Monday, August 30, 2004

The corruption of the press When our country was founded the revolution was fueled by pamphleteers who published both signed and anonymous broadsides against English tyranny.  One of the most well known was Tom Paine, whose pamphlet Common Sense was the first to challenge the idea of British authority over the American colonies.   In recognition of the importance of public debate for democracy, the first article of the Bill of Rights established the freedom of the press.  The article reads   "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."  For most of our country’s history, parts of the press have fulfilled a public role.  Despite the jingoistic calls for the Spanish American war, or the fact that newspapers had been fully controlled by railroads and robber barons in the 19th century, there was a plurality of reporting, so that no overarching anti-democratic hegemony could be established.   But in the past twenty to thirty years, the concentration of most media and newsrooms into the hands of four or five major entertainment conglomerates has done what 225 years of American history could not do:  it has emasculated the press and sapped newspapers and newsrooms of their adversarial, investigative quality.   I doubt very much that the Watergate reporting from the Washington Post, or the publication of the Pentagon Papers, could happen today.   The reason is that newsrooms are controlled by companies who both create, and are dependent on, the current power structure.  These are not "profitable companies"  They are profitable only in so far as the government makes them so, giving them air waves at no cost, limiting competition, and allowing for the creation of giant media monopolies.  So reporters have to dumb down, and essentially avoid those investigations that might give rise to true knowledge about the government, or might displease their masters. What is permissible is endless yelling or squabbling of a “he said she said” variety, lightening quick attention to sex scandals, and an absolute indifference to the destruction and subversion of our democracy, in ways that could almost be characterized as a coup d’ etat. Here are some questions that our former press could investigate, but won’t because it is too dangerous to their corporate masters.  Did rightwing U.S. and Israeli radicals conspire to provoke a war against Iraq and Iran, subverting the national interest of the U.S.? [See the links between the Israeli spy and the Palme affair (Juan Cole).   Did the disqualification of thousands of democratic votes in Florida  (upwards of 30,000 to 50,000 or more if you count the Palm Beach ballot fiascos) come from a deliberate Republican strategy to subvert the democratic process, by preventing democrats from casting votes?   Did George Bush refuse to take an air force physical because they were doing drug testing, and he would have tested positive for cocaine?  Did Bush have to do community service in Houston after an arrest for drug use?   Why are congressional representatives elected for life?  Does the power to shape districts so as to avoid competitive elections delivery congress into the hands of its major donors, with no possibility of retribution?   Can the U.S. be called democratic when most elected officials in Congress run essentially unopposed?   Did Bush fear for his life on Sept. 11th, and make a cowardly retreat rather than returning to Washington.   You get the idea.  There are things here that are truly as monstrous as Watergate and Vietnam, but that will never see the light of day in terms of public debate.      Is it possible that the explosion of internet publishing and blogs can force some of these questions into the open?  It will take a revolution to build again a true skeptical, adversarial press. Can that revolution begin, please? 5:50:08 PM   comment []

© Copyright 2004 Toby Sackton. Last update: 9/21/2004; 12:56:04 AM.