the more you watch, the less you know.

[robs 42 <robs42@pacbell.net>]

[: hacktivism :]

I am in the midst of a very compelling book by Danny Schechter. It's
entitled "The More You Watch, The Less You Know." Rather than some
traditional leftie critique of television as a medium, Schechter goes
after the message and, ultimately, the corporate controllers. here's a
particularly poignant section:

"Are journalists herd animals or is it that we work in institutions that
subtly and not so subtly impose a kind of conformity and framing that
discourages deeper probing? There tends to be a unified news culture and
consciousness that is easier to see from afar because its products so
often look and feel the same whatever channel you watch. No, rarely is
someone picking up the phone and telling some producer to skew the news.
The boardroom rarely faxes orders to the newsroom. But then again, they
don't have to if they hire professionals who share the same world view
and language, rely on the same sources, and tend to shape their
reporting in the same way.

"What is needed are more world views, not the same old routines. And
what is needed even more is an informed citizenry that pays more
attention to what it reads and sees, a public that demands a different
type of media.

"In part, this book is aimed at those who would change America, arguing
that unless and until their issues are on television, unless and until
the companies that program television are forced to some higher standard
of responsibility and diversity, meaningful change in our country will
not occur. Unfortunately, most constituencies oriented toward
progressive social change do not place media reform high on their
agenda, when it is on it at all. In contrast, right-wing groups give
media strategy top priority.

"It politicians are held accountalbe for their actions, so should the
media. Yet in a commercial culture, ensuring media responsibility is
enormously difficult. The owners are well-insulated, wrapped in First
Amendment consitutional privilege and surrounded by highly paid PR
priests who are adept at deflecting any and all flak. Those who
criticize this 'free press' are often made out to be enemies of freedom
itself. This media elite insists that it is, by its mere existence,
serving the highest standards of social responsibility."




[: hacktivism :]
[: for unsubscribe instructions or list info consult the list FAQ :]
[: http://hacktivism.tao.ca/ :]