The Media

[j]

Well, this is my first new topic so bear with me if ya can.

I have read through various different posts in this community and it comes back to the media. I guess my question is:

Who can we trust in the media? Is CNN going to give me accurate information? What about PBS--thats not biased is it?

I guess I'm going to kind of answer my own questions. Feel free to comment as needed. In order for us to really acertain (sp) a true meaning of the world we must first know what is going on in it. I live in Boston. Can I accurately describe what is occuring in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict? If I watch CNN--probably not. The media is as we all know CORPORATE. It must appease its shareholders (who, btw, have the right to sue if they feel that CNN is not maximizing profits). Who are the shareholders? Well the wealthy. The people that can profit from a stable partner in the Middle East. Israel is the choice for a stable partner (for a number of reasons that I won't get into) so if CNN describes the atrocities of the Israeli government they will be creating a rift between the USA and Israel and thus not maximize profits for the CNN shareholders. So I guess I can't trust CNN (or Fox News or Dan Rather, etc.). I can't trust PBS because it is funded by corporations and the government. The government has a serious interest in Israel prevailing.

So if I use the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict as an example, guess what, I can't trust the mainstream media. So the question becomes, where do I go? Will The Nation be unbiased or will it present a bias for its leftist readers? Can I accurately comment on the world if I'm misinformed?

I guess the point of all of this is the media can not be trusted in a pure capitalist world. Even the leftie mags must cater to profits. (As does this site). We can not know the truth in pure capitalist society!!! That is the problem. That is why people seem so happy. If they really knew the truth about the world (and I'm not claiming I do, either) socialism would be the only logical result.

Now, I'm not a true socialist, communist, or even capitalist. I guess I don't really know which form is best. But I do know that the current system is not working. The masses are suffering ( and some don't even know it!!!!)

j

[sabre]

Wonderful post

as long as people need to rely on profit and party politics and their superiors , true unbiased news can not be present

i think the closest things we have is the IMC, while people claim it to be Left-biased, so be it because its tryign to balance the entire collective Media corporations , not just itself

[liderDeFARC]

whats IMC ?

[JoseM]

liderDeFARC does your nickname means "leader of the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia" ?

How can you be proud of using such a name? Didnt u know that that guerrilla group is hated by the own colombians? even by the venezuelans, they murder and massacre people in colombia and part of Venezuela, so i would like to know the reason why you are using that name.

[I Will Deny You]

I guess the best thing to do would be to look at the intentions of the people who are delivering the news. CNN is out there to make money. The Nation, while not completely unbiased, is full of people who are clearly talented enough to make lots of money at Newsweek, but they're at The Nation (which I know doesn't pay well, F.Y.I.) because they care. Now I'm not saying that this means that all of the information they give is reliable or that they're always trustworthy, but it gives you a good clue. I subscribe to The New York Times and The Washington Post, arguably the two most famous newspapers in the country, for breaking news. You know, the tornado in southern Maryland and the latest on what's going on with Arafat. I'm aware that I can't always trust them, but it's a good idea to look to them for (generally) nonpolitical news, like natural disasters, and then go to a magazine like The Nation for commentary and analysis. I can't think of a daily that has good breaking news and commentary, because the best commentators who are the most honest usually don't bring in enough money and aren't "mainstream" enough to get hired by the magazines and newspapers that are popular, rich and powerful enough to have correspondents all over the world. But Salon (http://www.salon.com) has wires from the Associated Press with the latest headlines, as well as interviews with really interesting people and very good analysis. Hope this helps.

PS - A-S-C-E-R-T-A-I-N :) I keep a pocket dictionary next to my computer. It's a life saver.