Thursday, July 2, 2009
The Fifth Reason the MSM Sucks
I have previously listed four reasons that the mainstream media is worthless: Self-censorship by journalists, censorship by editors and publishers, a predisposition to rallying around all war efforts, and censorship by the government.
I now have to list a fifth reason: cash payments.
Specifically, Politico reveals:
For $25,000 to $250,000, The Washington Post has offered lobbyists and association executives off-the-record, nonconfrontational access to "those powerful few": Obama administration officials, members of Congress, and — at first — even the paper’s own reporters and editors...That may be one reason that the mainstream news commentators hate bloggers so much. The more people who get their news from blogs instead of mainstream news sources, the smaller their audience, and the less the MSM can charge for the kind of "nonconfrontational access" which leads to puff pieces for the big boys.
The offer — which essentially turns a news organization into a facilitator for private lobbyist-official encounters — was a new sign of the lengths to which news organizations will go to find revenue at a time when most newspapers are struggling for survival.
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Posts
It's not 'main-stream-media' - the 'main-stream' is the Internet. MSM should instead be called by its correct name; CORPORATE MEDIA
ReplyDeleteexactly, the more we acknowledge the internet-based information as main-stream, the better. Also Washington Piss = pimp in this article, I guess? Shows, not surprisingly so, they are not going to become American nowhere soon, as they continue their pro-foreign legacy.
ReplyDeleteI agree with calling the internet "mainstream" and the Corporate media "Corporate Media", not MSM. Things are changing.
ReplyDeleteI can't even remember the last time I bought newspaper or accepted anything that came from the MSM seriously without checking the net and using my brain to determine the most plausible story.
ReplyDeleteWhat frightens me is that sooner or later the internet will be locked-down or HEAVILY censored. I'm not certain to what extent but the powers-that-be will simply have no choice but to close it down so once again the only source of "news" will be the MSM where they will peddle their wholesale bullshit unopposed by any truthful sources.
It frightens me because if they're still selling bullshit now, I can't begin to imagine what these beasts will be pushing as truth once other (real) avenues of information is shut down.
Corporate media news is atrocious. Three-minute sound bites on which to hang commercials. The stock market tumbles 200 points one day and the next gains 20 and the TV anchors/reporters say in so many words, prosperity is around the corner. Gas rises 80 cents over the course of months and then drops a nickel. Same reaction. Fat city, right.
ReplyDelete