It started with the show, 60 Minutes, the first newsmagazine that set the precedence for the entertainment news we have today. During the 80s money began to overshadow hard news and journalism. Since then, news has become a very profitable commodity whose power can spin elections, and change the opinion of the public. It is very pervasive. Think George Orwell’s 1984. Hitler rose to power due to the airways, film, print, and radio.
Today, journalists have become protagonists in an infotainment style story that embodies extremes, and distorted information, which is controlled by the few whose only interest is profits and power. It is the epicenter of fear, power, and control. No matter how much money can by, money will not sustain a healthy republic, money sustains an oligarchy. “The networks’ entertainment and sports operations are so troubled that news, particularly in prime time, is becoming one of the networks’ most consistently profitable businesses. To some extent, news programs are now looked to as ways to subsidize entertainment and sports offerings—just the reverse of the way things used to be.”
In 1987, the FCC eliminated the Fairness Doctrine, which required broadcasters to be honest, equitable, and balanced. Broadcasters were required to cover controversial matters of public interest. AND contrasting views. Some may argue the news we have now, covers what's happening, and provides contrasting views. In reality it covers some of what's happening, and its not fair reporting, and its not balanced. We have lost balanced, honest,and equitable. “The demise of this FCC rule has been considered as a contributing factor for the rising level of party polarization in the United States.[2][3]”
We must be active citizens and demand that the government serve the interests of the public for which it represents, and the public airways it is suppose to protect. The airways belong to the people, not business. We The People. Corporations are not people, money is not free speech.We need to reclaim our cable and broadcast airways, and enact policy that takes away the power of money, and replaces it with the interests of the people of this country. When news becomes entertainment, and makes a handful of people, rich and powerful, our democracy is in deep trouble. The rise of Donald Trump, hate speech, and American exceptionalism, are the products of corporate media. Trump gets more airtime than any other Republican candidate.
Free speech is hard to find on the networks or cable news. The internet has become a place where all opinions can heard, well maybe… The flip side is that there is a lot of noise, and misinformation out there. We need to protect our free and open internet from the same monied interests that have corrupted our public airways, and we need to take back what belongs to us. Vote money out, it starts with us, The People. Get active, be informed and question every source. Or Donald Trump might become the next president.
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