O.K., now that we've covered why they want you to hate and fear, and how they manipulate your emotions, it's time to look at the sources they use to spread their B.S.. In this part we'll look at how they portray opinion as fact, humor as news, and perpetuate conspiracy theories in an effort to even further mislead you. Since there is so many villains, I'll list them one by one and how they influence the information you get.
TALK SHOW HOSTS:
Rush Limbraugh, Sean Hannity, Diane Rhem, Terry Gross, and all the other talk show hosts out there have one thing in common. They structure their shows to advance their own agendas. (For more on their little tricks read my post "Hey H.C., Can I Trust My Media?") By being selective in their subject matter, cutting off or talking over their opposition, and stacking their panels, they can make even the most ridiculous position look logical.
NEWSPAPER EDITORS:
The writers can lean their stories whichever way they want, but it is the Editors that have the real power in newsprint. By simply placing a story on D-7 of your local newspaper as opposed to A-1 they can influence how you feel about a story. They can also stop a story, put more people on a story, change the wording, add words, or even make the author rewrite it from a different perspective. Having a Editor agree with you guarantees your side will get better play.
NEWS ANCHORS:
Every since the beginning of the Nightly News the Anchors have been the most important part of the program. Their job is to get you to identify with them and trust them. Any little hint of how they feel, from passion to humor, will affect how you perceive the story. If your favorite Anchor dislikes Bush and lets it show, you will figure that being as he has more access to these people than you do, he must know something you don't. The important thing is..Katie, or Peter, or Tom would never lie to you.
T.V. PRODUCERS:
They hire the Anchors, they produce the show, they control what gets said and by who, and they decide how to slant it one way or the other. They can also push for the success of certain stars that promote their agenda. They're the reason Ellen DeGeneres keeps getting shows and Rosie O'Donnell never gets fired. They can fill your fall lineup with Single moms or Gay couples. They can make sure that every villain is a Conservative, or a Jew, or a Black or whoever they want. As you sit like a little Autotron in front of your T.V. they can change your perception about groups to fit how they want you to view them, good or bad.
COMEDIANS:
O.K., before you think I'm going off the deep end here, think about how many openly conservative comedians you can name (You can only count Bill Cosby once). Comedians pick on politicians all the time, no matter their party, but the way they do it tells the tale. Bill Clinton was always picked on in the way you pick on your buddies, teasing him about eating too many fries, or getting caught red-handed cheating on his wife. The things that are said about Bush however are, well, not the kind of things you would say to your buddy. With the advent of News/Comedy shows, they now have more power than ever. 21% of young people say The Daily Show is their #1 source of news and Bill Maher's videos on Bush-Hating are spread like fact all over the Internet, even though they're usually filled with inaccurate information or outright lies.
CONSPIRACY THEORISTS:
Although they usually work freelance, they contribute big time to the misinforming of the populace. The true creed of the conspiracy theorist is, "My lack of evidence is my evidence." In order to fall victim to these people you only need to hate someone so much anything starts looking likely. In this country (U.S.) nearly a third of the people believe the government purposely brought down the World Trade Center. This despite this article in Popular Mechanics demonstrating through several top notch engineers, that not only was it likely the planes brought the Towers down, it absolutely did. The Theorists dismiss this as collusion by P.M. with the government. When I ask for proof they turn to their creed, stating, "Of course there's no evidence, they made sure of that."
THE INTERNET:
The Internet makes it possible for Conspiracy Theorists to gain a following, for bloggers to start rumors, for fake sites to give you bogus info, and for those of us who are the most adamant haters to gain a following. During the last Presidential election I went to a bogus Bush for President site that was so convincing it wasn't until I caught them misquoting something that I heard him say myself that I caught on. The Internet is the very worse place to get information if your not going to be very suspicious of the source.
OPINION COLUMNISTS AND BLOGGERS:
I know it seems odd that I would include myself as a source of misinformation, but not all bloggers are as honest as I try to be. Unfortunately, shock "News" gets your attention and gets us hits which increases our audience. I could easily put out there, "Nurse Says George W. Bush Born with Both Genitalia" and back it up with hater sites or blogsites. This is dishonest, but very few people seem to care. Opinion Columnists operate pretty much the same, they figure since what they are giving you is opinion, not fact, they are free to put things out there that are shady at best, if not outright lies.
THE GOVERNMENT:
I would be remiss if I didn't include the Government as a source of misinformation. The Government twists, spins, or flat out lies about 90% of everything they put out there. They use the media by limiting access to the White house if they don't fall in line. Getting a seat at the press conferences is very hard and that is never lost on the President or his Press Secretary. They also leak info to their favorite little sources and use bloggers, opinion columnists, and anyone else to spread lies about their opponents.
Well, that's the best I can do for you. I hope it wasn't too long but I really felt you needed to be as armed for the upcoming election as possible. Try not to be completely cynical, not everyone is trying to lie to you or misinform you. You can still trust me, Andre, and about 4 other people on the planet. H.C.
TALK SHOW HOSTS:
Rush Limbraugh, Sean Hannity, Diane Rhem, Terry Gross, and all the other talk show hosts out there have one thing in common. They structure their shows to advance their own agendas. (For more on their little tricks read my post "Hey H.C., Can I Trust My Media?") By being selective in their subject matter, cutting off or talking over their opposition, and stacking their panels, they can make even the most ridiculous position look logical.
NEWSPAPER EDITORS:
The writers can lean their stories whichever way they want, but it is the Editors that have the real power in newsprint. By simply placing a story on D-7 of your local newspaper as opposed to A-1 they can influence how you feel about a story. They can also stop a story, put more people on a story, change the wording, add words, or even make the author rewrite it from a different perspective. Having a Editor agree with you guarantees your side will get better play.
NEWS ANCHORS:
Every since the beginning of the Nightly News the Anchors have been the most important part of the program. Their job is to get you to identify with them and trust them. Any little hint of how they feel, from passion to humor, will affect how you perceive the story. If your favorite Anchor dislikes Bush and lets it show, you will figure that being as he has more access to these people than you do, he must know something you don't. The important thing is..Katie, or Peter, or Tom would never lie to you.
T.V. PRODUCERS:
They hire the Anchors, they produce the show, they control what gets said and by who, and they decide how to slant it one way or the other. They can also push for the success of certain stars that promote their agenda. They're the reason Ellen DeGeneres keeps getting shows and Rosie O'Donnell never gets fired. They can fill your fall lineup with Single moms or Gay couples. They can make sure that every villain is a Conservative, or a Jew, or a Black or whoever they want. As you sit like a little Autotron in front of your T.V. they can change your perception about groups to fit how they want you to view them, good or bad.
COMEDIANS:
O.K., before you think I'm going off the deep end here, think about how many openly conservative comedians you can name (You can only count Bill Cosby once). Comedians pick on politicians all the time, no matter their party, but the way they do it tells the tale. Bill Clinton was always picked on in the way you pick on your buddies, teasing him about eating too many fries, or getting caught red-handed cheating on his wife. The things that are said about Bush however are, well, not the kind of things you would say to your buddy. With the advent of News/Comedy shows, they now have more power than ever. 21% of young people say The Daily Show is their #1 source of news and Bill Maher's videos on Bush-Hating are spread like fact all over the Internet, even though they're usually filled with inaccurate information or outright lies.
CONSPIRACY THEORISTS:
Although they usually work freelance, they contribute big time to the misinforming of the populace. The true creed of the conspiracy theorist is, "My lack of evidence is my evidence." In order to fall victim to these people you only need to hate someone so much anything starts looking likely. In this country (U.S.) nearly a third of the people believe the government purposely brought down the World Trade Center. This despite this article in Popular Mechanics demonstrating through several top notch engineers, that not only was it likely the planes brought the Towers down, it absolutely did. The Theorists dismiss this as collusion by P.M. with the government. When I ask for proof they turn to their creed, stating, "Of course there's no evidence, they made sure of that."
THE INTERNET:
The Internet makes it possible for Conspiracy Theorists to gain a following, for bloggers to start rumors, for fake sites to give you bogus info, and for those of us who are the most adamant haters to gain a following. During the last Presidential election I went to a bogus Bush for President site that was so convincing it wasn't until I caught them misquoting something that I heard him say myself that I caught on. The Internet is the very worse place to get information if your not going to be very suspicious of the source.
OPINION COLUMNISTS AND BLOGGERS:
I know it seems odd that I would include myself as a source of misinformation, but not all bloggers are as honest as I try to be. Unfortunately, shock "News" gets your attention and gets us hits which increases our audience. I could easily put out there, "Nurse Says George W. Bush Born with Both Genitalia" and back it up with hater sites or blogsites. This is dishonest, but very few people seem to care. Opinion Columnists operate pretty much the same, they figure since what they are giving you is opinion, not fact, they are free to put things out there that are shady at best, if not outright lies.
THE GOVERNMENT:
I would be remiss if I didn't include the Government as a source of misinformation. The Government twists, spins, or flat out lies about 90% of everything they put out there. They use the media by limiting access to the White house if they don't fall in line. Getting a seat at the press conferences is very hard and that is never lost on the President or his Press Secretary. They also leak info to their favorite little sources and use bloggers, opinion columnists, and anyone else to spread lies about their opponents.
Well, that's the best I can do for you. I hope it wasn't too long but I really felt you needed to be as armed for the upcoming election as possible. Try not to be completely cynical, not everyone is trying to lie to you or misinform you. You can still trust me, Andre, and about 4 other people on the planet. H.C.
10 comments:
Blam-O! Three-for-three!
To me, this post about "the sources" ties in perfectly to the blantant exploitation of the VT story by agents in the media. On just about every station, you can't go far without hearing about the "heroes" in this story, the "madman", and the "courage" people are displaying.
After watching this story unfold in the media, I think I feel the sudden urge to buy an American flag and wave it outside for all to see...
Don't you?
Hey Dre,
ABSOLUTELY! I was thinking about that all day while listening to the non-stop coverage on the radio. The Oakland County Press had the headline "GUN CONTROL!", complete with interviews with 4 out of 5 backing gun control.The interesting thing to me in the story was how they were acting like we have NO gun control. Last I checked you can't have a fully automatic weapon, a thirty-shot clip, or a sawed off shotgun. (For good reason, but you get my point.) Hopefully everyone that read my series is now getting a chance to critique their media and noticing how they do it. Great catch on that one Dre.
P.S.
I'm always waving that damn thing anyways.
I'm not trying to sound insensitive here, but while the country continues to 'mourn' over the VT incident, another 180 people were killed in Baghdad yesterday. But, as you brilliantly put it, the "sources" will keep the public's knowledge (and ultimately, their concern) of other incidents at bay while VT rules the headlines.
Andre: You should know by now it is because people in Baghdad are not killed by video games. Sheesh.
H.C.
Once again you have cut through alot of crap that the main media does to influence people. I am a self-profesed Conservative ( with strong Libertarian bent however) and I HATE FOX NEWS! Is that the network that is supposed to represent my views? Hell no! Bill O"Riley is obnoxious! He is a terrible interviewer (me and Steve are amatuers and WE do a better job than Mr. O'Riley does) Bill never let's anyone complete a sentence! And he used to host that cheesy INSIDE EDITION. god,what a stellar resume!
But you know what angers me the most H.C. ,the most galling thing ..IS IT WORKS!
See soon dude. John
Hey Dre,
People killed here will always get more play. Why? Fear. You get disgusted by the deaths in Iraq but the thought of a Madman running amuck in your schools strikes fear in your heart that it could happen to you or your loved ones. Most of that fear is irrational by the way. School shootings are still very rare. That won't however, stop the media from using it to advance their agendas. Look for the left to use it for gun control and the right to use it for more police, more infringement on privacy, and to critize Universities who lean left anyway.
Hey Will,
I'm not sure what or who's to blame for this madness or even if it's really any worse than it ever has been. It's entirely possible it's just the reporting that's changed. Crime in general is actually down in the U.S.
Thanks John,
I agree, you and Steve are better interviewers than Bill. But I admit my judgements a little swayed by the fact that you guys will have me on and Bill won't return my calls and got a PPO against me.(jk)What angers me the most about Bill, is that he's making tons of money for acting obnoxious.....and I keep doing it for free.
Well I would like to comment about the "conspiracy theorists" section on the twin towers. OK, 1. Even if the planes did bring down the towers, that doesn't mean the government wasn't involved 2. Even if the government wasn't involved, they sure as hell don't care about the thousands of first responders that are dying because they were told "the air is safe to breathe." The towers were full of asbestos which is positively known to cause severe health problems. They are getting absolutely no help from their state or government. Anyway, just wanted you to question a little more than whether the planes hit the buildings or not... There's way more evidence that the government was involved than could ever be posted here.
Watching or listening to any source of media will definitely mislead you, but actually listening and talking to people that were there that don't get paid to inform or misinform you is the only way to get the truth. Thank you for your time.
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