Juan Cole gets it right in his highly recommend piece today pointing out exactly why and how the MSM’s required 15% profit margin has killed the entire industry and is bringing the rest of the country down with it. It’s America (and the rest of the world!) which suffers from the corporate media delinquency, of course, as profit has replaced the public service that once was “the news”.
Back in the day, news was always a loss-leader. It wasn’t meant to make money, but to perform a public service. Back in the day, while CBS lost money with their extraordinary news gathering operation, Bill Paley was proud of that jewel in the “tiffany network’s” crown. In America 2005, however, losing money for the good of the nation will not be tolerated. And those of us who understand that it’s about issues and public safety and governmental responsible will be branded as America Haters in the process.
As Cole smartly puts it, “We don’t care.”
Read the whole piece if you can. It closes with this money quote…
We are not the mainstream media, and we are here. Get used to it.
Indeed.
I love that part – "We are not the mainstream media, and we are here. Get used to it"
*bfg* Be loud and be proud – bloggers RULE!!
And therein lies the reason for the MSM sellout. It will turn out to be the best thing that could have happened to the people. That’s why I turned my back on them so long ago, knowing they were doomed.
We needed this in order to develop the alternative voice of truth.
I know some beautiful hymns we can sing at the memorial service.
BTW, I have been minding my own business for years, studying up, and ignoring the ‘experts’. It was all laughable to me.
The fact that I am here in the blogosphere is amazing in itself.
We are here because the truth is here. Get used to it!
Juan Cole is one smart dude. His reference to a need for "15 percent" return is telling.
As someone who spent 28 years with Wall Street firms before being fired (for blowing the whistle on his late wife’s relatives, who stole her money while she was dying), I can attest that he knows whereof he speaks. When big media ceased being an outgrowth of family businesses (Patterson, Schiff, Sulzberger, McCormick, etc.) and became part of the Fortune 500, its priorities became like IBM’s or General Electric’s, i.e., return on investment. At that point the concept of journalistic integrity became subordinated to profit. And that’s where we are today. Thanks, Ronald Reagan.
I just watched Keith Olbermann, to see whether he picked up the GG updates. He did indeed, but with a twist – commentator (darn, can’t remember at the moment who, a mental tip-of-tongue thing!) who said how "usual" all this coming and going was and how easily explained the unrecorded exit/entry logs.
It only became clear later in the show, when Keith was trashing his producer, how upset he is about being constrained to cover "trash" stories and to gloss over real ones.
Remember what happened to Phil Donohue.
The idea that "corporations are only for making money" drives our economy and everything else like morality, human needs, national security, etc. get pushed aside. Who first said this is a mystery to me, but they have certainly turned a good concept (limited liability for company owners) into something the Devil would appreciate.
That media has gone this way seems inevitable in hindsight. That America should go down the tubes because of it should never be inevitable.
They laughed at Al Gore for "inventing the Internet", but this blogging thing could be the new ‘press’ which saves America from itself. Thanks Al!
Re: Richard & Theresa,
Keith Olbermann I believe is a true mainstream media writer, and won’t sell out to the corporate dollar.
He refused to accept such stupidly exaggerated explanations as, Gannon and all the reporters get daily white house access all the time. He’s not buying it.
Maybe then one day the real voice of america will have its own television station, who knows.
Dave
KIRA
(and anyone else who hasn’t heard and is interested)
You are a great Bradblogger and I would like you to be on the "planning committee" for the First Annual Brad Blog Blogathon. If you want to know what it’s all about, please e-mail me at the link provided by clicking on my name at the top of this post.
Re #7:
MarkH, if you haven’t already done do, I suggest you read The Corporation, it explains how we arrived at the current situation and why Corporations would be regarded asa Psychopathic if they were people (as they claim to be human rights purposes to prevent investigaton for environmental issues for example).
It’s a damn good read.
Wel, well, well….It is happening.
This from John Conyers:
"Conyers to Blog on Arianna Huffington’s New Site
Give me your ideas and suggestions
For those of you who did not read yesterday’s article in the New York Times, Arianna Huffington will soon start her own blog. It will be populated by her and her eclectic mix of friends, including yours truly. The blog is to open on May 9, and will be called The Huffington Post. I think it will be worth your readership and comment.
I have known Arianna for many years, back to her days in the GOP. Even then, she was open to progressive arguments on issues like mandatory minimums and the death penalty. She then moved to the Independent category, and finally now she is a progressive Democrat. Whatever the label, I have found Arianna to be refreshing and candid. Her entry to the blogsophere should add yet another independent voice."
The blogosphere is exploding into reality.
Nobody ever told the story of Televison News becoming For-profit Entertainment better than Paddy Chayefsky did in the film Network. The guy was a prophet. Watch it again.
Juan Cole has the blog perspective down pat.
He is spot on. The revolution from MSM to blogdom is under way and full on.
Being a paranoid person, we question just about everything , sometimes to our detriment. I think there are a lot of real journalists who are sick and disgusted that they can’t do the job that they love and are trained in. Bush1 hated the media passionately. His slimey hand seems to reach out to Bush2’s adminstration with so many of the same people old and infirm..drug addicted and alcoholic…trudging tirelessly on to bring down this country. When the poll’s keep plummeting for the prez., look out for all of the people who have been marginalizrd to come out of the woodwork.
Wonderful piece.
It’s interesting that "media fixing" "price fixing" "ideological fixing" "thought fixing" "rule fixing" all seem to come from "mergers" of one sort or another, resulting in loss of competition and creating a very well-controlled politial, social, intellectual and economic environment.
Keith Olbermann has his moments. He clearly has a rebellious streak, and he can get very ornery toward the establishment at times.
But then Joe Scarborough or David Shuster or somebody else goes against him, and he becomes George Stephanopolous. He likes being a contrarian, but he doesn’t like being challenged. When I e-mailed him about the election fraud issue a few months ago (after he’d been the only TV guy to even go near it), he came back to me with a semi-hysterical response, "Relax! I don’t have enough time for all these e-mails with everything else I have to do!"
For Teresa: I think Arianna Huffington is an ideal person to take on election fraud.
She knows where a lot of political skeletons are buried. She’s afraid of no one. She’s wealthy, so she can devote time and energy to the cause. She has credibility (though many dislike her), which could help us overcome the "conspiracy theorist" slander. And she has a sense of humor, which always helps.
Glad you know her, Teresa. Let’s make sure she knows us, too.
Yes, Robert, this is good. I am so interested in who her guest bloggers will be. It just reveals how much excitement there is in the blogosphere. The crowd will be following shortly. Never before, in my time, have the people above us shown so much interest in our words.
Re: Comment #10
My son brought over the movie "The Corporation" the other evening (I don’t know if it is the based on the book). We didn’t get to finish the movie because he had to leave, but we were both very impressed. I highly recommend it.
This is such a great blog. I check in almost daily and have so much respect and admiration for the great intellect and writing of all the comments I read here. Thank you all.