The Fourth Estate: Media Control
Censorship...Alive And Well in America?
Can we believe what we read, hear, or see on TV? How much of the media content that we are exposed to, is controlled by those in power? By 'those in power', I mean everyone from the highest authority in the United States and the 'czars' that work for him, to those that work in the 4th Estate (news media) that disseminate information to the public.
In a land where we are guaranteed the Right to Freedom of Speech by the Constitution, which has lead to numerous media outlets, how accurate is the information we receive? Single-sourced information is 'controlled information'. If information is from sources that are controlled by those in high government or business positions, then we can not trust that what we read, hear, or see is actually the truth. What we're told could be only what those in power want us to believe, whether it is true or not.
Even though the American public obtains their news from a variety of sources, have you ever asked where do those sources get their information? Just because we hear the same information from multiple media outlets, does not mean the information is accurate. It all depends on where these media outlets get their information.
Some might say, "I get my news from reading various articles, from various sources on the Internet." Even that supposed variety can be monitored and controlled. Have you ever tried to access an article and received the message, "Sorry, server not found."? Was the server really out of service, or was someone monitoring and controlling access to information that the 'powers that be' did not want disseminated?
The US government has recently opened a $9-million cyber security center. Is this center really, as the media indicates, to protect government computer systems from "hackers, criminals and hostile nations"? Can we believe what the media tells us? Perhaps this cyber center is a means of controlling what information YOU are able to access on the Internet. This cyber center is "headed by a presidential cyber security czar". That means this person answers to the President! That means the President, or his authorized representative(s) can control access to the information YOU receive over the Internet.
That, folks, is NOT Freedom of the Press, or Freedom of Speech!
I can hear some of you now saying, "This can't happen in America, the Land of the Free". Why? It's common knowledge that China and many other countries control the information that their citizens have access to via the Internet. Why not in America? Controlling the information available to the citizens is the first step in controlling the citizens. And, in America, we have more government control over our lives now than we have ever had before... and it appears more control is on the way.
On an aligned note, there has been a lot written in the media recently about Fox News and the current administration being at war, or at least 'at odds' with each other. Perhaps it is because Fox News is providing the American citizens with more accurate information on the state of this country, than the powers that be want us to know. I kind of like another old saying, "The enemy of my enemy is my friend".
Published by Nancy Kendall
Freelance Consultant: Engineer / Technical Writer: Aircraft / Aerospace Systems Long time kitty servant! View profile
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3 Comments
Post a CommentExcellent piece. Noam Chomsky had so much to say about this in his landmark books like "Necessary Illusions" and "Manufacturing Consent"
The state of our media is in peril. It's become as much of a "dog fight" as watching opposing sports team these days. Print media is dying out due to the lack of ability to pull revenue from advertising since the internet has risen in popularity. Thus causing them to lay off journalists and rely more and more on the AP for coverage. Regional news has become less and less covered as our local print reporters become unemployed or stretched beyond their means, and that has caused a great "blind spot" in our communities all across this nation. I think we should first start looking at this from the bottom up if we want to know where the integrity in media has gone...it was sold off when they started laying off the hard working locals who used to keep tabs on what was happening down the block. If you can't keep an eye on what is happening around your corner, how can we expect to keep an honest eye on what happens around the world? Everyone ends up at the end of the day realizing the hierarch
Or perhaps it's because Fox Noise is reporting less accurate information. When Glenn Beck raises panic over the dollar and tells people to buy gold...while gold firms are sponsoring his program...credibility suffers.