When a society has become overwhelmed by corporate interests as ours now is, and all reporting on the events of the day ignores this fundamental reality, then reporting itself becomes an exercise meaninglessness. If we were to believe PBS’s newshour, one would think the housing bust, NSA warrantless wiretapping, bank drug money laundering, vicious prosecution of whistleblowers, the drug war, mass imprisonment, constant war, the outlawing of protest and violent attacks on protesters and mass bribery and control of government by private corporate interests are all isolated events that just happen to coincide with each other. Issues get “reported” but nothing is ever tied together; no lie is ever called a lie, torture is called “enhanced interrogation”; and the appearance of moderation, which of course only serves the status quo and hence the dominant power factions, is placed above all else. Maintaining a moderate tone, reporting what this one says versus what that one says, without digging behind why they are saying what they are saying, without even attempting to understand the larger forces at work, is the primary job of US media. I imagine its similar in Australia. I’m not sure. But you thinking that watching PBS and reading a few other US mainstream rags will tell you what’s going on in this country is about as useful as me reading Pravda and pretending to understand what was happening in the USSR.
