NBC/MSNBC, CNN, FOX, NYT, WAPO, New York Post, etc. – I have always approached mainstream media (MSM) with a kind of critical curiosity. I never really expected a weapons manufacturer that owned a media company to come out against the wars. Or to run a climate crisis story calling for the elimination of fossil fuels, in defiance of the largest institutional consumer of oil in the world – the U.S. military. They know which side their bread is buttered on.
But surely it comes as no surprise when mainstream media’s messaging (“the news”) reflects the interests of the corporations that own them?
Advertising dollars (and ratings) are often cited as the ultimate determinant of which news stories will be aired; how, or even if, they will be covered at all. It’s a convenient compliment to the commonly cited influence of lobbyist money in politics. But both these arguments are intentional misdirection, presenting an illusion of separation where none actually exists.
Put plainly, corporate entities (former and future CEO’s, stock holders, etc.) are actually in the government, not simply influencing it. And those same corporations own the media (MSM).
The spotlight has been on social media companies of late, on the prevalence and pervasiveness of misinformation across facebook. While I am certainly in favor of reigning in that monster, lets be clear, facebook is but one media/tech monopoly among many. Moreover, we shouldn’t let facebook’s lack of accountability provide cover for the conflict narrative nonsense that the MSM is consistently pushing.
Really though, why should any of these media conglomerates be interested in telling the truth? It’s clearly antithetical to their bottom line, both economically and in terms of the power and influence of their messaging. The truth is just too damn inflexible, too inconvenient as it were. It doesn’t easily conform to market trends the way bullshit does. Still, it might prove useful, as tedious as it may be, to check in on the MSM from time to time. If only to keep up with which self-serving conflict narratives they are currently telling/selling.
As of yesterday there were four MSM stories in heavy rotation: COVID, Cuomo, the “bi-partisan” infrastructure bill, and the “Taliban in Afghanistan.”
MSM specializes in breaking everything down to duality, disappearing inconvenient context, pushing polarization perspectives. It’s the center of the three part story arc without the initial exposition or the final resolution. All drama, all the time.
“The Taliban is attacking cities,” no exposition, no resolution. No mention of mujahideen trained by the CIA in the 80’s to fight a proxy war against the Soviet Union, no mention of how the CIA will likely take the lead (again) going forward now that US troops are coming home. Certainly never any mention of all those Afghan poppy fields in any of those MSM exposes about the opioid crisis…
Twenty+ years throwing molotov cocktails over the fence into your neighbor’s back yard. They’re probably pretty pissed at you, provided they’re still alive. If you decide to sell your house, do you expect your neighbor to make peace with the new owner? How do they know you’re not still hiding behind that fence? Or in the basement? Should they put down their weapons and bring over a housewarming gift?
But why do they hate us?
On and on about Delta variant and the percentage increase in cases since the last commercial break, blaming “the unvaccinated” (how dehumanizing) for not trusting the government to protect them from this plague. As if these folks have ever trusted the government? Paul Krugman throwing out some nonsense about the hypocrisy of free market private industry proponents having a hard time with businesses telling them what they can and can’t do? They’re libertarians Paul, not neoliberals.
Why doesn’t MSM put up the numbers for places where the majority of folks are vaccinated alongside those where the majority of folks are not? Might that be more helpful than sweeping generalizations about cases surging nationally? We’re all in this together.
Today the UN released a devastating report on the Climate Crisis. It was on the news. The newly minted head of FEMA fielding the question, how can we protect ourselves? How can we protect ourselves?! Yeah, that’s the question the fear based media is always asking. It really doesn’t matter if the issue can (and really should) be solved through collective action, we’re gonna go with protecting ourselves. Can’t save your town from the wildfire? Can’t bail yourself out of the flood? That’s ok – keep watching, keep reading, keep clicking. Updates on the hour.
In case you missed it last Friday (and every day before that) on NBC/MSNBC:
THE WOMEN OF XRNYC DEMAND THE 'NAKED TRUTH' AT NBC HQ
BREAKING: Extinction Rebellion women staged ‘Naked Truth’ action at 30 Rockefeller Plaza to demand NBC Universal report on the urgency of the climate and ecological crisis
New York, NY – On Friday, August 6 at 1.30pm a group of 10 women from Extinction Rebellion staged an action in front of 30 Rockefeller Plaza, home to the headquarters of NBC Universal with a banner reading ‘Tell the Naked Truth About the Climate Crisis’. The women were naked from the waist up to symbolise the vulnerability of all species—humans included—in the face of climate breakdown, and had the words ‘Violence,’ ‘War,’ ‘Displacement,’ ‘Famine’ and ‘Desertification’ written across their chests. Four women were arrested after an hour glued in place.
“We’re all vulnerable. We’re all naked in the face of this imminent and deadly threat. What do we stand to lose from inaction? Everything.” said Ana Paula Cordeiro, Extinction Rebellion activist.
Read more from the XR press release here.
Watch video of the action here.
Extinction Rebellion is calling on the public to take part in a mass rally in New York City on September 17 to highlight that 2021 is a critical year for climate action, especially in the run up to COP26 which is taking place in November in Glasgow.
