A Reddit contributor found an interesting example of formula magazine coverage. These are two different magazine covers published two years apart. Civil libertarians see the same phenomenon in coverage of the surveillance scandals and the attack on the free press.
Not exactly the stuff of Edward R. Murrow . . . unless of course he wanted to achieve a bikini body through sexercise.
The same formula coverage often seems to come up in the media coverage of the civil liberties crisis. The media has become an echo chamber for common themes and language. At the insistence of the Bush Administration, torture in the form of water boarding was called “enhanced interrogation” — an entirely made up term to avoid the “T” word. Recently, NPR and other news organizations yielded to demands to avoid calling Snowden a “whistleblower” as opposed to the Administration’s preferred description of a “leaker.” The media has also repeated the statement that the two surveillance programs were “lawful” — a position challenged by many civil libertarians. It is instead referred to as “controversial” while noting that there is nothing illegal in the data gathering. This is again coming directly out of the White House.
Of course, there are some in the media who are exceptions but they are rare exceptions. Much of the coverage has the depth of a “Flat Belly diet” with reporters referring to the FISA court as a real court with meaningful review despite a history of virtually never refusing an application for surveillance. It may not have a lot of content but it makes you feel ten years freer.
What Mike said.
The news coming under the Entertainment Department of the networks really sums up part of what is going wrong with MSM. It ‘splains a lot.
And what is going on with some of these anchors? The worst example is Fox News. It seems to me most of the women they put on there dress and talk like bimbos; lots of makeup and low credibility.
nick:
it is so nice to see you and Gene playing so well with each other. Our sandbox is peaceful once again.
AY, A law firm I did a lot of work for was based in Madison and had a branch in the Dells. I got some of the strangest cases from that town. Crazy Chicagoans, Cheeseheads, beer, and brandy is a real bad mix! However, the Dells office had an attorney who was also the City Attorney for Wi. Dells. It’s like Peyton Place. You have the Cheeseheads who have been there for years and the Dagos, Pollacks, and Greeks, who have moved up there to open waterparks, bars, hotels, etc. Noah’s Ark is the biggest waterpark there, and @ one time in the world. During the summer most of their employees were eastern European kids. So, I would have to investigate accidents by interviewing employees who couldn’t speak but a few words of English. And, the problem was it was Russian, Bulgarian, Polish, etc. I could write a book just about Wi. Dells cases, But, the “How about this for lunch” is the best, salacious one. Finally, You can dance w/ a Polish, Bratwurst, Chorizo, Italian, or Hot Dog, in the parking lot while tailgating @ Miller Park.
AY, When I worked for the prosecutor’s office I would screen KC police reports when they came into the office to see if further investigation was needed. There was a Pollack prosecutor and he and I would bust balls constantly. I grew up w/ a lot of Pollacks. Well, a report came in where some drunken idiot was arrested for shooting @ light poles. The cop then quoted the suspect as saying, “I didn’t know it was against the law to shoot Poles[the cop used capital ‘P’]. I sent the report to the prosecutor w/ the note, “I believe the suspect is correct.”
That’s what started this whole topic…. The kielbasa on the table…..
But, they do have In heaven they have no beer…. That’s why we drink it while we’re here motto….. You sure nick was talking about a different kinda pole dancing….. I’m not so sure…
nuovoiconoclast,
As long as pirogies are being served, I don’t see a problem. 😀
Gene,
“Dancing while Polish” almost always involves a polka. You can decide for yourself whether that carries a stigma. 😉
I think he meant a different kind of pole, AY. As far as I know, there is no particular stigma on dancing while Polish.
Geeze Nick,
There are a lot of Poles in the Dells…. The kalahari is a very nice place to stay…… And the duck boats…. Another story to tell…..
One has to wonder, sometimes, why good journalists seem to always have the malfunctioning mercedes. Perhaps it is a form of “natural selection”, if you know what I mean Verne.
Dredd,
Re: The Malfunctioning Mercedes I also share the same thought.
Gene, Here’s a case I had to help defend. The Wi. Dells is a tourist trap that back in the 80’s/90’s had a lot of timeshares built. A group of timeshare salespeople[one woman, 5 men] we’re in the sales room and trying to decide what to order for lunch. The SALES MANAGER whipped out his dick on the table right in front of the woman and said, “How about this?” The case settled 6 figures. I discovered the plaintiff was a former pole dancer but my client didn’t want to go to trial even w/ that. Which I believe was prudent.
When our Constitution was written the “media” was the printed word. One could produce a newspaper, or a flysheet to advance their point of view, or advertise “Ye Olde Blacksmith”. This was the freedom of the press that our Founding Fathers were familiar with and envisioned. In a small country, with relatively few citizens, the bulk of which were in close proximity, the methods of dissemination of information were cheap and simple. With that vision freedom of the press was a viable way of ensuring that our society had the means to resist oppression through an informed electorate. From their perspective “who knew” their would be movies, radio, television, computers and cellphones.
Each of these new technologies perforce were created by commercial interests and that was on the surface a good thing. Governments controlling the sources of information dispersal never leads to good outcomes. However,
somewhere in our history commercial interests began to control our legislatures and elected executives via bribery, campaign contributions and other emoluments. Certain interests intersected and freedom of the presses became constrained via an unwillingness to harm the bottom line. Edward Bernays and a host of others developed techniques for manipulating the general population and those techniques relied on creation of anxiety and the fear of being unattractive sexually. The latter of course is a doppelganger for
status and success, while the former is based on creating a host of fears of untimely death.
the examples of this manipulation are so numerous that if one follows my train of though they can literally fill tomes with their own knowledge. The bottom line though is that perhaps 90% of what is produce by the various aspects of media follows certain formulas that relate either to “success”, or to fear. In truth the two are entwined in most. JT mentions Edward R. Murrow, a man who was a magnificent reporter for CBS News, when the networks News Division was an independent entity. The reportage of CBS News was the standard for the industry and the other networks worked to copy their independence and their dedication to the truth. Somewhere along the line the corporate decision was made that producing “the news” in an honest and informed manner hurt profits and offended the powerful. Also too it was costly to run a first class news operation and didn’t reap the rewards of sponsor’s dollars. The network news departments came under the corporate aegis of the “Entertainment Division” and those like Murrow and Cronkite were cast aside to be replaced by a new breed of newscaster, the “newsreader”.
Venerable news shows like “Meet the Press” were taken over by the “new breed” like Timmy Russert, who were themselves careerist celebrities of the D.C. establishment and saw their duty to that establishment rather than the nation as a whole. To be fair it was their belief that the D.C. Establishment existed to wisely guide the unwashed masses that are in their eyes the American Public.
Our society is run by and for varied commercial interests and not for the benefit of the general population. It enrages me, but I cannot continue with this diatribe. It’s time for my daily workout to flatten my abs and slim down so that my attractiveness will be enhanced and people will perceive me as worthy.
Afterwards, I will read the 10 secrets of how to have “electric sex” tonight and I’m sure it will involve “sexercize”. I must remember also to have my Viagra prescription refilled. It’s such a comfort feeling protected from terrorist attacks and it leaves me to deal with what’s really important in life.
nick,
That’s a terrible thing to say about used car and timeshare salespeople.
Well. Maybe not the timeshare gang.
And what voltaic said.
There’s a reason the press and pols are down on the list w/ used car and timeshare salespeople.
Oh come on now children of freedom, the mother nanny state is the one thing O In The Sky Democrats as well as Saint Reagan Republicans both have faith in:
(Security: Familyland, Fatherland, or Homeland?, quoting the book The Nation As Family). This subconscious dynamic drives the media, a child of “The Father of Spin”:
(The Ways of Bernays). We are like George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison, whom Mike S highlighted in a guest post here recently (in terms of their habitual, unshakable practice of being slave owners).
The big media businesses, which Professor Turley alludes to in his post today, hire psychologists and contract with laboratories that constantly study us in order to manipulate us.
All that NSA data helps to give them that kind of power over us.
And they are now professionally rich having done this manipulation of our subconscious for a century or so.
Hidden in plain sight.
We lament the decline of the press, but they are responsible for their own growing irrelevance.
Consumers of news shouldn’t worry too much, we are in a golden age for news junkies.
Look at all the choices that we have. The fact that we are discussing this issue on Turley’s blog speaks for itself.
I regret the passage of the traditional media, but I don’t miss those talking heads.
Voltaic is quite right.
Media controlled by large crony capitalist, profit-only, advertising focused corporations has its consequences. Media and government are becoming very cozy and that is not in the best interests of truth or policy.
Follow the yellow brick road…. Follow the party line… Sig Heil …. der Furher…