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The Censorious Vortex of the "Flash News" Barons
Nader, Ralph
http://www.counterpunch.org/2017/09/22/the-censorious-vortex-of-the-flash-news-barons/Date Written: 2017-09-22 Publisher: CounterPunch Year Published: 2017 Resource Type: Article Cx Number: CX21351 For decades, the factors that decided what noteworthy stories would not find their way into print or on the air came down to the media's ignorance, laziness or from advertising restraints. For too long, the explosive material for good journalism in these and other areas had remained hidden in plain sight. Abstract: - Excerpt: With the intensification of soundbite journalism, fueled by audiences' increasingly short attention spans, twitter addiction, the stupefaction of video culture and a willful disregard of both history and contemplation, a new form of censorship has emerged. The domination of "breaking news" -- increasingly defined by episodes of violence, natural disasters and celebrity/political outrages and lurid scandals -- is rampant. ... Our self-selecting social media bubbles further isolate us by validating, but not challenging, our opinions. ... I began to notice our various citizen groups experiencing difficulty in getting "newstime" or "newsprint" because their subjects -- clearly newsworthy and affecting people directly -- weren't already in the corporate news media by some high profile story. Among the many severely neglected topics are looted pensions, food and auto safety, hospital malpractice, a predatory pharmaceutical industry, massive billing frauds, the dark sides of corporate welfare, an unauditable Pentagon budget and the devastation caused by stock buybacks. Subject Headings |