“Freedom of the press is guaranteed only to those who own one.” -A.J. Liebling
I saw an exciting discussion last night on Bill Moyers Journal.
Amy Goodman and Glenn Greenwald met with Bill after winning the Izzy Award “because of their journalistic courage and persistence in confronting conventional wisdom and official deception.”
They are excited, as I am, with the quiet revolution that is happening in this country and worldwide with alternative media.
Glenn Greenwald is a bestselling author and former civil rights litigator who writes and produces Salon.com, a blog which challenges daily the mainstream media’s narrow view of what’s really happening within our government and in our world.
Amy Goodman is the co-host and executive producer of DEMOCRACY NOW!, a national, daily, independent, award-winning news program airing on over 750 TV and radio stations in North America. TIME Magazine named DEMOCRACY NOW! its “Pick of the Podcasts,” along with NBC’s MEET THE PRESS.
They discussed with Bill Moyers how completely out of touch most mainstream media is with public opinion in this country. This has been true for decades because those with the most power live in the NYC and Washington D.C. areas where they get a distorted view of what is really happening in America and what public opinion is all about.
Alternative media is slowly shifting this balance with radio, podcasts, blogs, etc. because anyone can start their own media outlet and attract a certain number of viewers by offering their own alternative view of the world. This is literally changing the balance of power in the information industry.
Here’s Glenn Greenwald’s view on all this:
“It’s not even some sort of Machiavellian or conspiratorial effort, sometimes, to exclude certain opinions. It’s actually the fact that reporters — and media stars — and corporate and establishment journalists are so embedded into the establishment…That they’re so completely insular and out of touch from what public opinion actually is. And polls show that huge numbers of issues and positions that are held by large numbers of Americans are ones that are virtually never heard in our media discussions.”
This brings up a major pet peeve of mine, the “media stars” and “celebrities” the mainstream media chooses to highlight. They have all the power to make or break “celebrities.” And they influence millions of unsuspecting young Americans with shlock like Hannah Montana and her illustrious merchandising industry.
The same media machine causes millions to only value Oprah’s opinion in what’s worth reading. Sometimes Americans look just like cattle being led to the slaughter! Say what you will about those of us who were protesting the Vietnam War back in the 60s and 70s, at least we cared about something more than what kind of silly crap we were going to buy, or how we were going to embellish ourselves next.
But, never fear, the internet has made the job of alternative media so much easier! I don’t have to find a major media sponsor to produce this blog. Granted I only reach hundreds everyday, not millions, but my opinion gets out there and I love that about democracy!
