Brushfire of Freedom
Voice of Adams
I’ve covered the failure of the press several times in these blogs, but the occasion of the complete takeover of ABC news by this President seems to call for yet another review. Despite the denials of ABC, its statements that it designed a “fair and balanced” debate, and its insistence that it is an objective news organization, it is quite clear that they are completely in control of this White House. Whether you call them the “All Barack Channel” or simply the “State Run Media”, it is clear that our free press is no longer the government watchdog our Founders had in mind.
So first, let’s be clear. This was not the first time a media organization was given an exclusive interview with a sitting president. This was also not the first time that a media organization has interviewed a sitting president in the White House. What made this event so unique is it was not an open forum for the media to discuss issues and events with a President. It was focused propaganda on a specific Presidential agenda item, namely socialized medicine. ABC gave this president several hours of prime-time television air time to present his case for taking over another one-fifth of the US economy. He was not seriously challenged, there was only token opposition, even advertising was restricted to prevent an opposing viewpoint from being presented. What ABC has done, at great expense, is created a multi-hour infomercial that will be used as part of campaign adds for this president and his cronies for the next several years. What they have done is surrendered their very last vestige of journalistic ethic to kowtow to a leader of this nation. They have surrendered their right to be called “the press” in exchange for their new mantle, the Obama Propaganda Machine. The only remaining factor is the fact that all future advertising dollars garnered by ABC should be considered campaign contributions to the Obama 2012 campaign.
So what does this mean for this country and for the media in general? Well, for this country we are fortunate that there is, at least for now, a media branch outside the formerly traditional media outlets. In the past, it was just the “Big Three” networks who provided media coverage. Were we still saddled with that media configuration, we would be in dire straights. However, we have several new media outlets, and some not so new, including the internet, micro-blogs, and our old friend talk radio. In addition, some new networks have appeared on television, giving us a bit more balance in that forum. This has enabled Americans to search for and find facts on their own, without the filters and bias of a State Run media organization. The result for the “traditional” media has been a steady decline in their ratings, loss of ad revenue, declining circulation, closing of newspapers, and the steady collapse of their former empires. As they strive to regain viewers and readers by providing pablum to the masses, the masses, seeing the poison behind the pen, are turning to other sources to get a clear view of their world. If left as it is, there will be little left but a shadow of the former broadcast greats for they will be replaced by “Drudge” and “Twitter”.
Meanwhile these same media outlets who are diligently working toward their own demise are playing with the Devil himself. They continue to do the bidding of their master under the false belief that he will treat them kindly as he continues to increase his power. They refuse to look south to Venezuela where their socialist dictator destroyed the media outlets that did not carry his message, then took full, complete, and outright control of the rest. This is the inevitable fate of a press that fails in its charge as watchdog. First, the dog is lulled to sleep, then slaughtered to prevent it from waking and biting the invader. ABC has laid its head in the lap of the very government they were charged to watch, failing to inform and thus protect the American electorate. Americans are buying new watchdogs, ABC and its State Run cohorts are dangerously close to becoming nothing more than pets of the President.
So what can we as Americans do? Well, I am afraid we are doing all we can. By rejecting their propaganda, we are ringing a klaxon of warning in their ears. Perhaps they have become to old to hear. We can arm ourselves against the government and the mis-information form the State Run media by taking advantage of the newer sources and outlets, staying engaged in the political process, and work to reduce the power of the puppet master so that perhaps our friend the media watchdog can break free. Sadly, we can do little more. If ABC, CBS, NBC, and their cable counterparts are bent on bringing about their own demise, there is little we can do beyond what is being done. We the People must arm ourselves for our own protection. We must prepare continue to be the vigilant watchers where the media is failing. It is our responsibility now that the watchdog has taken up with the burglar. It is sad to see our old friends so lost in their own stupor, but we can no longer rely on them to do their job. We must fill the gap, we must be the guardians of this nation against tyranny, and we must allow the State Rune Media to run its inevitable, self-destructive course.
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