The Free Press has always been biased; what seems to be more prevalent these days, IMO, is threefold:

• Many people think that way back during the time of our founding fathers the Free Press was objective, unbiased, fair, etc., which was not the case. The press has always held a bias – freedom of the press simply means the right to have the media not controlled by the government.
• Media outlets are profit-making corporations whose bottom line is determined by advertising revenues, and as such, will do whatever they can to increase market share in order to make money. Telling the truth and cold hard facts without opinion, bias, and fanfare doesn’t differentiate one from another – sensationalism does. Sensationalism, regardless of political affinity, is what draws an audience, increases market share, and amasses ad revenues.
• Many people don't want Walter Cronkite anymore; they want Infotainers. For me, this is one of the saddest reflections of our time.

Infotainers and News Corporations

The promise of widespread availability, relevant, and timely news and information was supposed to make the people freer, better informed, and provide the ability to cut through the rhetoric and deceptions – the truth was supposed to prevail - sadly it has not. The 24/7 multimedia news has spawned instead, a self-serving, vitriolic, foaming cesspool of half-truth tellers and out-and-out liars. The spawn that dwell and breed in that cesspool are called Infotainers.

Infotainers appeal to the desperation of people and make lots of money for the news corporations by doing so. Until the people demand the news and not entertainment, the news corporations will continue to feed their audiences infotainment and in return rake in profits.

There is very little difference between Reality Television, Shock Jocks, and Infotainers – the core principles of all three are the same; the only fundamental difference is the news room setting and suit and tie facade that Infotainers use to disguise their bias to the gullible. People willingly give credibility to Infotainers, although it is unearned and misplaced – and in return, the Infotainers prey on that naiveté for their appeal and market share.

Don’t get me wrong, I truly believe Infotainers are good at what they do – what they do is spread misinformation for a profit. All the while pointing their finger at the other guy as the one being biased, which is a self-fulfilling prophecy for their naive followers.

Infotainers are charlatans and con artists. They should be treated with utter contempt, shown absolutely no respect, tarred and feathered, and run out of town on a rail.

Desperation

In desperate times, desperate people seek desperate measures – infotainment fills the desperate void for many people and gives them a truth, no matter how false, to believe in; and a place, no matter how myopic, to feel comfortable.

When one starts unveiling and unraveling the beliefs of the desperate, the desperate dig in, hold-firm, deny, deflect, marginalize…whatever it takes to keep believing and feeling comfortable. The scary alternative for the desperate would be to admit that their very foundation and fundamental strength is unfounded and weak. Not many people who are already scared and desperate want to take on the introspective challenge of self determination, but would rather follow along with their fellow desperate brethren, keep their dogma, and remain comfortably delusional.

The Future of Government and Politics

Quite frankly, without some phenomenon like intervention by a superior intelligence or a genetic mutation controlling selfishness, I don’t see much changing.

How the government conducts business is not much different than it was at its founding. Without debating the post-Civil War role of the Federal Government, most of the fundamentals of the government are unchanged. How politicians conduct business, once again, is fundamentally unchanged. There have always been unilateral decisions, corruption, lobbying, self-interest, and scandal.

The big differences today are the number of professional politicians and near-instantaneous and widespread distribution of information and misinformation. Politicians, even if they want to do what is correct, most times will do what is politically correct – and sometimes, although rare, those two are not mutually exclusive. It’s the degree and occurrences of exclusivity that seems to be on the rise, which provides fodder for the media and pabulum for the people.

So there you have it – the press has always been bias; the government and politicians have always been corrupt; and the people have always been easily swayed. Of those three, only one has the power to change the outcome – the media and government have absolutely no reason to change until compelled to by the people, only the people have the power and must change in order to change the media and government.

The question is – do the people have the will to change?

Copyright 2009 Agave Anejo

del.icio.us Tags: News,Media,Infotainment,Infotainers,Bias,Government,Politician,Politics,People,Sheeple