Thursday, June 16, 2005
Nevermind the man behind the curtain
Question:
Which of these things is not like the others?
Choices:
A) The verdict in Michael Jackson’s trial
B) A missing American teenager in Aruba
C) The chaotic political situation in Bolivia
Answer: It is, of course C, the only real news item of the three and, not coincidentally, the one that goes largely ignored by the mainstream US press.
The media concentration on Missing White Women, to borrow a phrase widely used in the blogosphere, rather than legitimate news stories, has recently reached what the American public can only hope is an apex (or is it a valley?). From the runaway bride to Michael to Tom Cruise’s new arm candy to some hick teenager, the media campaign to bombard the public with distraction is at a truly frightening level. Surely, nothing of any importance has occurred in the past few weeks that might take precedence over these fluff pieces - other than the above mentioned Bolivian unrest; the unearthing of several memos that seem to implicate the Bush administration in activity that is certainly unethical, if not impeachable, in nature; and the ever-worsening Iraq saga. The corporate media seems hell bent on proving its own incompetence and/or unwillingness to cover the issues most important to the republic. It is our duty as citizens in a free and democratic society to inform ourselves before these stories go down the memory hole.
This may come off as overly insensitive or cold, but the result of the missing Alabama’s girl story, however awful it might turn out, is ultimately irrelevant. It only affects her and those close to her, and the rest of us should not give a shit. (Let me interject, and unfortunately add to this pathetic debate, by predicting that not only did she make the whole thing up, but she was inspired to do so by the runaway bride. Copycat Missing White Women crimes are so hot right now.) The same goes for the other Missing White Women, and Michael Jackson; despite his being a global celebrity/child molester/general weirdo or whatever, his actions have no bearing on any of our lives.
The media has no problem acknowledging its own irrelevance, so why should we the people do it any favors? Let’s boycott big media: cancel your newspaper subscriptions, turn off CNN/MSNBC/Fox News, and only get news that is free and, well, truly newsworthy.
Here’s a mere smattering of some truly quality, free news sources.
http://www.cursor.org/
http://www.bbc.com/
http://www.atimes.com/
http://www.wsws.org/
http://www.democracynow.org/
www.alternet.org
www.rawstory.com
In 1984, George Orwell said that Big Brother wanted to control our hearts and minds by watching our every action. In Chuck Palahniuk's novel Survivor, he updated Orwell's idea by saying that Big Brother isn't watching us. Rather, we are watching him, singing and dancing away, to distract us from what's really going on. I suggest you ignore Big Brother by simply turning him off.
For those people that crave the distraction of fluff news and celebrity gossip, they have E!, US, People or the plethora of early evening paparazzi shows to turn to. Michael Jackson’s trial should only make the cover of the New York Times if we’ve reached some sort of utopia in which that truly is the most pressing story in our lives. Unfortunately, we seem to be moving farther from such a world every day.
Which of these things is not like the others?
Choices:
A) The verdict in Michael Jackson’s trial
B) A missing American teenager in Aruba
C) The chaotic political situation in Bolivia
Answer: It is, of course C, the only real news item of the three and, not coincidentally, the one that goes largely ignored by the mainstream US press.
The media concentration on Missing White Women, to borrow a phrase widely used in the blogosphere, rather than legitimate news stories, has recently reached what the American public can only hope is an apex (or is it a valley?). From the runaway bride to Michael to Tom Cruise’s new arm candy to some hick teenager, the media campaign to bombard the public with distraction is at a truly frightening level. Surely, nothing of any importance has occurred in the past few weeks that might take precedence over these fluff pieces - other than the above mentioned Bolivian unrest; the unearthing of several memos that seem to implicate the Bush administration in activity that is certainly unethical, if not impeachable, in nature; and the ever-worsening Iraq saga. The corporate media seems hell bent on proving its own incompetence and/or unwillingness to cover the issues most important to the republic. It is our duty as citizens in a free and democratic society to inform ourselves before these stories go down the memory hole.
This may come off as overly insensitive or cold, but the result of the missing Alabama’s girl story, however awful it might turn out, is ultimately irrelevant. It only affects her and those close to her, and the rest of us should not give a shit. (Let me interject, and unfortunately add to this pathetic debate, by predicting that not only did she make the whole thing up, but she was inspired to do so by the runaway bride. Copycat Missing White Women crimes are so hot right now.) The same goes for the other Missing White Women, and Michael Jackson; despite his being a global celebrity/child molester/general weirdo or whatever, his actions have no bearing on any of our lives.
The media has no problem acknowledging its own irrelevance, so why should we the people do it any favors? Let’s boycott big media: cancel your newspaper subscriptions, turn off CNN/MSNBC/Fox News, and only get news that is free and, well, truly newsworthy.
Here’s a mere smattering of some truly quality, free news sources.
http://www.cursor.org/
http://www.bbc.com/
http://www.atimes.com/
http://www.wsws.org/
http://www.democracynow.org/
www.alternet.org
www.rawstory.com
In 1984, George Orwell said that Big Brother wanted to control our hearts and minds by watching our every action. In Chuck Palahniuk's novel Survivor, he updated Orwell's idea by saying that Big Brother isn't watching us. Rather, we are watching him, singing and dancing away, to distract us from what's really going on. I suggest you ignore Big Brother by simply turning him off.
For those people that crave the distraction of fluff news and celebrity gossip, they have E!, US, People or the plethora of early evening paparazzi shows to turn to. Michael Jackson’s trial should only make the cover of the New York Times if we’ve reached some sort of utopia in which that truly is the most pressing story in our lives. Unfortunately, we seem to be moving farther from such a world every day.
# posted by workplex @ 10:01 
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