By Craig P. Dixon, southcoast247.com correspondent Social Commentary 126
September 3, 2007
As any reader of this article knows, I'm dismayed by the current state of the American media. I hate how they always seem to report the wrong things.
Take 9/11 for example. While everyone was weepy and in a state of shock, the media could've taken that opportunity to straighten everybody out with a good slap across the proverbial mouth of America. Instead, it completely fell off it's usual slight left slant and turned sharply right, backing the Bush administration's every decision at every turn, rather than objectively and rationally reporting on the truth behind the attacks (how the intelligence and defense breakdown allowed it to happen, the embarrassing infrastructure confusion that made the attacks as deadly as they were, etcetera).
This perverse turn by our popular media led to a state of disturbingly Nazi-like nationalism in our country. Suddenly, dissent, the revolutionary foundation of this country, was equated with treachery. Rather than reasonably observing the realities and logistics behind wars with Afghanistan and Iraq, our media jumped behind a shameless, "freedom fries" and "rally around the flag" mentality. I wanted to puke.
When the wartime truths were finally revealed by those powers that be who declare items newsworthy (Murdoch), our media talking heads refused to apologize for confusing the American people into blindly backing one arguably just, poorly prepared-for war and lauding the decision for a completely unnecessary, miserably prepared-for one. These dangerous miscalculations have cost hundreds of thousands of lives, ruined our international reputation, and launched our country into a new Cold War.
Sure. We can blame the Neo-Cons, Bush, and Congress all we want. The truth is, thanks to the media, the majority of Americans backed these wars and nouveau foreign policies without being properly informed. It's only after years of reporting the failures and outright lies behind these wars that popular opinion has turned.
And there's Katrina. Though the storm was well reported and predicted by the National Weather Service, thousands died and billions were lost due to a combination of government mismanagement and indifference. Yet still, many in the media gave the Bush administration a pass on it's terribly botched handling, referring to the incident as "an act of God", with some even going so far as to insinuate that New Orleans may've had it coming due to her debauched past, rather than her geographic location.
BR>
The last honest journalist in America.
When the Katrina shit finally began to fly, the media avoided attacking Bush and chose instead to butcher the head of FEMA, Michael Brown. The fact remains that two years later, New Orleans, one of the busiest port cities IN THE WORLD, is still in shambles.
You know what else pisses me off? Any headline with the phrase "speaks out" included in it. The other day, I saw a headline that read, "Astronaut Speaks Out". As in, crazy astronaut who slipped on a diaper, drove from Houston to Orlando, and attempted to kidnap her imagined romantic rival, speaks out.
Who the fuck cares? Chuck that crazy bitch in the loony bin and, for shit's sake, SHUT HER THE FUCK UP! You can throw "OJ Speaks Out" and "Paris Speaks Out" in that "Nobody Gives a Shit" category, too.
Why the fuck is celebrity/faux celebrity life such big news? Why the fuck is Hulk Hogan's kid's car accident getting the front-page treatment? Who cares about Lindsay Lohan's or Paris Hilton's latest gangbang, unless it's on video and I can watch it? Nobody. Even those creepy people that pull up to a car accident and get turned on by the dying humans trapped inside those sardine cans don't care about the figurative train wrecks that are the lives of Paris and Lindsay.
And finally: Sending countless reporters to hassle Owen Wilson's family outside his hospital, as well as publicizing his suicide attempt, is despicable. For shame. Give the fucking guy a break.
I've had it. To the media: I'm begging you. Bring back the reporting that America needs and ditch the useless, brainwashing filler. Report on the stories that matter. I swear I hear Edward R. Murrow's ashes screaming on the wind.
As any reader of this article knows, I'm dismayed by the current state of the American media. I hate how they always seem to report the wrong things.
