Aspects of the Media Blocking Awareness of Important Issues
updated May 7, 2010
The media industry's unwillingness to discuss the most important issues of corruption in government is a blockage to healthy change occurring in society.
This article discusses a variety of reasons why blockages exist to mainstream media outlets discussing important issues, and also explaining certain activist methods of circumventing those blockages.
This article is continually expanded and updated, and is part of the larger article Creating Political Change through Communication and Legislation.
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The problem of mainstream media being controlled by owners of media firms, political elites, corporate sponsors, and special interest groups
Information tends to travel through a series of filters before it is reported by the most heavily viewed mainstream media outlets. This series of filters includes the owners of the media firms, powerful political elites, corporate interests, sponsors of the media organizations, and influential special interest groups, all who have an interest in censoring or limiting the information being reported for the purpose of furthering their own agendas.
running time 23 minutes 10 seconds
This video segment from the documentary “Behind the Big News” describes how the powerful political organization the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) controls and distorts information put out by mainstream news sources in order to protect wide ranging corrupt Establishment interests and objectives. Issues discussed include the CFR being founded in 1921 by J.P. Morgan, the fact that most major individuals in the news media are members of the organization, the CFR’s globalist objectives which include strongly supporting the spread of Communism around the world, corruption concerning Bill Clinton’s presidency being covered up by the media, and issues with the “false left / right paradigm.”
updated January 3, 2010
The Documentary "Behind the Big News" examines issues of corruption in the mainstream media of the United States, explaining how the powerful and secretive Establishment group The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) has had a tremendous influence in biasing news that all mainstream media outlets disseminate. Conflicts of interest exist due to the fact the most major figures in the media are members of the CFR, which is also the most influential organization in formulating the foreign policy of the United States. The CFR has agendas of perpetuating globalist agendas which are often deceptive and little understood by the general public, and it often makes use of it’s control over the media in order to generate uncritical support for such agendas.
Examples of important news stories which have not been adequately reported by the mainstream media due to controlling conflicts of interest:
running time 4 minutes 36 seconds
View a four minute video clip from the film "Iraq for Sale: The War Profiteers," detailing specific examples of excessive waste and fraud by the United States Government relating to the Iraq war.The documentary explains the "Cost Plus" program, which encourages contractors to run up the costs of their activities due to the contractors getting a percentage of the end result.
running time 3 minutes 17 seconds
A video clip from the MSNBC show "Scarborough Country," explains how the Bayer pharmaceutical company has knowingly been distributing AIDS tainted medication to hemophiliacs for over ten years, and after being exposed for doing so they shipped the remaining stock to be used overseas. This video is one of the very few examples of reporting about this serious issue by the mainstream media.
running time 30 minutes
This video clip from the Len Horowitz film "In Lies We Trust: The CIA, Hollywood, and Bioterrorism" shows the claims of a government sponsored propaganda documentary giving misleading and dishonest information about the United States Government's involvement in bioterrorism research, and compares it to the reality of the situation by explaining the history of the Government's bioterrorism research programs and showing how that research has led to the creation of such diseases as AIDS.
Fixing the problem of an overly controlled media starts by heightening the general public's awareness of the issue, which would result in more individuals seeking out alternative sources of media and boycotting news outlets which do not give unbiased coverage. Also in some cases it could be possible for legislation to help fix the problem.
The problem of media industry consolidation
From the Media Reform Information Center:
"In 1983, 50 corporations controlled the vast majority of all news media in the U.S. At the time, Ben Bagdikian was called "alarmist" for pointing this out in his book, The Media Monopoly. In his 4th edition, published in 1992, he wrote "in the U.S., fewer than two dozen of these extraordinary creatures own and operate 90% of the mass media" — controlling almost all of America's newspapers, magazines, TV and radio stations, books, records, movies, videos, wire services and photo agencies. He predicted then that eventually this number would fall to about half a dozen companies. This was greeted with skepticism at the time. When the 6th edition of The Media Monopoly was published in 2000, the number had fallen to six. Since then, there have been more mergers and the scope has expanded to include new media like the Internet market. More than 1 in 4 Internet users in the U.S. now log in with AOL Time-Warner, the world's largest media corporation. In 2004, Bagdikian's revised and expanded book, The New Media Monopoly, shows that only 5 huge corporations — Time Warner, Disney, Murdoch's News Corporation, Bertelsmann of Germany, and Viacom (formerly CBS) — now control most of the media industry in the U.S. General Electric's NBC is a close sixth."
As with other political problems, the most effective means of fixing the problems of increasing media industry consolidation is to first increase public awareness of the issue, and then to pressure politicians to enact legislation which will fix the problem.
Legislation for countering the problem of media consolidation would include antitrust measures for breaking up the major media monopolies. It is reasonable to assume that there would be a large degree of resistance to such changes by the media industry, so public pressure would need to be extended to the media industry as well through the use of boycotting media outlets in favor of outlets which are not associated with such corruption.
The problem of journalists and media outlets failing to accurately report about important current problems because doing so would expose the fact that they did not adequately previously report about important issues of corruption leading up to the current problems.
One of the most prevalent and uncommonly acknowledged problems is the one of journalists and media outlets "self-censoring" due to previous failures of reporting about issues which have led up to current problems.
updated June 12, 2010
This article examines many long-term big picture political agendas fitting the description of "Neocon Globalist," advanced seamlessly over many decades of Presidential Administrations and continuing through today.
Of concern to anybody regardless of their political affiliations, recent appointments of many controversial individuals to Barack Obama's Administration show plans for a continuation of the same long-term agendas of the previous Administrations, as is explained in this article.
Of concern to anybody regardless of their political affiliations, recent appointments of many controversial individuals to Barack Obama's Administration show plans for a continuation of the same long-term agendas of the previous Administrations, as is explained in this article.
It is up to activists and the alternative media to communicate important information that the mainstream media has failed to adequately cover, and it must be communicated effectively enough to reach a threshold of forcing mainstream journalists and media outlets to overcome the embarrassment of previously neglecting to report on such important topics.
The problem of "Distraction Journalism"
One of the most common methods mainstream media outlets use for protecting ulterior motives of the government and special interest groups is the tactic of "distraction journalism," which involves criticizing what has been pre-selected to be "demonized," in order to draw attention away from the same corruptions associated with what many journalists and media outlets are attempting to portray as the "solution."
The effects of distraction journalism are so extreme and widespread that it clouds the focus of many well-meaning activists who otherwise would not be supportive of many issues and politicians if they were better informed from media sources that do not engage in such tactics.
recorded September 14, 2009, running time 10 minutes
In an open letter to media personality Glenn Beck, radio host Alex Jones mentions issues concerning Beck being “controlled opposition” working for the establishment elite, for the purpose of polarizing and distracting conservative and libertarian movements while also making such movements seem illegitimate in the eyes of many who identify with being part of the left wing.
Issues spoken about include Beck’s support of the banker takeover, his labeling of Ron Paul supporters as potentially dangerous domestic terrorists, his taking control of organizing tea parties for the purpose of misinforming individuals involved, and his giving false information concerning the existence of FEMA camps.
Issues spoken about include Beck’s support of the banker takeover, his labeling of Ron Paul supporters as potentially dangerous domestic terrorists, his taking control of organizing tea parties for the purpose of misinforming individuals involved, and his giving false information concerning the existence of FEMA camps.
An important example of distraction journalism would be the media's focus on criticizing the obvious corruptions of the Bush Administration while not discussing or in some cases even denying wrongdoings of the Clinton Administration, including activities that have been in aid of the same agendas that the Bush Administration has been following. Many of the corrupt individuals who have been associated with the Bush and Clinton Administrations are the same people who are now associated with Barack Obama's administration.
Another good example of "distraction journalism" is the media's frequent exclusive criticism of Fox News' unethical journalism practices, which serves to imply that Fox News is an exception and a sole source of corrupt journalism, when in fact the rest of the mainstream media outlets engage in the same corrupt practices, however they hide their corruption more effectively.
The problem of journalists "self-censoring" due to fear of reprisals or lack of promotions
running time 6 minutes 27 seconds
This clip discusses some aspects of how the media is not adequately covering 9/11 issues, and shows why it is important for individuals outside the established media to help 'connect the dots.'
The importance of high profile members of the mainstream media and entertainment industries who want to transition to communicating important suppressed information to first coordinate with each other and then concurrently "come out" in large numbers
There are a number of ways that journalists and members of the entertainment industry can make a great difference through communicating important suppressed information, and many have been starting to do so. When well-known journalists and celebrities make public statements about controversial issues which are not fully understood by the general public, it tends to generate much controversy and difficulty for those journalists and celebrities due to backlash arising from their individually speaking out about such issues. The best way to circumvent such problems is for such individuals to first coordinate and then concurrently come out in large numbers, which will serve to generate even more interest in the topic and reduce the amount of any potential backlash.
Links to More Information About Media Industry Issues
The Media Reform Information Center - Contains many links to resources speaking about the issue of corporate media and it's consolidation.
View a directory page of articles from "The Nation" speaking about the issue of corporate media and consolidation.
Read a Wikipedia article about the issue of media consolidation.
A Summary of the Secret Society the “Illuminati,” Drawn from the Works of Henry Makow
updated August 1, 2010
Video: The Obama Deception - Clip: Surprising Dishonesties of the Obama Administration
running time 20 minutes, 49 seconds
