8/25/2007

The Destruction of Public Television

Maybe you've noticed the changes that have occurred on PBS under the guidance of the current administration and the last congress. These changes are said to have no effect on the programming. However, it seems this is yet another Orwellian attempt at double speak, i.e. no change means major change.

The inclusion of sponsors such as Boeing and ADM are having serious ramifications on the quality of news programming. Case in point: While the diversity of viewpoints was always sorely lacking on programs such as The Newshour, the recent transition from established, although by no means objective, sources to what can only be described as front organizations is destructive to say the least. To allow organizations such as Freedom's Watch (a poorly disguised front for the pro-war position of the Bush administration) airtime to smear a prominent senator for disagreeing with the president and to make seriously specious claims about him (although one can have little sympathy for Mr. Warner)is an abuse of the public airwaves.

But even beyond allowing egregious agenda promotion, a.k.a. commercial propaganda, to parade as news, one must wonder how it seems to go unnoticed that groups such as Freedom's Watch are actually proselytizing for the position of the so-called sponsors. Not only does Boeing, Lockheed Martin, etc. get to plaster their logo all over a formerly citizen-supported media, but they apparently get to inject what is to their economic benefit into the discourse. One must wonder if at every news program on PBS there is a corporate rep now standing over the editing process or if their is a corporate goon under the ombudsman's desk.

So once again it seems the Bushie's are getting their way with little or no opposition - replace funding with mandatory scripting.

8/18/2007

The Promotion of Media Mythology

Friday night is politics night on PBS with the Newshour, followed by Washington Week, NOW, the McLaughlin Group and Bill Moyers. These shows are billed as being politically savvy and in the know. We are also reassured that they represent a balanced exchange of views. Nonsense! PBS, with the exception of the investigative reporting by NOW and Moyers commentary has been thoroughly coopted by the right. Does that sound like a conspiracy theory? Too bad. The truth hurts. Besides, all one has to do is look at the current corporate sponsorship to see a startling pattern of corporate, right-wing manipulation of these broadcasts. Boeing is not interested in the truth. Not enough to convince you? Okay consider this.

This past Friday, 8/16/07, The topic of media interest was Karl Rove. Rove has decided to step down, or as we on the left believe, run. Yet there was no real discussion of the possible crimes Rove has committed. The "debate" focused on how much of a "genius" Rove is concerning political maneuvering. But even worse than that, the talking point of the night, most likely drawn up by some right-wing fascist, was how Rove managed to win the 2000, 2002, and 2004 elections for Bush by utilizing his special brand of voter targetting. Whoa! Let's look at that for a minute.

No matter how much the right wing base wants to live in La La Land, it is now an uncontestable fact that George Bush did NOT win the election of 2000. Independent studies have shown repeatedly that, even with large stretches of the imagination, that Al Gore won Florida. Even if they hadn't, the fact remains that the Supreme Court overstepped its jurisdiction to hand Bush the election. Then there was the clear use of illegal voter caging. Are we to applaud Karl Rove for cheating? Apparently so. Ohio in 2004 suffered the same types of Rovian shenanigans and we can logically and credibly assume that Bush did not win the 2004 election either. (Of course we'll never know now that Republican rats in the state have destroyed the election ballots. (Can you say cover up?) So why did the guy from the American Prospect and Lehrer just sit there and nod when Brooks repeated the lie?

Then we go to Washington Week where, lo and behold, the exact same talking point was reiterated ad nauseum by some partisan from the Wall Street Journal (a true bastion of balanced editorializing) named Jackie Calmes. Again, no one refuted her assertions. The same story happened on the McLaughlin Group where the supposed liberal, Eleanor Clift, allowed Tony "Canned Spam" Blankley to continue to mislead the public without batting an eyelid.

The fact is that the "news" is packed with liars and those who are complicit for the sake of their jobs. There is no liberal media. In fact, there is no real news. Bush is the first two-term, unelected President in history and Rove is a criminal. Yet the media persists with its version of the "Truth" which is nothing more than fantasy.