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To the editor:
Ron Isaac makes some good points in his recent opinion piece (The Chief Aug. 28).
I will be honest, I have a dim view of journalism as a whole. To me, journalism oftentimes seems to be nothing more than propaganda disguised as reporting.
And I am not just talking about Fox News, I am talking about everyone. There always seems to be a certain "angle" in the stories, or a misleading statement, or a refusal to cover certain stories or subjects.
Much of the news, to my eyes, seems to be compromised by both the intelligence agencies and the bankers. There have always been gutter press people; the Hearsts, the Murdochs and the Streichers.
But the fact that the greatest prize for reporting was named after a man who was infamous for using yellow journalism to instigate a war seems damning.
And it goes on even where you don't think it does.
Henry Luce, the founder of Time and Life, for example, was a man who wanted to use his magazines to manipulate American foreign policy in favor of a permanent overseas presence, to the detriment of the common American.
Lee Kuan Yew had the right idea when he said, "the freedom of the press was the freedom of its owners to advance their personal and class interests."
Simply look at Bari Weiss and Jeff Bezos if you want examples.
The whole situation reminds me of an old joke: A Soviet visitor to the U.S. remarks on all the capitalist propaganda in America. An American responds that there is no propaganda in the U.S. The Soviet responds: "Exactly."
In America, our propaganda is a subtle, clandestine operation using private press as a vehicle for the whims of the upper class and high-level government bureaucrats, who are often one and the same.
Ryan Keogh
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reenjoe
Ryan, for a young man you are quite astute. Much of the "news" business has always been owned and run by self-interested wealthy individuals. Oxfam, a confederation of independent NGO's focusing on global poverty, has reported that half of all international media outlets and every single social media platform is owned by billionaires. Not exactly a prescription for unbiased reporting.
Yet, if you ask ten Americans about bias in the media, five of them will respond, with great conviction, that the media is "liberal".
Wednesday, September 2 Report this
Valete
"You raise the question about media bias. Bias is a human flaw, but a free press exposes corrupt companies and governments. To say all news is false is a lie. Many journalists face danger to report the news. Without them, the state would only tell its story to a waiting public."
Friday, September 4 Report this