Sadly, in many respects, the Fourth Estate has become the fifth column of democracy, colluding with the powers that be in a culture of deception that subverts the thing most necessary to freedom, and that is the truth. Full Story »
Posted by Dwight Rousu
When it comes to journalism, it doesn't get better than Bill Moyers, and this is Moyers at his best. He turns his informed eloquence to the most critical issues of corporate media consolidation and the raging effort to gain private and commercial control of the Internet.
Democracy without honest information creates the illusion of popular consent at the same time that it enhances the power of the state and the privileged interests that the state protects. And nothing characterizes corporate media today more than its disdain toward the fragile nature of modern life and its indifference toward the complex social debate required of a free and self-governing people.
Of all the things we can legitimately worry about, the issues with the most substantial impact on our lives, our freedom, and the future of this representative democracy depend on of media independence and equal access to factual information through accurate reporting. We must be diligent in separating fact from opinion, and clearly identify false and misleading rhetoric, whatever the source. Moyers sums up: “Democracy only works when ordinary people claim it as their own.”
So much popular "news" has devloved into heated shouting matches where PR "Spokespeople" for opposing views simply yell their opinions simultaneously. That cannot be mistaken for "news" or information--it is bloodless gladiatorial combat that serves nothing beyond raising the collective blood pressure of the audience. It's time that accurate terms be required in media titles, and the ownership and interests of media conglomerates be exposed--publicized as part of the promotion, marketing and credits of each program.