What Makes Mainstream Media Mainstream
I know that we're all very frustrated about the treatment Ron Paul gets from the old media, aka mainstream media, aka MSM. A lot of people still don't understand why they are intent on ignoring Dr. Paul and our growing movement.
Last weekend I read an essay by Noam Chomsky titled, "What Makes Mainstream Media Mainstream." It was the first essay in a great book called You Are Being Lied To
There is another sector of the media, the elite media, sometimes called the agenda-setting media because they are the ones with the big resources, they set the framework in which everyone else operates. The New York Times and CBS, that kind of thing. Their audience is mostly privileged people. The people who read the New York Times—people who are wealthy or part of what is sometimes called the political class—they are actually involved in the political system in an ongoing fashion. They are basically managers of one sort or another. They can be political managers, business managers (like corporate executives or that sort of thing), doctoral managers (like university professors), or other journalists who are involved in organizing the way people think and look at things.
The elite media set a framework within which others operate. If you are watching the Associated Press, who grind out a constant flow of news, in the mid-afternoon it breaks and there is something that comes along every day that says "Notice to Editors: Tomorrow’s New York Times is going to have the following stories on the front page." The point of that is, if you’re an editor of a newspaper in Dayton, Ohio and you don’t have the resources to figure out what the news is, or you don’t want to think about it anyway, this tells you what the news is.
These are the stories for the quarter page that you are going to devote to something other than local affairs or diverting your audience. These are the stories that you put there because that’s what the New York Times tells us is what you’re supposed to care about tomorrow. If you are an editor in Dayton, Ohio, you would sort of have to do that, because you don’t have much else in the way of resources. If you get off line, if you’re producing stories that the big press doesn’t like, you’ll hear about it pretty soon. In fact, what just happened at San Jose Mercury News is a dramatic example of this. So there are a lot of ways in which power plays can drive you right back into line if you move out. If you try to break the mold, you’re not going to last long. That framework works pretty well, and it is understandable that it is just a reflection of obvious power structures.
The real mass media are basically trying to divert people. Let them do something else, but don’t bother us (us being the people who run the show). Let them get interested in professional sports, for example. Let everybody be crazed about professional sports or sex scandals or the personalities and their problems or something like that. Anything, as long as it isn’t serious. Of course, the serious stuff is for the big guys. "We" take care of that.
What are the elite media, the agenda-setting ones? The New York Times and CBS, for example. Well, first of all, they are major, very profitable, corporations. Furthermore, most of them are either linked to, or outright owned by, much bigger corporations, like General Electric, Westinghouse, and so on. They are way up at the top of the power structure of the private economy which is a very tyrannical structure. Corporations are basically tyrannies, hierarchic, controlled from above. If you don’t like what they are doing you get out. The major media are just part of that system.
Later in the essay, he's speaking specifically about universities, but what he's saying applies to the system in general:
People within them, who don’t adjust to that structure, who don’t accept it and internalize it (you can’t really work with it unless you internalize it, and believe it); people who don’t do that are likely to be weeded out along the way, starting from kindergarten, all the way up. There are all sorts of filtering devices to get rid of people who are a pain in the neck and think independently. Those of you who have been through college know that the educational system is very highly geared to rewarding conformity and obedience; if you don’t do that, you are a troublemaker. So, it is kind of a filtering device which ends up with people who really honestly (they aren’t lying) internalize the framework of belief and attitudes of the surrounding power system in the society. The elite institutions like, say, Harvard and Princeton and the small upscale colleges, for example, are very much geared to socialization. If you go through a place like Harvard, most of what goes on there is teaching manners; how to behave like a member of the upper classes, how to think the right thoughts, and so on.
In essence, what we have are two systems. There is the "mainstream" which is dominated by corporations and their interests, and then there's us - regular people and our interests. I don't know about the rest of you, but I definitely don't feel like I'm part of the "mainstream." I think it is safe to say that all of here want to see changes. On the other hand, the mainstream media wants to see the status quo maintained.
What it means is that we have to build our own, and be our own media. Like it says at the top of my other site - www.bullnotbull.com - Turn off the TV and think! Our movement is never going to get any serious treatment by the old media. To the extent that we do get coverage, it will be to marginalize us and paint us as freaks & fringe. That is just the way it is.
You can read Chomsky's entire piece online here: What Makes Mainstream Media Mainstream
Comments welcome below
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Hopefully now you have a better understanding about why we have to be Ron Paul's media. To this end, if you have not done so already, please become a precinct leader now!
Super Tuesday is coming up soon. Sign up, get the list of Republicans in your neighborhood and go out and talk to them. If you don't like talking to people, then at least go out and drop literature at their homes. If even that is too much, take your list, print out some labels, and mail them some literature. Anything is better than nothing. The first step is to start!
Go sign up now!. There are more people out there like you, that are dissatisfied with the direction of the nation than you think!
Influenced From Cradel To Grave
Vote RON PAUL 2008
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Wish I could provide a larger, clearer photo of the cover of a grade school handout one of my grandchildren brought home last week (here's a web-link to the edition, hopefully with it you might better see what I'm making reference to):
http://www.timeforkids.com/TFK/class/pdfs/2008s/080118_wr_al...
-- TIME FOR KIDS (timeforkids.com) January 18, 2008 - Vol. 13 - No. 15 World Report Edition -- "Who Will Win?"
Yes, who will win? As you can see on the cover of this handout there are photograph buttons for both the Republican and Democrat Candidates // Nothing shown here for RON PAUL.
And no mention inside the handout. Same can be said for the following Teacher's edition, seen here (no mention of RON PAUL):
http://www.timeforkids.com/TFK/kids08/
Just more of the same old exclusion, it's happening even for our youngsters. We basically only know what we're told (in this case -- not told / not shown) which speaks to how widespread this exclusion actually is. Omitted from major broadcast Debates; omitted in routine MSN reporting; omitted from target material aimed at educating our youngsters.
An obvious effort to capitalize on OUT OF SIGHT, OUT OF MIND mentality being aimed at the entire population. Is this a new form of propaganda? -- not lies, not falsehoods; 'nothing'.
That old saying about no news is good news // I don't think the same can be said for 'no news' regarding the advertising of a viable candidate for President of the United States. This is wrong on top of wrong. The media doing something wrong here that needs to be stopped -- It's become a game of psychology and operations geared to erase from our awareness; there can be no fight (no choice) when there is no enemy (no opponent) to consider.
Vote RON PAUL 2008
My 2 cents after reading the whole thread
I've already commented extensively elsewhere that there is widespread bias (anti-libertarian per sarcasmo's point below) but not conspiracy (i.e. Tim Russert does not get secretly whispered to and told who he has to take down and prop up) in the media.
Being a precinct leader is an important, personal "micro-media" activity, I'm doing it. But unmentioned here or in Michael's other thread that speaks of 'we must be RP's media' is that well done and wisely placed RP ads on network programs and elsewhere would have been/can still be very effective at accomplishing our supreme goal --- gaining votes for Ron Paul.
Afterall, what was/is the bulk of our donations for?
-JP
The first 5 million supporters of Dr. Paul are 'early adopters.' The next 10 million will require a modified approach.
thanks manystrom!
for being a part of the new media, in addition to being a concerned citizen.
I appreciate this forum and I know many others do as well.
Can we create our own media?
Yes
http://www.wtpcast.com
YES WE CAN...
Check this out, we need your help
Here in Illinois! (21 electoral votes)
Please go to our new youtube video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iug0DEMdZns
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http://www.illinoispatriotspac.org/?q=adblitzupdate012208
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Thanks to all Patriots to make these items viral!
Please send these links to everyone in your address books.
Nice snippet.
Nice snippet.
I think people need to relax about seeing Chomsky quoted at DailyPaul. Most of us understand who he is and what he stands for; that doesn't mean he never makes a lucid observation. Even a stopped clock tells the correct time twice per day.
It's the same with Naomi Wolf: I can applaud her efforts to expose the formulaic encroachment of fascism in America without allying myself with her entire world view.
Another example that applies to me personally is Christopher Hitchens. I find many of his political views deplorable -- he went from a dead-wrong Trotskyist to a dead-wrong war hawk, beating the drum for American Empire in the Middle-East -- but I ally myself whole-heartedly with his views on religion.
Then to bring it back around full-circle, I can still appreciate a preacher preaching truth about the evils of bankers without experiencing a religious conversion. (Set aside an hour to watch that entire sermon, if you can!)
In other words: take truth wherever you find it, and pay no mind to those who make use of fallacies to discredit the truth or paint you into a corner.
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Liberty for Dummies
MSM - Corporate Sponsored Media
Good Post!
I prefer to call it Corporate Sponsored Media (CSM), which has completely scrubbed Dr Paul in all forms (Radio, TV, Newpapers, Etc.).
Have you ever seen 'em ask Dr Paul (who has delivered 4,000 babies and was a flight surgeon) a question on health care reform?
Despite This some simple ideas
1. Win your precinct - Some precincts only require a handful of RP supporters to win.
2. Get lists of other precincts to see who you might know.
The GOP is really fractured right now with all the candidates and hopefully we won't have the LA problem (everybody against RP).
simple solution to take back the media
http://www.dailypaul.com/node/29853
"There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the root." -- Henry David Thoreau
Strike at the root - Watch Money Masters
There is no need to complicate this as it only helps them
Making the situation with "power structures" in the world today secret and complicated does not serve our interests. Keep it simple.
There is a small group of men. Women are not included.
This group of men want one thing.
Who are they? Go look it up, keeping in mind that many of the people you might think are in the "inner circle" are just lackeys. Don't fall for the lackey principle, it is how the real guys hide.
What do they want?You haven't figured it out yet?
They want a single unified world government. It isn't a secret. It is just like Dr. Paul said when he was questioned about the CFR a couple of debates ago. It is a group of people who have 'ideas." It really is not a secret at all.
When someone tells you it is a secret then they are lying to you to get you to abandon the search for truth by making it impossible to figure out.
No figuring out needed, folks! They want one world government. Use your noodle to figure out what they need to do to achieve this goal.
The biggest thorn in their side now is the United States of America.
We keep screwing up their plans because we believe in all the stuff they need to get rid of...like? Freedom.
There are 60,000,000 gun owners who are real fussy about their constitutional rights. This stands in their way. There are home schoolers that stand in their way. There is the internet that stands in their way. There is Dr. Paul and the people who support him standing in their way.
Chomsky? I could care less about Chomsky. He is just weaving this complicated web that will give you a headache.
It is not complicated.
Bush, Cheney, Clinton et al...lackeys? My guess is yes. They are only doing what they are told.
You can read a lot of folks who are going to tell you about secret this and that about the CFR about the NWO about all this alphabet soup crapola...forget about it. That is what "they" want you to do. The goal is confusion and frustration.
Couple thousand at the most white men at the top who want one world government. They want it because they think it is the best way to do things. They control everything they can in order to get this goal. Of course they control the media. How else can you get your plan into place if you don't control the media?
I am sure you can figure out all the things they have to "do" to get this done. War and terrorism are great because it will make the folks "turn to" the government to protect them.
"Oh my God the NYT doesn't Cover Ron Paul!" ......Duh. "Let's all sue the media!"
You gotta be kidding me? The fact that they ignore and marginalise us means we are right on the money.
We have to do what we are doing. We tell the truth and we are united for freedom. This is the best way to prevent the establishment of a one world government.
By the way, they are doing everything they can to infiltrate the movement and I mean everything. Be assured that they have completely destroyed the anti war movement in the United States. Those people are so polarized they can't even agree on what day it is.
Freedom and anything that smells like anything different, including Chomsky, with his complicated secret elite....bullsh%$!
Freedom.
By the way? They have people reading all of this...so say Hi to them once in a while to let them know you know they are there. "Hi, Lackeys! How's big bruddah?"
Unify
But these "white men" are part of the Misandry movement
Check out www.amazon.com and search for Misandry.
Whoever these elites are, the NOW is their favorite advisor. You haven't seen any politician or newscast condemn even "radical feminism" for more than five years.
Any law that just hurts men will NOT be discussed on the MSM these days.
And with these guys pushing for the radical Hillary to be President...
We are all capable....
We the people are all capable of making choices for ourselves without any tube or screen sitting in front of us. Do not take me wrong, I appreciate the access that I have to information from the internet, books,etc.. However when it is all said and done each one of us can make up our own mind of right and wrong, good and bad, should I or shouldnt I without the government telling us how, what, when, why, where,etc..
The corruption in America alone is mind boggling. We must stay focused on electing the right individuals to be in the best position to not only reestablish our freedom base but to preserve it as well. The government at any level is not intelligent enough to tell us how to run our lives. The people must have the first and last say in all rule of law. Those in elected positions of our society are only REPRESENTATIVES of WE THE PEOPLE. Please understand what that phrase means!
The msm is falling very hard and those in control of it know this.That is why the Ron Paul black outs, etc. are happening. The msm,etc. are intimidated by the message and the power of the people who believe itl Ron Paul is much more intelligent then what the msm, and yes, many of the RP supporters believe. His wisdom of government and the understanding of our current downfalls are tremendous and we must support and defend this man against the evils and corruption that are circulating through out this land.
MSM takes the shilling
Hi everyone. i Just picked this link up from LA Times blog;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iug0DEMdZns Power to the paulple Hhttp://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2008/01/with-fred-thomp.htmlere is the blog thread;
It's awesome and very informative-great video.Money talks.
'I always thank of all you canvassors and precinct leaders and delegates who were at the front line and caucuses.
Good luck out there &Thank you. You're a gift.
Beware of Noam Chomsky
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While I don't disagree with Chomsky's article here, I wish to alert people that Noam Chomsky is not who you think he is.
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Just search this: " Chomsky leftist gatekeeper " and you'll see what I mean.
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I used to be a Chomsky fan, but now I'm not. That doesn't mean that he can write good stuff sometimes, but it's interesting to me that, while he accuses the media of setting the parameters of discussion for people to focus on, he himself is a major setter of parameters of discussion in the leftist, progressive crowd, most of whom nearly worship the guy.
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Chomsky is a genius, but in a negative, deceitful way that misleads people into the wrong kinds of parameters that boxes people minds into zones that makes it safe for the Powers That Be to keep on putting out BS into their mainstream media mouthpieces.
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Chomsky puts General Electric up at the top of the power structure, but that's only part of the picture, as the General Electric corporation itself follows the orders of those who are above them. The true power structure is about four levels deep going to the very top of the power structure that runs the world; General Electric is merely at the 5th level of the power structure.
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Don't trust what Chomsky says!
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A Ron Paul supporter since the 1980's!
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A Ron Paul supporter since the 1980's!
Chomsky is a academic and professor
He came through the system he speaks of, and was successful inside it. It was only later in his career that he has become such a critic - because his ideas no longer were winning. I'm sure he would use the tools of his profession to marginalize those who did not agree with him. I think he is right on his observations here, though.
good read
very well written and thought provoking.
Thanks!
Excellent Post!
The media is the tool of the elitists and the job we have is to educate the people into thinking for themselves...
Look what happened in NH. Every liberal paper endorsed McCain and all the independents who were against the war went and voted for him because they mistakenly thought he was against the war! You have to wonder if they heard or read ONE THING McCain has said for the past 9 months?
Organizations endorse
Organizations endorse candidates from the opposing camps for two reasons:
1. They believe their camp can defeat that candidate, and
2. They find that candidate the least unpalatable among the pool of potential opponents.
From the perspective of the left, McCain is someone with a record of playing nice with their team. So if he were to become President, they know that they could work with him. At the same time, they feel that anyone who would vote for McCain would be that much more amenable to voting for their side, because why would anyone vote for a pseudo-leftist when they can vote for the real McCoy? The last thing they want is to run against a true fiscal conservative, because then they would actually have to debate in favor of their leftist agendas. McCain's agreement on anthropogenic global warming is another plus for them; no disagreement means no need to defend their position. He is the ultimate Republican for the Democrats to run against -- he is their dream Republican. The debates would be totally void of substance, which is just how they want it.
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Liberty for Dummies
THIS GUY NOAM WHO IS HE AGAIN?
THIS SEEMS TO ME LIKE SOME KIND OF JUSTIFICATION TO RATIONALIZE THIS BEHAVIOR. THEY MUST ALL BELONG TO SOME TYPE OF BOHEIMIAN GROOVE OR SOMETHING TO THAT EFFECT.CONSPIRACY FACT GET IT RIGHT YOU THINK THIS IS THE TRUTH YOU DISSAPOINT ME THE REAL TRUTH IS THEY ARE FOR THE NEW WORLD ORDER,NORTH AMERICAN UNION STOP TRING TO PUT LIPSTICK ON A PIG!
Noam isn't justifying it
Writing in all caps is considered shouting. All caps is great when you want to emphasize a point or exclaim something. However, we aren't deaf nor blind. It is easier on our eyes to read in lower case. Could you end your sentences with a period, because your sentences run on and it takes longer to figure out where they end and then next one starts.
And Noam isn't justifying it, just giving facts. These idiots that have fallen into the NWO trap need to be awakened too. Yet I do agree with you, they are so irritating at times, that I could just SCREAM! And I do at times. And I do use all caps on occassion to emphasize my irritation when writing.
Please don't scream at me, ok? I can hear you, loud and clear.
Who owns corporations?
We the stockholders. To say that there is "mainstream" media dominated by corporations and there there's us "regular people" doesn't make much sense to me. "Regular people" own stocks in these corporations. There is no separation. If they make money for us regular people we hold on to the stocks and if they start losing money we sell the stocks. They follow our dictates.
Chomsky is an anti-capitalist who wants to eliminate all capitalist businesses and turn the media over to collectivist control. Why are we listening to him?
We Are Listening to Parts
We aren't listening to Chomsky, we know who he is, but he has given us insight to the elitist crowd.
Just like Rockefeller has written books on their agenda, but not very many people read it. The elitist count on us not reading their stuff. It's hidden in plain sight. However, the more of us that wake up and read the stuff, the more it will worrry them when their books sales go thru the roof. We are learning about our enemies in their own words!
"We the stockholders."
Great news! So all we have to do is tell "our" corporations to stop pulling all this psy-op crap against Ron Paul and us, and they will!
Unfortunately though, I am not a stockholder myself. I'll be watching for your progress in accomplishing this simple objective. Meantime, I'm hitting the streets again tomorrow to bypass "your" corporate controlled media with the message they have thus far been loathe to transmit.
I invite everyone to join me! Canvassing, folks -- it's the anti-CFR wonder drug!
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Get active NOW to put Ron in the general election. ronpaul.meetup.com
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What is begun in anger, ends in shame.
Simply STOP using their products.
I just emailed USATODAY..." I have purchased my last USA TODAY newspaper...I find your ignoring the Ron Paul Candidacy aPAULing."
Fred Colvin
Anti-capitalist conspiracy rhetoric
This is anti-capitalist conspiracy rhetoric from a socialist. It's disturbing that so many Paul supporters can find so much common ground with socialists. I understand that "freedom brings people together" but this is ridiculous.
The US doesn't have a free
The US doesn't have a free market system. There are systemic barriers to new competition. Part of this is regulatory barriers which favor existing large corporations.
And there's no need the process a "conspiracy". It's not. It's just the past of least resistance. I don't know quite why it should upset you if somebody describe the process whereby most media happen to end up saying the same thing. Mere saying that isn't the same thing as calling for nationalization of the newspapers.
Rather, it can be viewed as a use of persuasion, and not force.
You're right..
He's an anti-capitalist leftist but he's also right about the media being controlled. More often than not, they swing his way, but he only notices it when they don't.
If I own a newspaper or news station
I'm going to control it too. Why is that bad? What he is upset about is capitalist for profit news. God forbid that a business tries to do what brings in the most money. If CHomsky is upset he should start his own television station. It's not that difficult. What he's upset about is that the drivel he would want to air would not survive in the marketplace. And that's a good thing. I think market/profit driven news is a great thing. The market gets what it wants. That may mean the market doesn't want a lot of Ron Paul on the screen but that's ok because that's how capitalism works. I don't think supporters of Paul should be condemning capitalism when Paul is a fervent capitalist.
What? You call what we
What?
You call what we suffer "capitalism?"
With oceans of commie chinese crap filling our stores, thanks to all our trade barriers being dropped?
With our schools producing fools who don't know what the constitution is?
This is REVOLUTION, buddy!
The people at CNN, FOX, and all the rest are a buch of CFR commie motherfuckers. They are NOT genuine capitalists. You gotta watch The Capitalist Conspiracy by Griffin.
This is the first time I've
This is the first time I've read the Chomsky article, so I was surprised to see the very first line saying what I have been saying (admittedly "harping on") here at DailyPaul for months:
The Big Elitist MainStream Media is America's #1 enemy right now.
- emphasis mine
True, the powerful elitists operating "behind the thrones" are the real masterminds of all the globalist/elitist unconstitutional/immoral things that are bringing the U.S.A. (and the rest of the world as well) to the brink of ruin. The uber-elite are the generals...
However, the Big Elitist MainStream Media are the uber-elite's "foot soldiers" on point executing their master's propaganda and diversion tactics. The MSM puppets are the ones actually activily fighting us (patriotic Americans / Ron Paul supporters) right now. That is why they (the MSM) are our #1 enemy - at least right now at this moment. If it were not for the MSM's unlawful (and downright evil) manipulation of the public, Ron Paul would be winning by historic landslides in most every primary and caucus.
My key points from all this are:
1. Keep spreading the word about Ron Paul, because as Michael pointed out.. It is entirely up to US - the MSM will not help in any real (or fair) way.
2. Don't forget - or ever forgive - the MSM and their lackeys. Remember what they've done in this election and explain it to others every chance you get for years to come. Because we will never wake up the slumbering masses as long as they are regularly consuming mass quantities of the MSM's spoon-fed garbage.
And finally...
3. Whenever enough people do wake up, and throw the MSM and their puppetmasters out on the street... I personally hope that angry mobs rip their bodies asunder with our bare hands and mount their decapitated ugly heads on spikes in front of every media corporate building, as a permanent warning to those that replace them for decades to follow.
:)
But then again, I'm just a dreamer.
I just had an orgasm :D
I just had an orgasm :D