Anecdotal Evidence: Dems Abandoning MSM In Droves.

[stopbush]

Maybe it's just me and my circle of friends and colleagues, but I'm surprised at how many of them have simply shut off their TVs to news after the election. Personally, I've not watched a minute of MSM or cable news since the debacle. I keep informed through the internet and online print sources. But what is really shocking is how many of my longtime friends are now sending me stories from alternate news sources. These are people who used to ask, "did you watch Dan Rather last night?" or something similar.

Case in point: a couple that I've know for 25 years has moved from not interested in politics to hating bush and keeping very abreast of politics. They travel the world singing in major cities. Lately, they've sent me stories on the "Not A Dime Spent Day" coming up as well as the e-mail circulating about that new illness, "Gonnreelectum." In the past, these types of things were totally off their radar. Now, they're relaying these stories to others.

Of course, this is purely anecdotal evidence (and one wouldn't expect to see studies of the phenomenon in the MSM!), but I wonder if others on DU have similar stories to tell.

[jrthin]

1. I know that I

and two other casual friends have not watched cable news since the election.

[Eric J in MN]

99. I stopped my tv service several months ao. (nt)

nt

[ErinGoBraghLess]

120. Guerilla News

I applaud the demise of the big networks. I oppose the monolithic distribution of information no matter what the source. Information is the stock in trade of a free country and it should not be dominated by any one group of people.

The more news the better. The more points of view the better. So bring on the Internet, blogs, mags, leaflets, pamphlets, cable access, right wing, left wing, etc. Let the people sort out what is correct and what to believe.

Personally, I think the Swift Boat guys had a huge agenda but I support their right to be heard. And Dan Rather tried to screw Bush too, which is his right. I just want there to be openness in the news. You want to see Bush win, fine. Just announce it up front. You want Kerry to win, fine. But the same rule applies. Danny Boy tried to sneak one by but he got caught and then wouldn't admit it. That is dishonest.

[mistertrickster]

2. Good post--I think we should call the MSM what it is: INFO-TAINMENT

That way, you don't confuse it with real news sources like the BBC, the Guardian, or WA PO (on a good day).

[greendog]

58. Mis - info - tainment

n/t

[ProfessorPlum]

59. Why not "ENTER-MATION"? n/t

.

[NuttyFluffers]

110. because infotainment is already an established term

used in video games all the time. reader rabbit, mavis beacon, and carmen san diego were all part of the infotainment category. easy to recognize for most of the people out there.

[Joyce78]

62. yep! Have no use for MSM ...

MSM equates to watching the Weather Channel ... once in a blue moon we get an accurate weather forecast -- usually after the snowfall, when we then receive an accumulation report of yesterday's precipitation.

[stevedeshazer]

71. irritainment

[itzamirakul]

126. Call it ...NOOZ-A-TAINMENT...

news-a-tainment

[NYC]

3. I hardly ever watch the news since the election.

I got rid of cable about 3 years ago, maybe 2 1/2 years. For a while, I was watching "free" news, Ch. 2, 4, & 7. Since the election, I watch television about once a week. It's not worth watching most of the time.

I did see a portion of Boxer's interview of Rice on the television news this evening.

[gristy]

107. I might have watched TV news once since the election

I don't see myself going back.

[Downtown Hound]

4. I have read newspapers since I was 13 years old

I have a degree in journalism and have worked in the media before. I have cut out corporate media from my life completely. I love the news, but there's no news in it. Just war mongering propaganda.

[Clark2008]

18. Amen, brother reporter

There just ain't no news in it!

I have a crush on Keith Olbermann - because... HE DOES HIS JOB.

Well, now that's lame, but I do.

I bitch and complain about the media more than the right wingers I work with.

How's that for irony?

[No Exit]

5. I have that same feeling: I think there are millions of us, too.

I myself have developed a whole long list of internet sites that I read regularly. Each and every one of them sees this poisonous administration for what it is: a destructive lie.

I watch much less cable news. And... I didn't start out as a dem, either. I was once a (gag, cringe) Bush voter. It is to my eternal shame that I voted for that piece of shit in 2000. He has turned me completely and irrevocably away from the republican party. (Well, at least I was never a member of that revolting group--but I voted for a lot of them. But NEVER again.)

Friends of mine who saw the truth before I did are amazed when they talk to me now about politics. Amazed--and pleased. I feel that there are a lot of us, now, who see the truth.

I now only occasionally read Drudge or freerepublic--and then, only to sneer at the propaganda. I don't need them OR the "mainstream" media. By the time I read those joke sites, I've already gotten my news from what is currently called an "alternate" site, such as (for example) whatreallyhappened.com.

And there it will stay. If they take the internet away from us (fat chance!), my recourse for news will be to simply look at what is in the paper and assume that the opposite is the truth.

[RaleighNCDUer]

47. Don't say 'fat chance' about them taking the internet away from us.

Access to the internet can be controlled. Just look at China. What do you think the restrictions they put on libraries to 'keep our kids safe from pornography' were? It wasn't by chance that the porn blockers also blocked innumerable non-porn sites.

They are still working to block those sites. Is it a stretch to see the government block sites that tell how to build bombs, in the name of national security, and then those sites that connect to those sites, shutting down radical voices they don't approve of. Put 1000 DHS employees on line to track these down, and what results can you get? Anyone who puts of a bomb-making link goes to Guantanamo. They could ever have their own Judas goat site -- I read somewhere they've done that with kiddie porn -- so anyone who logs onto their site is traced, and arrested.

Sure, there will always be those who will get access, but technologically challenged persons like myself will never find their way around government blocks and barriers.

We can't let ourselves believe that the internet will always be here, or always be safe.

And I already assume that anything coming from official channels is a lie.

[aggiesal]

108. Internet II

Obviously, you've never heard about Internet II.
Here is a sample of what you should expect. The link is no longer valid so I'll copy the ASCII here:

KISS YOUR INTERNET GOOD-BYE

By Servando González
April 6, 2003
NewsWithViews.com

In a short, but forceful article, Peter Sparacino pointed out that constitutional tools are no longer valid in our losing battle against a government out of control, rapidly becoming a totalitarian dictatorship. According to Sparacino, neither the ballot box, nor the jury box can be used to stop its advances -- not even the cartridge box. The only thing left to fight back, he states, is freedom of the press.

But, as media critic A.J. Liebling rightly expressed, freedom of the press is guaranteed only to those who own one. Though in theory the opportunity to own his own printing press was open to every American citizen, in practice just a few, and lately only the very rich and powerful, were able to own one.

Granted, the media monopoly was never total, and many small presses proliferated, but the big ones, later joined by the network TV channels, just played the game, giving the false image of independent thinking. But suddenly, less than ten years ago, a technological breakthrough changed the rules of the game in a radical way, bringing about what media guru Marshal McLuhan envisioned more than thirty years ago: the global village. This revolutionary new medium is the Internet.

The Internet is a totally new type of communication medium that has changed our lives. It allows for easy, fast, and cheap exchange of ideas in an optimum way. Thanks to the Internet, owning your own press is as cheap as $20 a month. Almost anybody can afford it.

As soon as the people realized the power of the tool they had in their hands, many began using the Internet not only to gather the information they wanted, but also to become themselves providers of information. Sites offering the most surprising, contradictory, interesting, and useful information mushroomed, soon to be followed by many offering not-so-useful, in-your-face, sometimes disgusting or plainly gross content. But, even with its nasty aspects, the Internet radically changed the way most of us get the daily news.

Initially, the powerful media giants, both in printed and TV form, ignored the Internet as a curiosity or a passing fad. But sites like the Drudge Report, NewsMax, or WorldNetDaily, just to mention a few of the most successful, soon began attracting more and more readers, while newspapers like the New York Times, the Washington Post or the Los Angeles Times began losing theirs. Soon after, the big TV networks experimented their own dramatic loss of viewers.

Faced with the strong, unexpected competition, the media giants joined the Internet bandwagon, but they were in for a big surprise. Contrary to the traditional printed media and TV, where money plays a cardinal role -- only the very rich can afford to hire the qualified personnel and promote and market the product -- the Internet seems to be a pure product of the human intellect. As the extraordinary success of the Drudge Report indicates, most people don't visit a site because it has a fancy design or is professionally made, but because it is a place where they can find provoking, non-mainstream ideas that make them think; exactly the type of thinking they were not able to find in the orchestrated, self-censored mainstream media. Consequently, a site made by a housewife right from her kitchen in Hot Springs, Arkansas, or by an almost unknown journalist from his home office in Oregon or Florida, can compete on equal footing with the New York Times. This is exactly how extraordinarily successful sites like the Drudge Report and WorldNetDaily were born. Like the Colt .44 in the Old West, the Internet became the great equalizer.

But the people who control the media monopoly were not going to see their power challenged without a fight. After their initial skepticism and scorn, and their failed attempts to extend their media monopoly to the Internet, they began a subtle process of infiltration. For example, I was surprised when, in June, 2001, the notorious Alexander Haig Jr. joined NewsMax's advisory board. It is probably only a coincidence, but lately NewsMax has become a sort of mouthpiece for the Republican Party and an uncritical provider of the Bush administration's propaganda. Its most recent no-brainer is a "boycott France" campaign. I stopped visiting the site several weeks ago. On the other hand, if only half of what I found in this article is true, perhaps NewsMax's problems have deeper roots than I thought.

There is a saying in Latin America: "A los periodistas se les paga o se les pega." ("Journalists: you buy them or you hit them.") I don't think it is much different here. I expect that after some unsuccessful attempts to derail some of the most successful sites, just to bring an example, the media powers will try to buy them. But, even though I don't think it would be easy for them to do it, and they may resort to strong arm tactics, the bottom line is that, because of its inherent characteristics -- the Internet is an off-shoot of the Arpanet, a military communications decentralized nodular network designed to survive a full scale nuclear attack on the U.S. -- the Internet is uncontrollable. It is a Hydra of innumerable heads.

They can keep buying and coercing people and eventually may get control over the most successful Internet sites, but other people will come forward, and their sites will rapidly become extremely successful. The attempts of the media monopolists to control the Internet the way they managed to get control of the printed press, the TV channels, and, most recently, am radio, will never be successful. Currently, they are extremely concerned about such a powerful tool in the hands of the American people. The Internet has become a growing obstacle to their plans.

Therefore, what will they do? Very simple: They will destroy it. The only solution to solve the Internet's growing challenge to the media monopoly is to shut it down and throw the key away.

How it will happen? One of these days, out of the blue, the Internet will be used for launching a devastating terrorist attack on the United States. Somehow, this cyberattack will cost the lives of scores of American citizens. In order to avoid more damage, the government, putting to good use the recently approved anti-terrorist laws, will shut the Internet down and ban the use of the Internet as we know it.

But most government agencies rely heavily on the Internet. How can they function without it? No problem. The replacement already exists; it is called Internet 2, reportedly a consortium being led by more than 200 universities working in partnership with industry and government to develop and deploy advanced network applications and technologies, accelerating the creation of tomorrow's Internet. But, contrary to the deceptive techno-babbling rhetoric, Internet 2 is nothing more than a controlled Internet, similar to the one currently in place in totalitarian countries like China and Cuba.

Internet 2 will be fully controlled by the state. In order to access it, or to have e-mail access, you must be a member of, or be affiliated to, any of the government-authorized organizations and have a sort of security clearance. Internet 2 will be out of the
reach of the general public, and every person trying to have unauthorized access to Internet 2 will be charged with terrorist activities, and severely penalized

The unavoidable fact is that the Internet is incompatible with a totalitarian system of government. Therefore, either we are a bunch of delusionary paranoids, and what we see happening in this country is only a figment of our feverished imagination, and, consequently, the Internet will not be banned, or we are right, and it will disappear. Actually, the disappearance of the current free Internet will serve as a litmus test that will accurately mark our final
loss of freedom.

The banning of the Internet, the cancellation of the Second Amendment rights, and the closing of our borders -- not to stop illegals from entering the country, but to stop Americans from fleeing it -- in exactly that order, will be important steps in the implementation of this evil plan.

In the meantime, hope for the best, and enjoy the Internet while you can.

[Joy Anne]

116. DHS Employees

Remember that Department of Homeland Security employees are not civil service. The DHS secretary is entitled to hire the heel-clickers of his choice.

[mistertrickster]

95. What was you're main motivation for going with W the first time?

I think we should look at reasons why W wins more seriously. We can't beat them if we don't think about their appeal.

[Stevepol]

125. The reason Bush wins is THE VOTING MACHINES!!!

To put the blame elsewhere is just disingenuous and confusing. Dems need to be real Dems and support the things that are just and fair and moral. But first of all they need to fix the voting machine problem. Until and unless they (we) do that, nothing else matters at all.

[jdots]

6. T.V. is a box that shit comes out of

It was fun when the people who worked in it took some pride in thier work.

[DBoon]

10. "The slime oozing out of your TV set"

as true now as when it was first stated:

I'm vile and perverted.
I'm obsessed and deranged.
I've existed for years but very little has changed.
I'm the tool of the government and industry too.
For I'm destined to rule and regulate you.


You may think I'm pernicious, but you can't look away.
I'll make you think I'm delicious with the stuff that I say.
I'm the best you can get... have you guessed me yet?
I'm the slime oozing out of your TV set...

Frank Zappa

[wabeewoman]

7. I watched the other day for the

first time since the election. I still read a local paper and find it much more balanced. My blood pressure can't take the lies and poor reporting on msm. I think they have blown their crediability and are toast but they haven't got the message yet. Cable is far worse but not held to the same standards by the rest of the media.

[Stephanie]

8. I cancelled the NY Times

And when I said so at a dinner party another couple said "so did we!" and for the same reason. David Brooks, Judith Miller, and the litany of lies.

I used to make a point of watching all the news straight through on Friday nights. Dan Rather, then Jim Lehrer, then Gwen Ifill, then Bill Moyers. Now I don't bother. Lies, lies, and more lies.

[CAcyclist]

90. I did too.

And I called the subscription guy and told him exactly why I was cancelling - it ended up as a rather long rant. He actually thanked me and said they usually hear from the other end of the spectrum. I told him I didn't want news with a left or right slant - I wanted the truth.

The straw that broke the camel's back for me was the Yukos story burying the fact that the Russian government was taking back what had been illegally privatized and another economic story that escapes me right now.

[UdoKier]

9. I occasionally look at the MSM for entertainment value.

But I see it for the TASS-Pravda syndicate that it is, so I don't look at the "news" shows very often. They usually piss me off by their right-wing spin, if not by covering subjects of utter irrelevance ad nauseam.

There is no need for MSM to provide news anymore. I get it off the web and read the Sunday SF Chronicle. That more than suffices.

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

11. I go offshore for my real news.

They made a BIG mistake by letting the internet propogate so fully- they'd have to attempt a China-style lockdown or worse to keep us from keeping up to date on reality, and I don't think they're up to it. I haven't watched TV news or listened to the radio for years, and I'm still miles ahead of your basic Faux/cnn addict.

[autorank]

12. Let's call it the CM (Corporate Media).

Besides, cyber-news gathering and distribution will be the new "Main Stream" soon.

I watch no news on television except for an occasional KO segment. It is utterly negative. I stopped reading the PentaPost in 1998 after 14 years of daily reading. Any news I want is online and free. It is not necessary and aggravating. I don't think these clowns have much time left. Bringing Jon Stewart on CBS network news is the death knell of network dominance and cable as well. Steward out polls every cable news show at this point, he sunk "Cross Fire", and his presence on CBS network news, even the mere suggestion, is a marker.

JON STEWART, VANQUISHER OF THE CM (CORPORATE MEDIA).

[Gold Metal Flake]

16. Or "Payola Press". MSM is a freeper term.

Use our terms, not theirs.

[autorank]

17. CM...Payola Press...great term! And then "Media Whores"

I still like CM as the generic term and Payloa Press as the pejorative.

[WorseBeforeBetter]

89. I agree - always refer to it as "Corporate Media"

We need to control language -- the way the Rs twisted "Estate Tax" into "Death Tax." "Corporate Media" should get through to those Ma and Pa Kettles at their kitchen tables we heard about ad nauseam on the campaign trail. Not too offensive; just right.

[yurbud]

13. By shortly after 9/11, it got too weird

the stuff they were saying was spinning away from any contact with reality, and it got so shallow, it went from a puddle to a water stain.

Even if it was good, I can cruise a halfdozen news sites in the time it takes Dan Rather to say "This is the CBS Evening News."

And of course it sucks.

I'm only marginally more impressed with most papers. They sometimes cover the important stuff, but bury it on page A22, where the stupids will never see it.

[bliss_eternal]

14. I call them the GGC

Glorified Gossip Columnists--they spend more time on celebrity gossip crap than anything with any substance. I was surprised to see one station cover the Condi/Boxer event today.

[Nothing Without Hope]

15. Communication and Organization Through the Internet can save us

The other times fascism took over nations, it was rather easy to suppress dissent. This time hijacking the MSM isn't enough any more. We are back to the original state of person-to-person communication, only now it is instant and covers any distance. There is the added bonus that the communication is directly between minds and isn't sidetracked so easily by gender, age and other traditional barriers to mutual understanding.

I believe that the boisterously communicative, ready-to-organize community of DU is an early prototype of what has become available right in the nick of time and can potentially save democracy in this country. We can end-run the MSM and the progandists of the government and get the truth to each other and then organize to do something about it. Without the internet, I believe this would be nearly impossible to do on the scale and with the speed that are needed.

I really wish someone would write a book on this phenomenon. I have ideas of chapter divisions but no background in the area. There needs to be a history of how this situation evolved and how it leads into the next stage. I would love to be able to get WIll Pitt to write it, but I doubt he would even read an email on the subject. The purpose of the book would be to publicize and popularize this trend and make it move faster, pick upmore people who don't realize that they have an alternative to enduring the MSM and isolation. I think it would be both interesting and politically useful.

And yes, I almost never turn on my TV or read the paper either. And I've never subscribed to cable. Why bother? I get what I need from the internet and can check different perspectives on important stories or get more in-depth fact-checking to try to find out what is REALLY happening. I really can't stand being force-fed propaganda, and because of the internet I can make choices. This is empowering and invigorating and I believe it will continue to spread quickly if people can be educated about it.

[Clark2008]

19. Hey there!

I subscribe to cable, but ick.

I never watch network television. Ever.

I subscribe (gosh I wish it was a la carte) because I want my son to see PBS and Nick (Viacom owns Nick - tis a blue station and they have a better reporter than most of US do. Kids get Linda Elerbee! She rocks. Google for more). And the C-SPANs.

I watch KO in the form of news. The History Channel, the Discovery Channel, the Learning Channel and sports during football season.

Otherwise, I would shut it off. In fact, it's rarely on once the kidlet's in bed.

[Nothing Without Hope]

20. Hey Clarkie! I was must going to post to you here

Besides taking the opportunity to thank you, along with the other KOEB members, for making it possible for me to enjoy the journalistic and even the wardrobial exploits of Keith Olbermann without subscribing to cable. Thanks!

I also wanted to ask your opinion of the idea I am mentioning in my post about writing a book to popularize and boost the transition into information exchange and political organization through internet sites. I do believe that DU is one of the first if not the first site where a true community can form and communicate directly with one another. I'd love to be able to write to WIll Pitt in such a way that I could at least get him to think about the idea. I'd be willing to help with the book but I'm not the one to write it -- not my area of expertise. I'm very good at gathering and organizing information (long scientific training and a certain talent), but this is not my field nor have I previously published a book.

What do you think? I have ideas of chapter divisions and feel strongly that such a book could do a great deal of good, but I need to figure out how to get the process started and who to start it with.

Thanks for any comments -- well, ALMOST any comments!:-)

[Name removed]

22. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[WoodrowFan]

31. Jewish Spin?

what, pray tell, is "Jewish spin"??

[catmandu57]

35. I'd like the answer to that one also

It sounds like some one pushed a sleeper's button here.

[JHB]

42. Samfish will have to answer that for himself, but...

...in pairing it off with "right wing" I'd hazard a guess that a better term would be "likud/neocon spin", which could fit the description of some things I've seen on those channels. But not everything.

[cascadiance]

111. The alternative press and blogs on the internet really help us...

... but many folks out there in this country aren't even close to computers for most of the day. They are still a big chunk of society that will be left out in the cold in terms of being an informed citizenry.

What I'd like to see happen is perhaps a blue company or a number of blue companies or other progressive organizations organize a way to get alternative press more out in public on kiosks, and really promote it as an alternative to watching the news at home or reading the newspaper.

If one could talk Starbucks into really promoting a very optimally enhanced user interface to make it easy for those visiting Starbucks to get news at "Cyber cafes" every place that could replace the newspaper and the television set, we might be half-way there. If it wouldn't have links just to CNN, but really have a way to make sure a balanced and timely view of news events is accessable to users that doesn't require computer literacy, that would be an awesome start. Give customers the ability to have participatory "ratings" systems to help newer or less informed users to get what "viewers" feel is worth seeing, not what the corporate media is told by advertisers or other entities like that claim is worth seeing/reading.

[Nothing Without Hope]

112. Not everyone is on the internet, but it underlies what remains...

...of the free press in this country. This means that we internet-connected concerned citizens need to brainstorm practical ways to expand the reach of the information and communication we can tap into. Providing printed versions from alternative news sources in places like Starbucks is one way. We need to come up with lots more ways to do this, because if only the people who are both internet-connected AND progressive in outlook are in the loop, there aren't enough of us to accomplish much anytime soon--and time is running out. To move from being labeled as the "tin-foil-hat kook fringe," we have to reach out to people who are NOT yet directly internet-connected. And it has to be done in ways that don't intimidate them, insult them, or preach at them.

I've witnessed people "waking up" to realize that they have been lied to by b* and by the corporate-controlled media. It can happen. I believe we need to work together to plan ways to make it spread faster, then make it happen. The stakes are very high, and as a minority we must be clever and insightful.

[cascadiance]

132. Just as important as access to internet and alternative news sources...

... to the average joe consumer that perhaps doesn't have his/her own computer/access to the internet, is a means for them to sort through the massive amounts of information and come up with the best sources in terms of what he/she trusts and finds the best at doing what they do.

The MSM tries to put certain entities based on their size and control over media outlets, etc. and marketing themselves with brand awareness as being "reliable and who people turn to". People have become used to that means of finding who to go to for news. Now they might say they'd rather go to CNN than Faux News or other more right wing elements of the MSM, but they are still locked into the corporate media in some ways with that mindset.

Looking at how we can fix this equation, perhaps we should look at Ebay's model. Though it is primarily ways for customers to gravitate toowards certain sellers they trust and do a good job at getting them want as an auction, a similar methodology of a user/community ratings system (if it could be applied to disparate internet sites) could also be used to help users identify which sites have the best information for them, who's recommendations come from their fellow man, and not someone else trying to prescribe who to get news from, who likely will have a different agenda at deciding what's important for them.

Once the mass audience understands that this newer way of getting to news using a direct ratings system methodology is in place is more serving *them* than it serves advertisers, corporations, or political parties' agendas, I think they will flock to it much like people flock to ebay to sell and buy goods.

Though some alternative news sites will still have to do some degree of marketing to get noticed, if they have the right message in a timely fashion, those that find them will reward them, and it doesn't become as much of a daunting task for them to continue to invest in ways to get noticed. That will be taken care of through the system in place, and they can focus more on getting us good news, which we all want from a free press.

[Nothing Without Hope]

134. Yes, you're right - it's partly about "brand" recognition & trust

And this is the second reason why the MSM has been attacking the reliability/integrity of internet-based news and blog communities. (The other reason being that they were ordered to counter the stories that were being reported -- like election fraud --with their own soothing propaganda.) They are aware that there is a certain vulnerability to being the purveyors of lies if there is an alternative source of the truth, so they take steps to strengthen their own "brand acceptance" at the expense of alternative media.

There needs to be a lot more brainstorming on this, serious, practical brainstorming. It's an uphill fight to spread the accetance that you can get the truth from a place other than the MSM, but the stakes are very high. I really wish Will Smith would write a book about the development, evolution and future of alternative media and internet-based political communities like DU (I think it's the prototype of a whole new social/political demographic).

[OnionPatch]

21. Out of my circle

I don't know one single person who takes the MSM seriously anymore. The doubt really set in with the run-up to the war and has grown since. All of these people used to watch CNN, MSNBC, etc. for their news. That the MSM is totally biased just goes without saying among even friends of mine who used to be apolitical. They might watch the entertainment shows, but the MSM news....it has the credibility of the National Enquirer. They all get their news from the internet and newspapers these days.

[Joyce78]

72. Out of my circle

The SCLM has the credibility of the Weather Channel ... usually unreliable on forecasting but always correct on reporting yesterday's precipitation.

[Carl Yasutomo]

23. Even my Republican boss is abandoning MSM due to right wing bias

Even my boss, a lifelong Republican, hates the MSM for having such an obvious right wing bias.

[radfringe]

24. as far as "spews" program goes

I'll occassionally pause the remote on CNN or MSNBC for a few moments - to catch the stock market numbers or peruse the crawlers -- then I "get over it and move on"

I use to watch these stations fairly regularly, although I figured they were just part of the GOP echo chamber I thought I might be able to glean a few bits of truth out of them. Now I've just given up.

C-SPAN House/Senate coverage I watch -- at least with that going out live there is no "editorializing" -- but when the commentators come on I "move forward" to another station.

If I wanted hear propaganda, echo chambers or the selected verses from the choir -- I'd be listening to reich-wing radio. Remember they are in it for the money -- not to serve the public.

[klyon]

25. yes, I have stopped watching the news on TV

I may go one better. I may cancel cable altogether. Programing really sucks, even the movie channels are not worth it. The only things I watch now are sports and the West Wing reruns since I missed them the first time around.

KL

[Stockholm]

26. Get Soros to fund a proper newschannel n/t

[LeftyMom]

113. Not the first time I've seen that sentiment here

but I hope it's the last. If he wants to buy a media outlet, he certainly can, however, he doesn't owe us shit. Going on like the rich girl from Willy Wonka isn't going to do anything but piss the man off, assuming he ever hears how people on DU want to spend his dough, which I doubt.

Besides, whose going to believe an outlet owned by a wealthy foreigner? He'll be protrayed as the Rev. Moon of the left. I know he's been in the US for ages, but I don't doubt that's how he'll be portrayed- as some rich European telling red blooded Murkins how to think.

[harper]

27. I recently dropped the subscription to my daily newspaper

I've been a customer for 27 years. It got to where anything of interest in the paper had been here on LBN the evening before. Then I realized that the paper had turned into a carrier to get advertisements into my house. Saved myself around $200/yr for a daily subscription and untold amounts by not looking at the glossy Sunday ads.

As far as TV...I watch my two loves, Jon Stewart and KO, then I turn it off.

[catmandu57]

28. The revolution will not be televised

The revolution is happening now and anyone with eyes can see it.

Time was, the first thing that happened in our house when we awoke was turning on npr, that hasn't happened in over three years now, they're out and out whores, shameless shells of a once excellent news source.

Then the tv started to go silent, there's one sitting five feet away that rarely plays, cable news, we never watch, in fact the channels are blocked from even coming on.

Being a product of the sixties, I still tune into cbs evening, but when rather goes I probablly will also.

The local paper, we take on the weekends, the only part I read is the local happenings, and the obits.

My news comes from the net now. The revolution will not be televised.

[MarianJack]

50. We Still Do Wake Up To npr...

...but now we get 15 mins. of classical music (our alarm is set for 4:45 A.M.), BBC World Report, and the weather.

BBC's Dan Damon is the only anchor I even remotely trust anymore. We stopped with npr after 6 when we subjected to cokie roberts' weekly bush lovefest/kerry bash in the fall.

I wasn't close to him, but THANK GOD FOR KEPH!!!!!! Since we were told that he almost single-handedly got LBN going, we are in his eternal debt. I will always honor his momory and, for those believers among us, hope he is enjoying GREAT reward in Heaven. HE founded what is now, for me, the HONEST media! He left us with big shoes to fill!

[Skinner]

29. I have not watched cable news since the Election.

I just can't do it. The coverage during the campaign was so awful that it just pissed me off. Since the election, I watched approximately one hour of cable news, which was just after the tsunami. Other than that, forget it. It's nothing but crap.

I'm a much happier person now that I'm not watching any of it.

[Junkdrawer]

76. Sooner or later the public will see the MSM as the new Pravda...

If you watch at all, you watch to keep track of what the State may do TO you next...

[YNGW]

30. First R's and now D's

Conservatives turned off the MSM years ago and went to alternative media. Now, it appears that liberals are doing the same. What happens to the MSM when both sides regard them as worthless?

[RandomKoolzip]

73. Now that the MSM is catering to the conservatives, they

have no good reason to avoid it. For some reason, they still talk about "liberal bias" in the MSM, which is absurd.

Conservatives who used to shun the MSM and haven't seen CNN in a long time are in for a pleasant surprise.

[KurtNYC]

32. Increasingly the MSM covers internet news

I flipped passed the Today Show and Lauer goes into their top story: Jib Jab has a new flash animation out for the * re-coronation. So they run the flash animation in its entirity and then interview the guys who create them. DU shows up in MSM with increasing frequency.

Eventually they will just point an NBC camera at a computer monitor while some unseen staffer surfs the net. The cycle is so fast now that a morning paper seems like yesterday's news and why shouldn't it?

[The Flaming Red Head]

33. US media is culpable with this administration ( They're collaborators)

Every beating, bombing, torture and erosion of civil liberties. I’m madder at the media whores than I am at the Bushies.

[DUBYASCREWEDUS]

34. BOYCOTTING THE NEWS

You are not alone! Since the farce of Nov. 2nd I have watched a total of 10 minutes of "news". And when the Supreme Moron appears on screen I remove him in a nanosecond - which is just about long enough for him to deliver his opening remark: "UH, DUH, UM". I get all the news I need from the internet and democratic sites such as this, Taylormarsh.com, democrats.com, etc. I personally cannot stomach Wolf Blitzer on CNN and I want to throw something through my television set when I see Brit Hume, Scarborough Country, etc. I plan to spend Black Thursday watching reruns of 40 year old sitcoms - somehow a rerun of Gilligan's Island has more intelligent beings than exist in this administration!

[pearl]

37. A Poem: Punish the Press and Power off

Punish the Press,
Poodles that they are;
For putting their
Pathetically
Privileged little lives
over providing
really truthful reporting.

In the pocket
of the president
and still too
exhausted from
Clintin fatique
to crawl out.

Lazy, lying
polling pundits
would rather ramble
about numbers than
listen to people.

The people,
half of whom
they have betrayed
and the other half,
Watch Fox


This is a brand new poem. I plan to not watch a single minute of
anything on tv from midnight to midnight J20.

[spacedog]

36. Count another one for no MSM!

During and after the election I couldn't get enough news -- I watched whenever I was home because I was WAITING for some fair treatment of the things people here talk about every day. I never got any. This year I don't think I've watched 10 minutes of MSM "news". Daily Show and KO is where I get my info. And the Late Breaking News on DU!

[Ezlivin]

38. I'd drop my paper (Fort Worth Star-Telegram) in an instant if

I could just get the comics.

Is there a "comic subscription" service or some such beast that would deliver a full-color print edition of only the comics?

That would be the greatest thing in the entire world.

[liveoaktx]

45. Dropped S-T because they endorsed Bush for Prez... because of

what he did when he was governor 4 years previously. There went their credibility.

Not main-stream comics, but get a subscription to "Funny Times"

[Ezlivin]

57. Yes, their endorsement was damning with faint praise

People write LTTE and complain about liberal bias in the media!

Thanks for the tip on "Funny Times."

[Nothing Without Hope]

68. You're supposed to be able to get the Wash Post comics here

http://www.washingtonpost.com/comics

I say "supposed to be able" because I have so far resisted the registration process and haven't looked.

[CAcyclist]

91. You could get Funny Times.

It's delivered once a month or so, not daily. Whoops, you already got this advice.

[harper]

106. I read the comics on line

That was my only hesitation about dropping my newspaper subscription. But I can get all the comics at my local paper's website. So I get up in the morning, fire up the coffeepot and the laptop and read the comics while swilling my AM caffeine, just as always.

[LifeDuringWartime]

109. if you go to the big syndicates'

websites, or even the strip's websites, they probably have the latest every day.

[Roland99]

39. I cancelled all of my Cable TV

I only catch the nightly news once in a while and then I'll watch PBS (Lehrer News Hour and McLaughlin Group)

[gollygee]

40. I cancelled my newspaper when they endorsed bush again

with the "you don't change horsemen in the middle of an apocolypse" arguement.

I watch a bit of CBS evening news on occassion, but I don't watch the news like I used to.

[passy]

41. Read this and cry. Maybe this is why no one pays attention to the MSM.

From the Guardian in England. Those damn Brits what is it with their fair and in-depth reporting, haven't they learned to toe the line yet?
Why isn't Blair banning them yet?
http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,12271,1392797,00.html
Read the Guardian for your news or DU's LBN.

[Taxloss]

43. Blair hasn't the cajones.

The whole Hutton thing made British people fanatically protective of our impartial media, in particular the BBC. I have the privilege of reciving the print Guardian, and it is the best newspaper in the world. No question.

The "I believe in the BBC" campaign:

http://www.bloggerheads.com/bbc/

[passy]

85. I miss the Saturday supplements.

Sadly i don't live there anymore but a Saturday is not the same without the Guardian and the Independent or the Observer on Sunday of course.

[Taxloss]

86. Yes, they are good.

We're very lucky.

[Rob H.]

44. Quit watching the news shortly before sElection 2000

And I worked at a newspaper for almost four years--it was such a horrible experience that I haven't bought a newspaper since 1999.

I usually go to the Guardian UK, the BBC, and various online sources like DU, smirkingchimp.com, and buzzflash.com. I'm finding it increasingly frustrating (and fucked up, quite frankly) that in order to get decent, in-depth coverage of what's going on inside the U.S., I have to turn to foreign news sources!

[Dawgs]

48. I haven't watched the news since the election..

At all. Until I hear that they are starting to report the news again, I refuse to watch. It's about principal at this point. I hope there are many more like me... just so we hurt their ratings.

What's funny is that the right still thinks there is a left wing bias. If none of us watch they will be forced to give us real news.

I doubt it...

[bleedingheart]

46. I have stopped watching the news and get my info exclusively

from the internet.

[RaleighNCDUer]

49. During and after Watergate I'd watch the news for 2 hours

straight, local and national, every evening between 5-7, then catch the late news, and follow up with that new show, Nightline.

Before this 'election' I'd watch CNN or BBC.

Now, I get my news from the Daily Show.

[MarianJack]

51. I was in my late teens during Watergate.

I was hooked to the Ervin committee's hearings.

Watergate showed what an honest press could do. No more!

[Paradise]

52. You just made me realize that I'm not watching either, either! n/t

[Steve L]

53. Free Speech Network

About 6 months ago I thought it was funny when a family member referred to the Today Show as a "human interest" show. Lately I've come to view all of the major news networks in that way. They all repeat select light coverage of some events and spatter it with "commentary" by "experts". This is often coupled with quite a bit of pop culture and human interest garbage. The transparency of why certain angles are taken on stories is more transparent all the time. I've all but given up on the MSM. Now I check in with CNN, MSNBC, FOX, etc, to keep up on the mishandling of information.

One voice I have found that I believe is essential for DU members is the Free Speech Network. We recently switched from cable to the Dish Network and at first I thought it sucked until I found this gem. The Free Speech Network carries Democracy Now which I'm sure many of you are familiar with, as well as many other international news and documentaries with a definite progressive take. People like Noam Chomsky are a daily fixture. Of particular note is a series called Shocking and Awful that is very insightful concerning the Iraq war. I would strongly encourage all of you to check into getting access to this station and possibly donating to their cause.

I feel that through this station, along with certain domestic and foreign news sources, and the ability to watch the house and senate in action on CSPAN we can get a more accurate glimpse at what is going on. Unfortunately the MSM is no longer part of that picture for my family and many friends.

[4_TN_TITANS]

54. I still watch Dan Rather....

but if he does have news, I learned it long ago from DU. I'm amazed at how much more I'm informed compared to the other people around me.

[Kerrytravelers]

60. Thanks to this thread...

I now have whatreallyahppened.com saved in my favorites under the news section.

[okieinpain]

55. hello, I haven't watch, cspan, tweety, russert, or any of the others.

just local news, aar, du, and lots of video games.

[Spider Jerusalem]

56. If you MEAN "TV news", SAY "TV news". That acronym is stupid.

[stopbush]

105. Get over it and get used to it. I didn't invent the MSM acronym,

but it's quite obvious that it has entered the political vernacular here at DU. I'm not going to waste my time or anyone else's trying to come up with an acronym that's more specific. After all, I'm not running for office.

MSM it is. And it extends beyond TV and TV News.

[Pithy Cherub]

61. Hard pressed to watch the msm drivel. Will brake for CSPAN...

Feeling better, not watching and especially made sure to have an appointment so as not to be forced to watch a small frozen event on Thursday.

[GoldenOldie]

66. Foreign News Media

My daughter, who works in Russia and who was home for the holidays, was horrified as to what passes for news here in the States. She travels a lot through Europe, Asia, and the ME and is able to compare what is actually occuring and what is being reported in the News Media.

We have satellite and have the major news channels. She just kept clicking that remote in hopes of finding at least one station that would give her accurate and responsible reporting. She was unable to and began vocally(?)passing judgement on the "US News Media Stars."

She praised the foreign news media for their professional honesty and integrity. She was totally appalled by the "crap," coming out of the mouths of our celebrity news casters. She said she had students that could deliver scripts better then this and they were a lot more knowledgeable on current events.

[tom_paine]

63. History Repeats in Totalitarian Societies like Amerika: Samizdat

http://www.britannica.com/eb/article?tocId=9065214&query=samizdat&ct=

http://lists.partners-intl.net/pipermail/civilsoc/2002-November/000994.html

We are following much the same path as Imperial Rome, but Propaganda Strategies and the Death of the Free Press have a more Nazi or Soviet flair mixed in, like fudge swirl cookies.

:evilgrin:

[Nothing Without Hope]

74. But THEY didn't have the internet.

Unless there is an assault that shuts down the internet, we can end-run the government-controlled media, get the truth, and organize.

[PROGRESSIVE1]

64. I know!

I only watch C-Span to get political coverage. Most news is from the internet.

[Steve L]

65. The end for me...

I gave up on the MSM several weeks ago. I was watching some heavy stuff on the Free Speech Network about how an American multinational has supported a corrupt Indonesian military with documented human rights abuses so that their oil interests would be properly protected in the region. It was documented that the rogue military group had received more money from this corporation in past years than the company had donated in Tsunami relief.

I thought that was some great, insightful stuff. Then I checked in with MSNBC to see, GET THIS, animal expert Jack Hannah discussing whether or not the animals in Indonesia sensed the Tsunami coming.

[Joy Anne]

119. welcome

to DU, Steve L. You certainly have the correct attitude for these parts.

[FizzFuzz]

67. I'm so divorced from TV ......

I don't even know what day, time and channel Jon Stewart and Olberman are on! I'd like to watch them but I keep forgetting to go find out.

I got away from tV years ago actually, because of the rampant sexism. Just couldn't stand it, so only watched occasionally.

[jn2375]

69. Cancelled my newspaper right after they plastered Bush's face

on the front page after the election. Cancelled my Time Mag. subscription after Bush was names Time Man of the Year (Sent them a nasty email). I will not allow any TV news to be turned on in my house. Will not listen to any radio news, they all whore for the Bush administration and I longer trust anything they say. Guess you could say I'm boycotting the MSM. I'm not the only Dem doing this that I know of. So yes there are a lot of us shutting off the MSM.

[Touchdown]

83. I know what you mean.

As a "free gift" for subscribing to Salon.com...I get so many free issues of New Republic Online (DLC) and Useless News and World Distort...sort of a bend over and take it gift from Salon if you ask me.:eyes:

Over the past 4 months I've been subjected to such topics as "Why we pray", "James Dobson hits the mainstream", "The two Americas (as if these media whores had nothing to do with the divide)"... Yeasterday I got this little gem in the mail...

http://www.usnews.com/usnews/issue/050124/home.htm

Notice the Seal behind him, just out of focus to make it look like a golden halo? After I cleaned the vomit off of the front cover, I think it read..."An ambitious agenda. Can it survive tough challenges?"

It immediately went into the trash, as did most of them. Gee thanks Salon!

[bejammin075]

70. Add me to the anecdotal pile

I used to watch (pre-2004 election) lots of MSM and listen to NPR. Sometime before the election I started to discover the joy of progressive blogs and Air America radio. Since the election I don't watch MSM anymore, except for special situations where I want to check on them. I email some of the most important stories to my friends and relatives, when I never did anything like that before. I used to consider myself (less than a year ago) politically moderate, but now I'd be just fine getting lumped together with flaming liberals and radical progressives.

[Just Me]

75. Not only friends but all the new people I met during the campaign.

The vast majority had NEVER been politically active.

Now, they all do their best to keep abreast of what's really happening and turn to both the internet and CSPAN for their information.

It's the most amazing political revolution I've ever seen.

[Synnical]

77. News Audience Declines in 2004

http://money.cnn.com/2004/12/31/news/fortune500/cable_ratings.reut/


December 31, 2004: 7:57 AM EST


LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Coverage of deadly tsunamis that pummeled South Asia fueled a sharp crest in CNN's audience this week, capping a year in which its ratings and those of rival cable networks fell from war-driven heights in 2003.

<snip>

Year-end figures from Nielsen Media Research show double-digit audience declines in 2004 at all four 24-hour cable television news outlets -- Fox News Channel, CNN, MSNBC and CNBC -- versus 2003 when the Iraq war started.


<snip>

"Some of the news junkies who made up the core six to eight million people who regularly watched cable news channels may be getting kind of tired of it."

<snip>

Viewership for the evening newscasts of the three major broadcast networks -- NBC, ABC and CBS -- also slipped year to year, continuing a downward trend that dates back to at least 2000, according to Nielsen. But Tyndall said this was likely part of a more general pattern of declining network audiences.

[lies and propaganda]

78. if i even flip channels and come across news

im usually yelling within minutes. Either i screaming about the lies their telling, the stories that they arent telling, and Judy Woodruffs disgusting face. Out of all of them, i hate her the most. Hannity is the Supreme Dick, but Woodruff seemed to have taken such pleasure in railroading Dean.

[Vurtnet]

80. the smartest thing

Turning off your TV is the smartest thing you can do.

http://www.TurnOffYourTV.com

[liberal N proud]

79. You could have taken those words right out of my mouth

Not one minute of televised news since 11/03.

[jmcon007]

81. me, too, also...

Here (DU) is one of the major places I get my news. Thank God for DU. But, it's not like I don't know what's going on with the daily distortions pimped by the majors. I can keep up with the enemies' lies and half-truths by depending on Media Matters to 'straighten out' the crooked news.
Friends, I believe the time is fast approaching when trial balloons begin rising from the White House searching for a strategy to shut down the blogs. We have to be vigilant.

[distantearlywarning]

82. Lying Government Controlled Media - Soviet Russia? or America?

I have caught MSM in a number of small but blatant lies since the election, and because of this have lost all trust in their credibility on any issue. At this point, I actually consider MSM to be primarily government propaganda. I get all my news from the internet - foreign online papers, links from DU, TBRNews, etc... Something about all that "conspiracy theory" stuff on them internets just strikes me as more true than what they say on CNN these days.

So, I asked my cable company to give me only the basic package - 16 local channels + an OnDemand service for movies. I no longer watch any MSM news of any variety, local or otherwise. Most of my TV watching is movies and Steelers games. I also cancelled my NewsWeek subscription after they refused to cover election fraud issues at the end of last year.

[Historic NY]

84. I've given up the tv news too, stopped right after the election....

watch PBS news hour once in a while, but nothing else. I've kept my local newspaper which is supposed to be a "liberal tabloid" for now, they didn't have the courage to endorse anyone. I check internet for some news or read LBN here. I miss the days of Chet Huntley, David Brinkley and Walter Cronkite. All the news thats fit to print, isn't any more.

[Northern Perspective]

87. And here's a perfect example of why

Les Moonves believes that a cosmetic make-over is all that's required to make CBS "relevant" again. Nowhere in this article does anyone describe a renewed committment to truth, values, journalistic judgement, constitutionally-prescribed oversight provided by a free and independent press and...well, you get the idea.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/19/arts/television/19cbs.html

[Lefty_Forever]

88. I'm one too!

After 20 some years of WaPo, it's time to call it quits. All the comments here sound like an echo chamber. Maybe when newspaper subscriptions fall below sustainable rates and commercial revenue for television news ceases to exist because of low ratings, these "journalists" will actually get off their asses and investigate. I was hoping things were slowly changing and I was correct. Only in the wrong direction.

Bye Bye WaPo!

[itzamirakul]

131. Welcome to DU, Lefty_Forever...

:)

[proudbluestater]

92. Closest I get to MSM is the Daily Show!

I canceled my local paper and Newsweek. Even before the election I swore off the MSM after witnessing their butt kissing of * and the Swift Boat Liars. Thankfully, even the televisions on at work are no longer on CNN, but have been changed over to Headline News. I SO could not tolerate the likes of Paula Zahn every night.

For REAL NEWS I watch two channels on my satellite dish. Free Speech TV and LINK TV. Both are progressive networks that tell the stories that the corporate MSM will not tell. Beyond that, I read newspaper from Great Britain,Canada, New Zealand and Australia.

[MasonJar]

93. I have not watched any news since the election. How can we get

it out to advertisers and the media that half their audience is gone.

[roguevalley]

94. I have watched CBS news since Murrow but when Dan goes, so

do I. I can't watch the news shows now. I still subscribe to the Anchorage Daily News because they Bush bash and the LTTE are filled with the pulse of the city, which is a LOT of anti-bush sentiment. So there's still hope. Local news means more to me. Thank god for the internet and the BBC.

[Love Bug]

96. I stopped watching most tv news in late 2002

when they started whoring for the war in Iraq -- I mean, you could see it coming. I don't even watch local news anymore except to find out about the weather.

[Batgirl]

97. former CNN junkie

For starters, how about post-election 2000 when they rolled out "Let the National Healing Begin" (within about 30 seconds of the SCOTUS decision) to advocate for our new Princeling.

Over the next few years I still tuned in out of habit. Like the "phantom limb" phenomenon experienced by amputees. I'd put on CNN like I still thought it was a source of news, but would be left feeling not just uninformed but actively misinformed.

My breaking point finally occurred during that one miniseries "The Sniper." It was too obvious this was a pretty joyous time for all the gleeful talking heads. Underneath their Ted Baxter-like attempts to project how bad they felt for the victims they were all tingly.

[hollywood926]

98. Cancelled my cable, too. Couldn't bear it. eom

[Katarina]

100. Me

I haven't watched any news since November 4th and no plan to turn that drivel back on anytime soon. My days are much more peaceful now. No more screaming at the Stepford Beasts.

[MsMagnificent]

101. We only watch BBC news now

Never get anything close to resembling the truth in MSM -- it's truly pathetic.

I wonder how long until the Boosh Think Police scramble 'outside' news. Probably not long -- he does exactly what he wants anyhow, and MSM both bend over backwards whilst fellating *
such a neat trick.

*Disgusted*

[RawMaterials]

102. kill your TV; you'll feel much better

I haven't watched cable for 2 years. greatest thing I ever did.
It was my wifes idea (women are smarter), now i watch sports and the occasional sitcom on public TV, if i want news outside of the INTERNET it comes down to PBS thats it. the only local news i watch is for the weather(most of the time i can get better news looking out the window)

[RawMaterials]

103. maybee we need a tune off

drop out, turn on too correct information like in the 60's with lsd and leary.

[RawMaterials]

104. bush wants the neocons to replicate the 30-40's

lets get the dems to counter with the 60-70's

[LynneSin]

114. Someone want to explain what MSM is?

I mean obviously it's network & cable news but come on, we all don't know the abbreviation

:eyes:

[Lindsay]

115. MSM= mainstream media

aka

SCLM (so-called liberal media)

SCUM (so-called unbiased media)

[WHAT]

136. MSM = Payola People...

who are not always mainstream; manipulators not reporters.

my definition...

[eridani]

117. Well, better late than never

I haven't watched TV since 1971, at least not in real time. I see "Best of" selections of various programs taped by friends and relatives, long after the original broadcast. I listen to college radio stations, AAR, and classical music. Most of my news is from the Internet--I follow my local papers that way. I still read articles from NYT and WaPo, but mostly the international English language press and sites like DU, Truthout, etc.

[Daphne08]

118. I gave up television many years ago

but my husband still watches a few shows.

I must admit that I do watch C-Span and Discovery Channel.

[The Zanti Regent]

121. I blocked all US cable news channels.

They lie.

I get my news from Newsworld, BBC, DU, Buzzflash, Bartcop, Josh Marshall, Kos and Atrios because they aren't in it for the money.

[Zech Marquis]

122. BBC on the web here

Now THAT is what ever news service should be like. I watched part of the new Airbu rollout the other day live on the net.

[BiggJawn]

123. I still listen to/watch the MSM....

But it's with a prejudice of "I wonder what Rovian BULLSHIT these over-paid teleprompter jockies are gonna try and feed me today?"

I think of it as "spying on the other side".

For "REAL" news, I got the internet and shortwave.

[eg101]

124. MSM News is Dead to me

It really started right after the Iraq War went down, when i realized just how closely they had worked with the Administration and how they had DELIBERATELY manipulated.

My real epiphany came when I was watching the evening news on CBS or ABC, and some embedded reporter was reporting from Bagdahd. He was talking about how advanced and modern the country was, going on about their great infrastructure and modern facilties. As he was saying that, I thought to myself, huh, they have been telling about how bad things are in Iraq, and how they needed to be liberated.

I guess the reporter realized the disparity between the image the media hd created for us, and what he had just said, because he visibly started, caught himself, and started backtracking and saying things about how bad off the country was.

That moment showed me that what people like Chomsky said was basically true.

I really started watching the news heavily during the campaign, but now that it is over, i have learned that campaigns really are not that important, anyway. So the news will only come on for special occassions.

[oc2002]

127. What is 'MSM'?

?

[oc2002]

128. never mind, MainStreamMedia. hehe. need more coffee

[renegade000]

129. ya only TV news I watch is

BBC International and sometimes the Jim Lehrer show (I forget what it is called...something report I believe.

[txaslftist]

130. I like "BSM"

Bought and Sold Media, or Bull Shit Media, you take your choice.

[Delphinus]

133. OK ... I'm really slow today

but I can't, for the life of me, figure out what MSM stands for. I know you're talking about the "news" programs, but I can't figure out the acronym. Thanks.

[pearl]

135. Post Mortem on the Fourth Estate r.i.p.

Mass Media
Monopolizing Minds,
Manufacturing the times,
Mythmaking, muckraking,
Fear snaking into living rooms
throughout the land.

The world shudders
as megaphonics of war
ring hollow in the
terrorized air.
'the lowdown on the showdown'
'Countdown to War'

The press commits
mass suicide,
rising long enough
to Slaughter America;
just in time for
Armageddon.