SmithAntics

I realize that most of you are not as media-obsessed as I am—and you may live longer as a result. But, friends, the mainstream media (print and television) have reached an unprecedented level of propagandistic disgrace. It is difficult to overstate crisis we face as a result of this. A free and critical press that strives for objectivity and truth in its reporting is an essential feature of a properly functioning democracy. Today, the mass media advance the undemocratic agenda of big business (i.e., war profiteering and colonial exploitation abroad and the privatization of the public at home).

Don’t just take my word for it. The rich body of scholarly and professional media criticism that exists today (and basic empirical observation) reveals that our mainstream media operate almost exclusively in service of state-corporate power. I am deeply troubled by this phenomenon, and I find it to be the central problem that confronts our democracy today.

But there is hope.

Much of the content of what is now known as the “blogoshpere” focuses on the perilous effects and consequences of a mass media that are a propagandistic vehicle for oligarchic corporate interests. Put simply, it is the corporatized mass media that allows BushCo to thrive, and it is this business-media fortress that progressive bloggers direct their attack. Blogs, such as this one, are a means for authentic free speech, and it is only natural that much of their content is devoted to media criticism, and, by extension the state-corporate-media complex that controls information that dominates the public realm.

So, I’m going to attack the corporate-whoring, BushCo-suckling, war-glorifying media relentlessly here, and I’m going to encourage you to smack down your dumb right wing brother/uncle/coworker the next time he/she starts telling you how Time-Warner/AOL-owned CNN is liberal. I will also provide examples of media whoring and email addresses (howardfineman@aol.com) for the authors, so, if you’re inclined, you can let them know what you think of their shilling for BushCo. I ask you to care about this and get involved.

In my opinion, the best media criticism site is The Daily Howler. Today, The Howler unloads on a mass media fixated on the trivial and stupid. Please check it out; this is a great site.

If you’re interested in a serious examination of the so-called liberal media (SCLM), check out Eric Alterman’s book What Liberal Media? and his must-read daily blog, Altercation.