Why does the news, either in the written form, or on TV ring false?

[KlatooBNikto]

This also goes for the Op-Ed pages of the newspapers and the so called opinions of the talking heads on TV and Radio. All of them seem to assert that whatever our rulers say is the Truth, their good intentions are sacrosanct and even if they violate them, the victims had it coming.No questions about the veracity of 9/11 chronology is ever permitted.If permitted, it is usually labeled a Conspiracy Theory and consigned to the scrap bin.Even after the stories about the presence of WMD's in Iraq have been repeatedly disproved, no one seems to question Cheney's assertions that they were found or even worse, why we are still in Iraq.After installing a known killer and goon as the Prime Minister of Iraq, a fig leaf of Democracy is being wrapped around this criminal.

It is not just their subservience that bothers me;it is their insipid uniformity and totalitarian mindset that numbs one's senses.The lack of curiosity about obvious events manufactured by the Bush gang, like the Niger Yellowcake documents,seems to be a way to protect themselves from reprisals.They have essentially become the News Equivalent of Pro Wrestling with fake serious interviews about fake serious events staged for their benefit. Truth is the first casualty of these people.Democracy is the second.

[EmperorHasNoClothes]

1. It's not news, it's "Infotainment"

These things thrive on shock and hysteria. The more exciting they are the more eyes they get. Sadly the truth is just not interesting enough for many people.

[KlatooBNikto]

2. I think the avoidance of issues and discussions is intentional.

[givemebackmycountry]

3. It's not even "Info-tainment" anymore

The news departments of the major broadcast outlets (CBS-NBC-ABC) were never expected to make any money.

Then came CNN, followed by MSNBC and FOX who made a TON of money.

Now, news programming outlets are viewed as "profit-centers" and while they tell us they are "trusted by America" or that they are "fair and balanced" they are not even close to being that.

They are like Taco-Bell and McDonalds telling us how delicious their foods are, knowing that if we eat enough of it, it will kill us.

Fair and balanced indeed.

More like, here eat this. It's good!

[rosegreene]

4. Frankly, I'm starting to feel better now that I got it through my thick

head that the Wag the Dog "show" is being broadcast on all stations, not just FOX. Now I'm able, for a short moment, to laugh not rage. Then I return to my depression and sadness.

[MaryH]

5. I don't trust what we are being fed here at home so I go to

the BBC a lot.

[KlatooBNikto]

7. Dumbing down is now a world wide epidemic.

[KlatooBNikto]

6. Take heart.You have not seen the worst of it yet.Your next news anchor may

well be Pat Robertson or Jerry Falwell with guest stints by GWB, Cheney, Rumsfeld, and God forbid, Condi herself!

[newyawker99]

12. Hi rosegreene!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[Cocoa]

8. MSNBC uses the Saddam statue in their promos

in their footage that boasts how important they are, how "America is watching MSNBC" they use a clip of military propaganda that was relayed on to the American people by all the networks. They're actually proud of that crap.

[Ardee]

9. How we lost our free press

is the question you are really asking...Simple, it aint free when its wedded to advertiser's dollars. Advertisers who are making a mint on this "war".......

[radwriter0555]

10. To imagine one gets all the info one needs from 8 second sound bytes is

rather nuts, isn't it?

Yet, this is what americans are reduced to...

No wonder so many voted for bush. They're all idiots.

[Poor Richard Lex]

11. The media is not concerned with the truth

one of the greatest right winger lies is the liberal media myth. When that meme started, I remember thinking that what the rightwingers were afraid of was the TRUTH

I knew they had won the liberal media label game when the media started analyzing itself. From there it has been a sorry slide to the right, and interestingly enough, a decline in investigative journalism.

[rman]

13. because it is in effect propaganda

it favors the interests of those who are in a position to influence what the media tell us.