MEDIA

It is said that prostitution is the oldest profession in the world. Then the second-oldest must be politics, and the third oldest the media.

Sleaze ("immoral, sordid, and corrupt behaviour or activities.") is something that emanates from the society we live in. It is the favoured weapon of serpents and demons.

Sleaze comes in many forms, notably as the seven deadly sins: Lust, gluttony, greed, laziness, wrath, envy, pride. Look to the mainstream media, the biggest TV news channels and the most prominent newspapers, and you will find these sins being promoted on a regular basis.

There is an old saying in the media industry that says you should never let the truth get in the way of a good story. This is when journalistic accuracy and respectability is wilfully abandoned to bring you scandal and sensationalism - and all at the expense of the truth. Read on ...

The following text is taken from various internet sources. It concerns a speech made by the almost mythical John Swinton.

One night, probably in 1880, John Swinton, then the pre-eminent New York journalist, was the guest of honour at a banquet given him by the leaders of his craft. Someone who knew neither the press nor Swinton offered a toast to the independent press. Swinton outraged his colleagues by replying:

"There is no such thing, at this date of the world's history, in America, as an independent press. You know it and I know it.

There is not one of you who dares to write your honest opinions, and if you did, you know beforehand that it would never appear in print. I am paid weekly for keeping my honest opinion out of the paper I am connected with. Others of you are paid similar salaries for similar things, and any of you who would be so foolish as to write honest opinions would be out on the streets looking for another job.

If I allowed my honest opinions to appear in one issue of my paper, before twenty-four hours my occupation would be gone.

The business of the journalists is to destroy the truth, to lie outright, to pervert, to vilify, to fawn at the feet of mammon, and to sell his country and his race for his daily bread.

You know it and I know it, and what folly is this toasting an independent press?

We are the tools and vassals of rich men behind the scenes. We are the jumping jacks, they pull the strings and we dance. Our talents, our possibilities and our lives are all the property of other men. We are intellectual prostitutes."

(Source: Labor's Untold Story, by Richard O. Boyer and Herbert M. Morais, published by United Electrical, Radio & Machine Workers of America, NY, 1955/1979.)

Who do we trust?

The 'truth' is a strange beast. An event seen from two or more different perspectives can yield two or more different stories. This is why balance is important. But what if all the versions of a story we are reading are all deliberately false versions of any event that has occurred? This is the problem we face today.

The mainstream media is the greatest weapon available to those who wish to spread propaganda. All the major news outlets are under the control of those whose loyalty not rests with the truth, but with the desire to mislead and deceive.

"THE conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society. Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country."

- Edward Bernays, the so-called 'father' of propaganda.

Read more here: Bernay's 'Propaganda'

Moving on ...

So, we cannot have any faith, or give any authority, to anything we see, read or hear via the mainstream media. We are prisoners to a system that seeks to mould our views, our opinions, our beliefs.

Alternative (social) media is one way we can avoid being completely misled. While there is a lot of fake news circulating on social media, much of it is ridiculous and only requires simple investigation to determine it's validity. Sadly, a lot of fake news is used as something called 'click-bait'. Publish something outrageous and completely untrue and some will believe every word they read. But the real purpose of click-bait is to generate revenue. Reputation and self-respect have no place in such devious methods.

Facebook is one way to make friends around the world. And when I say 'friends', I mean rational, sensible people who can give us their honest and considered about any issue you may share an interest in. You will read of someone's local news which has failed to make the national news because it is too sensitive. I have numerous friends who have brought to my attention issues and stories we would not normally read or hear of. Facebook is therefore a grapevine of information that we are usually denied by the mainstream media. But as I say - pick your friends carefully.

A 'double-edged sword'.

One other source of news is state-sponsored. It comes directly from a system where the most prominent (or only) mainstream news sources is given to us by those who rule us. If it is honest, then we learn the truth. But in the hands of a rogue administration, it will deceive.

I would have to say that we should ONLY listen to what the President reports via his press officers and his own media outlets. he has engendered that amount of respect that we should balance the scales of judgement in his favour when the other (corrupt) mainstream media outlets report the opposite - or distort the truth. of course, and as I have already said, we have ways to investigate what is really happening by checking out our Facebook friends and asking them to tell us what they see is really happening (or has happened).

Have faith in the good things the President is trying to achieve, and do not listen to the mealy-mouthed claims of his enemies who simply wish to destroy him.