back to my Doritios and Judge Judy!
1. Celebrity News Network
2. Corrupt government
3. Real big mess
If I hear the blatantly false but hopelessly entrenched phrase "liberal media" ever again, I may have to punch a conservative.
Hell, I may have to punch one anyway.
Well complaining on this website won't do you guys any good. It will only get worse....
the media is a reflection of our interests. can't you imagine that the media outlets observe how many times a 'Britney' article is clicked on versus a 'War Spending' item, and realize they should probably build a Britney section on their site?
i thought it was a celebrities news site but thats cnn, man im happy i stopped watching tv.
Really? Ya'll are kinda slow this has been old news. Its the combination of the american population being dumbass, and corperate america sucking the tit of its stupidity.
People care about who is having sex with who, not what their government is doing or that small rebellions are happening around them.
Society is going down the toliet faster then my breakfast
Speaks volumes right there!!
i think some of you are only getting part of the point. the corporate media is NOT just a reflection of society, it is actively trying to distort reality. They lie to us both directly, and also by failing to report items that don't serve their interests, lies of omission. Sites like Digg prove that there is a market for the truth (real news) but the corporate media outlets are actively dumbing it down and lying to serve their fascist ideology. More media consolidation is on the way too...
Did I miss something, did a terrorist get her pregnant?
End socialism. End Zionism.
Ron Paul '08!
She spread her legs for him, don't you right wingers over on the east coast believe in personal responsibility?
you have elements of the military industrial complex advertising on cnn, thats money coming from tax payers. you're paying for this shit. vote ron paul .
If Ron Paul doesn't win the presidency I hope Britney Spears does. She'd be better then any of the other candidates!
This is what happens when you taunt happy fun ball...
Hey folks, you are all losing the focus here. Much akin to losing the forest for the trees.
Consider, American thirst for celebs? You all elevate them to demigod status. Get off your a**es, shut off the TV. Maybe go outside, take a walk, or just exercise for a while.
After that read a book or two, shut off the electronic games, and think for yourselves. Scary, huh?
"The people who have conquered the world have only two interests - bread and circuses"
Juvenal
1st century AD
You can find related content on www.matecube.com
Conquering is one thing, but leading in philosophical thought is another.
OMG NOT BRITNEY'S SISTER! NO WAY!
It's pretty clear that no one really cares about what effects them personally whether it's a direct affect or not. What matters, is everyone else's misfortunes.
who care about CNN?
CNN is reporting what majority want not what makes sense to report. If the reported what made sense they would lose a lot of viewers that advertisers want.
Things are a lot simpler than most think. It's the compounding issue that looks like a conspiracy.
With that said though out history men have NEVER conspired to accomplish something that some would consider evil. ;)
Personally I like hearing the celeb gossip. Especially lurid tales of underage girls getting knocked up. Even moreso when they are hot looking.
Thomas Jefferson: The price of freedom is eternal vigilance.
-- Koh Choon Lin
Writting from Europe...americans you need to wake up. something is wrong...
there's either brain wash going on a large scale, or people are loosing their sense of reality. Where in the world are the real jurnalists? 70Billion (please repeat that in your head) of your money is thrown into killing people arround the world, and we watch young sluts on cnn...
land of the "free"?
What a bunch crap. Not just CNN’s placement of the so-called story, but the motives attributed to it. It’s simple folks – television is a business, and each rating point is worth millions of dollars. Programmers are continually doing focus groups, duplicating approaches that attract eyeballs, and trashing storylines that fail. Television journalism is an oxymoron. It’s all about entertainment. Clearly the bosses upstairs at the cable networks have figured out people will tune in for tawdry stories about so-called celebs. The knocked-up sister of a train wreck is cheap and easy to cover (double entendre intended). Prudes and tsk, pervs can fantasize, girls can dream about being trampy sisters of celebrities, and parents can get that uncomfortable feeling in the sphincter as they look at their teenage daughters. See, there’s something for everyone.
And I also agree with the guy who is going to have a meltdown the next time he hears the term “liberal media”. Please get real and pull your head out of the above noted sphincter.
By the way Michael, I was just taking a look at the most popular stories on your blog:
-Comcast tech caught sleeping on the job
-KFC logo first to be seen from space
-Michael Vick flips off fans
-Prototype walking tractor
-World's largest rabbit
Man, it's nice to know that somebody out there is publishing the important stories, and that people are responding and reading them.
But it begs the question - do stories about big bunnies, walking tractors and sleeping on the job make you part of a government conspiracy?
Will these stories contribute to the societal slide into stupidity while the corporate powers take us over and the liberal media corrupts our minds?
Yours curiously.
MI.
Media Insider,
Thanks for the thoughtful comment. While I wish I had the Web traffic and the international clout that cnn.com has, I don't.
But I also don't claim to be the leader in global news and I don't have a hefty payroll of Ivy League educated journalists working for me. The world doesn't look to me for up-to-the-minute news and discussions about issues that affect our lives.
If I was in such a position, however, I can assure I would not prioritize a story about Britney Spears' sister being pregnant over other issues that we can agree are far more important, like terror, torture, and the War in Iraq.
If CNN had a blog named "technobabble", as I do, and only strived to promote interesting things that they find on the Web, as I do, perhaps they wouldn't be held to such a high standard.
In short, I don't set the standard for the mainstream media, nor have I ever claimed to. CNN should be held at a different standard than my blog.
In the meantime, I'll continue to post pictures of big bunnies and sleeping Comcast technicians, and I hope that you'll continue to read.
Michael Castellon
To whomever said "This is what happens when the Govt. controls the media":
You, friend, are an uninformed fuck.
CNN is not government controlled media. In fact you could argue that is PRECISELY WHY it's so sensationalist. CNN and almost every other popular news outlet are beholden to the corporate interests of their advertisers. Their top stories are predicated upon keeping viewers interested and entertained to keep their ratings up and their advertisers happy.
This is going to be news to you, but if you want to find real sensationalism-free journalism look no further than PBS and NPR. Take, for example, the PBS program The News Hour. It is by far the most in-depth, unbiased mainstream source for news on television. They have no advertisements and guess what. It's funded in part by our government. You would never see a Britney Spears story even mentioned, let alone put as the lead.
I find it pathetic that you can be simultaneously disgusted with sensationalism in the media but at the same time show your support for libertarian Ron Paul. If elected he would almost certainly deregulate the media even further, which would lead to homogenization of the news. More bubblegum crowd pleasing stories would inevitably result. He would also severely cut funding to -- if not totally do away with -- NPR and PBS, the last few sources of journalism with integrity in this country.
Stop supporting Ron Paul, you adolescent fucks.
Don't call people that support Ron Paul adolescent fucks. Ron Paul wants to END the shit in the small print. I'd rather have sensationalism than FUCKING WARS ON OTHER COUNTRIES because we can't get our energy policy right.
I Like Turtles.
This is what happens whe you live in USA
Its not a choice between having a press imbued with integrity and having a rational foreign policy. We can and should have both. Ron Paul claims to ensure only one. I will continue to call his supporters adolescent fucks until they recognize this and all the other insoluble problems his presidency would create.
F**K CNN! Great job in pointing out the ridiculous of "mainstream media". This is definitely contributing to the collapse of western civilization.
"Ron Paul claims to ensure only one."
That's why you have this thing called checks and balances. It's important that the Republican party is fiscally conservative like Paul. We need more libertarians to out number the neo-cons who are destroying America much more than sesationalism.
Besides, Paul has consistently been the most outspoken critic of the more important issue of the two. IMO he has 1 up on every one else running for the presidency except for maybe Kucinich or Gravel.
Shame on the right wingers here trying to turn this into a political war. Fox News is just as guilty, THEY BROADCAST TMZ NOW. The facts are, this is what morons want to see, and believe it or not, this country has more morons than otherwise (see last 2 election results). Money, money, money, ladies and gentlemen. Everything is a business, even your misinformation.
This is what happens when you get people with no lives of their own, who care too much about someone's life. To the point that you are going into a seizer because they have to find out what their F#&k up of the day is. Grow up, get a life, and stop blaming "the f#&k ups" for humanity's
problems.
"No single raindrop believes it is to blame for the flood." (despair.com)
This is what happens when the establishment wants to do something that is bad for the people.
Ron Paul 2008
this is exactly what i have been trying to tell people for years.
to 'bluefuckingdamage':
A Ron Paul presidency would be a threat to the quality of the media in this country period. There is no denying this.
His first move would be to deregulate as much as he possibly can in the industry, opening the doors for a small number of very rich companies to own the vast majority of all the media voices in the US. This means radio stations, TV networks, newspapers, magazines, and yes eventually major websites. These few companies will care very little about providing a public service and very much about providing fluffy nonsense to capture an audience for their advertisers.
Ron Paul will also immediately kill some of the only serious mainstream sources of journalism -- sources completely free of sensationalism -- that rely on government money to do their work untainted by overwhelming corporate interest PBS NPR etc.
Ron Paul is not the only candidate out there who is opposed to the "neo-cons" as you seem to put it. Many other candidates are with him on that point as well. While I admire his opposition to the terrifying and increasingly idiotic foreign policy that we have now, I am opposed to many, many of his other goals, including the complete deregulation of the media.
The point of this blog entry was, after all, about rampant sensationalism that keeps our media in such a poor state. So my message is for you and anyone that is offended by the quality of the journalism you see on the top of this page:
PLEASE RE-THINK YOUR SUPPORT OF RON PAUL.
-ds
I wish their was just one tv station that reported actuall unbiased news... that would become the most watched tv station
In response to dontsave's most recent comment:
You describe a scenario in which the deregulation of the media would allow a few major corporations to take control of most of the information we recieve through news broadcasts, radio, and the web, but you fail to acknowledge that 5 or 6 major corporations ALREADY own all mainstream news networks, and thus the information we ingest.
You said, "These few companies will care very little about providing a public service and very much about providing fluffy nonsense to capture an audience for their advertisers." This is also ALREADY the fact of the matter. PROFIT is the only motive of our entire American system!
So basically, you have it a bit backwards. Deregulation does not narrow the scope of media, it creates DIVERSITY in media! Think about it.
Regulation = limiting freedom
Deregulation = allowing more freedom
This is exactly what America needs. Diversity in media. Currently, mainstream media is majorly focused on issues of little importance, distracting the masses from the huge global issues which all of us should be made aware of and thinking about. A more diversified media might be willing to do what our current setup isn't willing to do, like tackle the tough issues like our failed foriegn policy, immigration, social security, etc, something CNN and Foxnews either don't care about, or don't want us THINK about.
And in regards to government-funded media: do you really think ending this would be a bad thing? Let's analyze this. The US government has become too large for its own good. It cannot keep track of itself, and is thus overspending, over-regulating, and getting into unwinnable civil wars. A government like this is only going to grant money to organizations and media outlets which will directly benefit it. This is achieved by either bending the truth of the information it dispenses, or by outright MISINFORMATION, which is the way in which CNN and Fox both already operate.. Why would a government like ours give ANY money to a media outlet that will bash it and expose it for the corrupted syndicate it is? It wouldn't.
The best media we have these days is FREELANCE! What's the keyword in freelance? FREE! Freelance reporters do what they do because they're passionate about spreading the truth, not because they're payed to do so. Eliminating goevernment-funded organizations would not hurt this country.
Easy solution, quit buying crap like britney spears cds. Problem solved. Your money speaks louder than anything else.
"Quit buying crap like britney spears cds" is a good start, but it's actually her direct and indirect sponsors that keep her overpriced purse stuffed with FRNs.
It might take some research, but a list of corporations should be identified/published ahead of a formal MSM boycott. Anyone game?
Look, the news story isn't ABOUT spears...it's about parenting teenagers, and a potential crisis moment in that. While I agree that it's a damn shame that teenagers care, since they already DO care, it's actually TRUE that most folks SHOULD be more concerned on a moment-to-moment basis with their own children than yet another specific story about an ongoing conflict.
Pbbt.
Easy, STOP STOP STOP watching TV,
STOP STOP STOP by trash mags
AND GET YOUR NEWS FROM OTHER SOURCES!
the same interests who control mainstream media ALSO control the government at the highest level. while it involves putting out crap for people to mistake as "news," the real danger are the talking anuses (beck, o'reilly) who have carte blanche to insert their ignorant, racist opinions every chance they get.
They've effectively rigged the presidential election by cherrypicking candidates to cover and relentlessly debate over, pretending to be "fair and balanced" by pitting one phony team against the other, on non-important issues like global warming, gun control, gay rights, etc. despite the fact that whichever party gets picked, they serve the same interests just the same. "Republicans" and "Democrats" don't even matter anymore because they only differ publicly about things we don't care about (our Democratic Congress could have cut the funding for this war but DIDN'T despite voicing excessive meaningless disapproval)
Meanwhile you have people like Mika from MSNBC's Morning Joe trying to set the Paris Hilton script on fire ON AIR. If you pay attention you can see which anchors are fed up with the nonsense they're told to report (not wolf blitzer of course) and that's the best indicator we'll get that the end of life as we know it is approaching.
But then again, Ron Paul was on the view (i have no idea how that slid).
oh yeah stop watching TV
www.whatreallyhappened.com
To the anonymous well-intentioned, poorly-informed libertarian:
You are correct in that a small number of companies already own a large amount of the media. What you seem to not understand is that this situation is relatively new and a DIRECT RESULT of deregulation by the FCC. It was not until after the deregulating telecommunications act of 1996 took effect did you see companies like ClearChannel go from owning 40 stations (the legal cap) to 1200 stations in all 50 states. Where before they had myriads of competitors -- many other stations in many other markets -- they now have exactly ONE competitor: Viacom.
Haven't you ever wondered why no matter where you go in the country the radio is now almost uniformly lousy? You can find examples of corporate consolidation in all the other major forms of media as well.
Now I ask you to reconsider your "deregulation leads to diversity" stance. Ron Paul, whom you seem to support, would encourage and endorse outright corporate monopolies in the media. He would would be quite happy with a single corporation owning all the media. Ask him.
I agree with two of your points:
1. Deregulation = allowing more freedom
2. PROFIT is the only motive of our entire American system!
Deregulation is simply the removal of restrictions that are already in place. However media ownership restrictions are ONLY IN PLACE FOR LARGE MEDIA COMPANIES. They simply do not apply to individuals and even small businesses. Even medium-sized businesses! So yes deregulation of the media provides "more freedom" but that new freedom is only enjoyed by the large corporations (not individuals!) who -- getting to the other point I agree with -- have only a profit motive. These corporations with their new freedom -- unfettered by the policies Ron Paul intends to destroy -- would eventually, through buyouts mergers and etc, own all major voices in the media.
I agree that exactly what America needs is diversity in its media but I completely disagree that deregulation is the way to get there.
Now lets talk about government-funded media. Lets compare some shall we?
Compare the BBC to Fox news. One is government funded and one isn't. Which cares about informing the public more?
Compare NPR to CNN. Both are very capable of providing good journalism however one often (especially recently) lapses into ludicrous pandering for their advertisers. One doesn't.
You ask "Why would a government like ours give ANY money to a media outlet that will bash it and expose it for the corrupted syndicate it is?"
You obviously have no fucking idea what you are talking about. Ever watch Frontline on PBS? Every fucking episode is a scathing rebuke of current government policy. And hey its funded in part by the very government it is bashing. This is something to be proud about your democracy. Bill Moyers has been on PBS since nearly its inception and he has been ever-critical of the government. Want more balance? Watch the NewsHour. Listen to fucking NPR news. Or the BBC. God the fucking Mclaughlin Group even.
I am not advocating a media that is ONLY government-funded. That would be ridiculous! I am however fighting to keep the (already poorly funded) media we have alive. Ron Paul would without a doubt kill public broadcasting. Period. Not many reasonably-minded people who raised their kids with Sesame Street in the background would agree this is a good thing.
You end with some very pathetically naive statements -- namely that the keyword in freelance is "free". This is the dumbest thing I have ever heard. You clearly have never worked in any freelance capacity. Freelance journalists, yes, are very important but they need and deserve to get paid. (Did you forget the profit motive point you made?) If you think posting some 14 year old's blog entry from your Mom's computer to Digg is fucking journalism then you're retarded. Digg is trash. If you are a real journalist you are out devoting your life to covering things that matter to you and to the public and you can't survive to do your job unless someone is there funding you -- whether its the government or otherwise.
The naivete of you Ron Paul supporters is astounding.
-ds
Conspiracy Theory Rock?
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1057391195915718366
urdoch stepped out into the street. The action in and of itself was as trivial as could be. Eyes judging the distance, legs moving, weight shifting. Of course, the kinetic energy embodied by the double decker electric bus bearing down on him could hardly be considered trivial considering his few kg's of body mass. A normal man might succumb to the images of his own body being tossed into the air like a bowling pen and the jolt in his heart rate as he realized his fate and take immediate action to step aside and avoid it, but Murdoch let his attention fall on the Ron Paul sticker that had been neatly, if illegally, arranged behind the bike rack. How fitting it was that his last moments were consumed by this bumper sticker. It would all come out of course. The lies, the cover-ups, the bribes. He was being tossed out of the club, thrown to the wolves. That damn Ron Paul supporter had broke the story with his blimp fly-over pictures and exposed the tip of the iceberg. Now, it was all comming out...
"Ron Paul 2008! And I am not even political and have never voted!"
If you want people to vote for Ron Paul you probably shouldn't be telling them that...
This happend when people don't read books. Media are as intelligent as their market target. In this case stupid CNN for stupid Americans.
Sorry for my english but this isn't my native language.
Stb
The left wing liberals control the media and they push their agenda... enough said
Ron Paul is really a libertarian, and libertarianism is one stage away from fascism.
Nicely done!
I've read it !
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