Thank you for your insights and overview of America’s news landscape across decades and how it has tragically changed. I didn’t see mention of Clinton’s Telecommunications Act of 1996 - which ushered in monopolies Clear Channel (now iHeart) and Sinclair Broadcasting, and Clinton did so without any public consultation or debate.
The airwaves belong to the public and were stolen from us with the complicity of two Presidents - one a Republican and one a Democrat.
Your points about confirmation bias and the narrowing of what we’re fed as “information” are more relevant than ever. We are in a tragic state from the far Right deliberately destroying our public education systems and our public media across the last 40+ years, and from the Democrats complying or barely resisting.
HR 9495 - if it passes the Senate, as it likely will under the next administration - will be the final nail in the coffin of free speech and a free press.
One of the best articles I've read. Congratulations!
Now if we can get most of the half-witted dim-witted propagandized brainwashed idiots out there to read it and take heed You will have accomplished something!
Wow. Some good stuff there. I would add that the rich and powerful have always tried to control the public since - well, forever. Seriously, this is not new to the 20th century. It began before the printing press when only certain groups and churches tried to monopolize the copying (by hand) of books and manuscripts.
Your timing on this article couldn't be better. I am working on one that deals with similar issues in reaction to the "Stop Terror-Financing and Tax Penalties on American Hostages Act (H.R. 9495)." It's essentially an attack on non-profits, threatening their funding to silence them.
Judging what information is legitimate requires much work and time and the ability to read between the lines. Following the money is a basic rule, as is an understanding of human behavior. Knowledge of history, a life of reading, and a healthy dose of skepticism are requisite as the forces of disinformation grow every day to refute the garbage.
I don't believe so-called independent media operates outside the corporate sphere at all. I think they're very much part of it. The whole set-up of alternative media, ie in opposition to the supposed narrative of the mainstream, I think is often fake and is easily influenced by corporate forces.
Joe Rogan is funded by the meat industry, for example, which heavily influences his content.
'Grass -roots' funding, by which you mean subs, mean that writers have to appeal to what an audience wants to hear, which may be for example, not to worry about carbon emissions or that eating meat is healthy and sustainable.
Perhaps there is a spectrum of independence. You're right about appealing to subscribers, but I'd say that's the most independent model, relatively speaking. Probably more transparent too.
I know for a fact that many of the voices on youtube and the net who provided alternatives to the 'covid' narrative, for example, which led into the climate denial conspiracies theories, were funded by BP.
Hiya, I really don’t know. We can see the sponsorship of ‘independent’ broadcasters just the same as ‘mainstream’. With Carlson and Rogan (who’s funded by the animal ag industry) especially ‘independence’ or 'alternative’ are just a veneers, they’re all part of the same industry funded manipulation. Perhaps it’s even more insidious.
The reason I read you Is because you tell it like it is. The reason you don't have millions of subscribers Is because you tell it like it is.
"Willing suspension of disbelief"best describes American society today.
I look At America as the passengers standing on the deck of the Titanic with buckets as it sinks bailing water out of the ocean onto the deck In the hopes of lowering sea level to keep the ship from sinking.
Good luck!
And the reason that it sank wasn't due to Captain Smith. It was the corporate owners. Sound familiar?
Thank you for your insights and overview of America’s news landscape across decades and how it has tragically changed. I didn’t see mention of Clinton’s Telecommunications Act of 1996 - which ushered in monopolies Clear Channel (now iHeart) and Sinclair Broadcasting, and Clinton did so without any public consultation or debate.
The airwaves belong to the public and were stolen from us with the complicity of two Presidents - one a Republican and one a Democrat.
Your points about confirmation bias and the narrowing of what we’re fed as “information” are more relevant than ever. We are in a tragic state from the far Right deliberately destroying our public education systems and our public media across the last 40+ years, and from the Democrats complying or barely resisting.
HR 9495 - if it passes the Senate, as it likely will under the next administration - will be the final nail in the coffin of free speech and a free press.
Rights must be exercised if we wish to keep them. Unfortunately few seem to even notice.
One of the best articles I've read. Congratulations!
Now if we can get most of the half-witted dim-witted propagandized brainwashed idiots out there to read it and take heed You will have accomplished something!
Thank you
Wow. Some good stuff there. I would add that the rich and powerful have always tried to control the public since - well, forever. Seriously, this is not new to the 20th century. It began before the printing press when only certain groups and churches tried to monopolize the copying (by hand) of books and manuscripts.
Your timing on this article couldn't be better. I am working on one that deals with similar issues in reaction to the "Stop Terror-Financing and Tax Penalties on American Hostages Act (H.R. 9495)." It's essentially an attack on non-profits, threatening their funding to silence them.
Judging what information is legitimate requires much work and time and the ability to read between the lines. Following the money is a basic rule, as is an understanding of human behavior. Knowledge of history, a life of reading, and a healthy dose of skepticism are requisite as the forces of disinformation grow every day to refute the garbage.
Looking forward to your article
I don't believe so-called independent media operates outside the corporate sphere at all. I think they're very much part of it. The whole set-up of alternative media, ie in opposition to the supposed narrative of the mainstream, I think is often fake and is easily influenced by corporate forces.
Joe Rogan is funded by the meat industry, for example, which heavily influences his content.
'Grass -roots' funding, by which you mean subs, mean that writers have to appeal to what an audience wants to hear, which may be for example, not to worry about carbon emissions or that eating meat is healthy and sustainable.
Perhaps there is a spectrum of independence. You're right about appealing to subscribers, but I'd say that's the most independent model, relatively speaking. Probably more transparent too.
I know for a fact that many of the voices on youtube and the net who provided alternatives to the 'covid' narrative, for example, which led into the climate denial conspiracies theories, were funded by BP.
We have to be very careful as to what we think is independent. https://jowaller.substack.com/p/yes-we-all-know-how-to-read-msm-what
Hiya, I really don’t know. We can see the sponsorship of ‘independent’ broadcasters just the same as ‘mainstream’. With Carlson and Rogan (who’s funded by the animal ag industry) especially ‘independence’ or 'alternative’ are just a veneers, they’re all part of the same industry funded manipulation. Perhaps it’s even more insidious.
The reason I read you Is because you tell it like it is. The reason you don't have millions of subscribers Is because you tell it like it is.
"Willing suspension of disbelief"best describes American society today.
I look At America as the passengers standing on the deck of the Titanic with buckets as it sinks bailing water out of the ocean onto the deck In the hopes of lowering sea level to keep the ship from sinking.
Good luck!
And the reason that it sank wasn't due to Captain Smith. It was the corporate owners. Sound familiar?
Great job illuminating the monetization of our information