Why the Press and Media Suck

An informed populace is essential to a democracy. The press is not reporting on the actions that are shredding our Constitution and our way of life. Why is this? It's easy: because of money. News departments are run by companies rather than journalists. The companies cut news room staff, thus limiting investigative reporting. Companies also insist on padding news with ratings-based information rather than the more boring business of subverting the Constitution or ruining the middle class. When the driving force of news is money rather than disseminating objective (as close as possible) information then content suffers.

P.S. News that sets out to support one agenda is not fair and balanced. News is about reporting facts, things that are observable and verifiable by at least two independent sources. Opinion is not news.

Bias Where You Get Your News From

Think about how you get your news. If it comes from only conservative sources, guess what your opinions will be based on? If it comes from liberal sources then you get different results. The key is to get information from both sides and make a decision that's in the middle somewhere.

The other thing is to consider the source. Is your news source committed to promoting only one point of view? The way you can tell is if they don't allow for two independent views. If you only get a point of view that states one side then you might want to consider balancing it with something else. It's also helpful to ask yourself it the news source makes money off their point of view, has a specific agenda or is truly just putting out the news.

News Flash. News is not opinion that supports your values and beliefs. News is reporting that is as neutral as possible and sticks to empirical, demonstrable fact. News tells you the sky is blue, not that the blue sky is brought to you by the Libertarian Party.

Enough Disney

So I guess we have to wait until every movie and television show is either made or owned by Disney before our culture descends into a pool of blandness cherished by totalitarian rulers. Keep the masses dulled down and the ruling class gets to do whatever it wants. I know, gotta go watch your Disney movie with the kids.

Britney Having Problems

Have you heard? The media seems to think that Britney Spears is more important than anything happening anywhere else. I'm glad nothing else is happening in our country that requires the media attention. Keep partying Britney, the news will keep us informed. Remember, democracy only happens if there is an informed electorate.