Frank O'Brien has something to say about the media. Frank O'Brien is a long time resident of Troy, NY, USA, and former head of Clan na Gael in same city, and area.
The whole San Bernardino shootings, as sad, and tragic as they are, hold a mystery that could blow up the story into something entirely different.
There was constant talk of a third suspect, and a man hunt continued for this third suspect until the police said that they had 'him' in custody. There were even reports that this supposed third suspect had been wounded. Then a day or two later they said that 'he' had been released, not having had any involvement. Why not release the name of the third suspect?
Wait, it gets even better ... a third suspect was named: Tayip or Tayyeep/Tayip Bin Ardogan, a 28 year old female citizen of Qatar. Now you can't find anything on her, it being called a hoax now. And, get this, the three white males, who were initially reported as the shooters have evaporated too. It's just a freaking mess as it was after the OKC bombing, 9/11 and so on, but at least there is evidence of something not being told to us.
Some of these leads, like the third suspect officially said to have been detained by police is a more likely avenue of fruitful investigation. The guaranteed aspect is the forming of the 'official' narrative, and 'driving' of the story till nothing more about it can be squeezed out.
Endlessly pursuing one particular story till its been bled dry is a specialty of the American mainstream media, which is why most Americans don't know much about what's going on in the rest of the world. The only alternative for the average American is to have a cable TV provider with some foreign news networks, and of course those international news networks that have live streams on the Net. The other growing alternative, the apt named ALT news press provide refreshing variety in their news, topical discussions and interviews.
The whole reason that American mainstream news media are so predictable in their ways, and methods is that they are now owned by just a few corporations, being influenced politically by the owners or boards of these few companies. Consolidation of the news media, banks and other industries has been to the detriment of the average American. With less choice, and less competition has come a homogeneous, and boringly predictable pattern of news coverage, colored as it is with corporate biased spin, and government propaganda.
These underlying corruptions of the 'Fourth Estate' have been with us for over a hundred years or more, harkening back to William Randolph Hearst and his 'yellow journalism.' Sensationalism and fear mongering are the mainstay, along with the aforementioned and are the underlying problems getting in the way of there being a free and honest press. Newspapers used to be so much more important than they are today, the cable news networks now having replaced their old position.
Even when newspapers were more popular, their owners would in many cases exert undo influence over their coverage and op/eds. It was the array of their number that guaranteed that some one of them might investigate a story in the deep and thorough way that makes for a good counterbalance to abuses of authority and power.
There is only the 'Fifth Estate' now, having emerged as the term during the tumultuous and fractious American 1960s, referring to alternative and counter culture newspapers and other media. Now in the cyber age it is bloggers and non-mainstream journalists that are populating, and providing what the mainstream press used to, many times its being better and more thorough then the old independent press.
'The Corbett Report' with James Corbett, at http://www.corbettreport.com/, harkens back to the gritty journalism of the 20th century, Corbett calling his brand 'open source intelligence', deriving his opinions, and research from an exacting, fine toothed look at and into issues, and news. All one gets from the mainstream now isn't worth more than a ticket to an old freak show would get you, yet so, so many people still listen and view the folderol that passes as news on the mainstream news, with their typical pundits.
What is needed is multimedia changes, which are slowly coming, in which your computer interfaces with your TV screen, and enough people finding themselves tired and fed up with the drivel and servile political bias of the usual corporate news buffoons. Restoring sanity should also include a degree of anti-trust legislation to force the break up of the unseemly and corrupt relationship that exists between corporate America, the government, and mainstream news networks. Breaking them up needs to include the guarantee that any such legislated break be meant for being in perpetuity, and not being slowly eroded by politicians getting kickbacks from depraved sociopaths in industry.
The dilettantes of the excessively wealthy part of our population would many times desire better standards, even if they desired still to reserve the right to control it. Expecting them to reform the mangled beast that the news has become is not a good idea though, for they only want what they want. Subjugation is their agenda, besides playing the public like a piano to steer the perennial political debate their way, so we can leave their participation in reforming out.
Just as it is always recommended here to make yourself a critical thinker, asking all the hard questions, we should make it so that the same is taught to journalism students in college. The best way to beat the system the way its set up is by not participating in it, or at the very least changing your viewing habits, like including foreign news channels like RT, Aljazeera and PressTV. The latter are biased true, but in a good way, since they provide the opinions of other countries, even if but of their power elites.
Naturally couple this with the more free and independent ALT media too, since there is where you'll find the true equalizer. Whatever hidden, fear mongering, war loving agendas we encounter on the mainstream news are easily countered and brought to heel by these ways.
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