From The Ramparts

The Corporate Media and O.J. Simpleton

The Corporate Media and O.J. Simpleton

Is it me or is something really fishy going on with the story selection and reporting on the cable news channels? Of all the things going on in the world that merit wide scale coverage in the media: the global financial meltdown caused by the US mortgage and credit Ponzi schemes, runs on banks in Germany, France and England, spiking unemployment numbers, the crash of the US housing industry, runaway inflation, of course the disastrous occupation in Iraq and the insane NeoCon plan to attack Iran, why are CNN, MSNBC, Fox news and the other cable outlets expending so much time and space on O.J. Simpleton? In the overall scheme of things how and why do the actions of an obviously depraved individual like O.J. Simpson take precedence over potentially earth shattering events like the collapse of the US dollar, the crisis facing global capitalism, the actions of the US Central Bank which will inevitably cause hyperinflation, the continuation of the ruinous Fed policies that will impact the whole society or the egregious injustice meted out in Jena Louisiana against six black high schools students? Can you see a deliberate policy, a conspiracy if you will, in all this?
The corporate mind control apparatus is in cahoots with the ruling elites, they do their bidding. The consolidated media is owned by the elites, their families and business partners and they take their orders and direction from them. The media is the tool and toy of the ruling elites, to do with as they please. For these people, the media serves a more nefarious function. “ In a capitalist ‘democracy’ like the United States, the corporate news media faithfully reflect the dominant class ideology both in their reportage and commentary. At the same time, these media leave the impression that they are free and independent, capable of balanced coverage and objective commentary. How they achieve these seemingly contradictory but legitimating goals is a matter worthy of study. Notables in the media industry claim that occasional inaccuracies do occur in news coverage because of innocent error and everyday production problems such as deadline pressures, budgetary restraints, and the difficulty of reducing a complex story into a concise report. Furthermore, no communication system can hope to report everything, hence selectivity is needed.
To be sure, such pressures and problems do exist and honest mistakes are made, but do they really explain the media's overall performance? True the press must be selective, but what principle of selectivity is involved? I would argue that media bias usually does not occur in random fashion; rather it moves in more or less consistent directions, favoring management over labor, corporations over corporate critics, affluent whites over low income minorities, officialdom over protestors, the two-party monopoly over leftist third parties, privatization and free market ‘reforms’ over public sector development, U.S. dominance of the Third World over revolutionary or populist social change, and conservative commentators and columnists over progressive or radical ones... Media people have a trained incapacity for the whole truth. Their job is not to inform but disinform, not to advance democratic discourse but to dilute and mute it. Their task is to give every appearance of being conscientiously concerned about events of the day, saying so much while meaning so little, offering so many calories with so few nutrients. When we understand this, we move from a liberal complaint about the press's sloppy performance to a radical analysis of how the media maintain the dominant paradigm with much craft and craftiness.” Monopoly Media Manipulation Michael Parenti http://theunjustmedia.com/Monopoly_media_manipulation.htm
The corporate media promotes global white supremacy, US militarism, Western imperialism and provides a conduit for Eurocentric programming that shapes values, ideation and provides a distorted picture of reality. This “reality” is theirs’, it is one that Africans, for the most part, have little input or access to except when the images and message are anti-African, buffoonish stereotypes or culturally destructive towards us they actually aid in maintaining white oppression and hegemony; like the programming we see regularly on BET. Sadly the other so called “Black” media isn’t that much better. Only a few radical papers like The Black Star, The West Palm Beach Gazette or conscious Internet at sites like www.Libradio.com, www.Harambeeradio.com www.BlackMic.com and http://wblr.com provide a sharply contrasting alternative to the mind anesthetizing disinformation pumped at us 24/7/365 by Radio One and Inner city Broadcasting which are nominally “Black owned”. I say nominally because any time the white bankers decide to call their in loans or they tell their advertising buddies to stop buying time on their stations, both companies are toast, fodder for rummage and foreclosure sales.
The decision to plaster O.J. Simpleton over the cable news and network airways is a strategic ploy, a cunning diversion by the governing elites and their sycophants to keep us pre-occupied with the minutia of O.J.’s life and craziness. Their goal is to keep us so distracted we won’t think about the worsening occupation in Iraq, the skyrocketing cost of living, the ramifications of the Jena 6 (although the media is spinning their version of this story as we speak), the faltering global economy and the very real prospects of a protracted recession which will gut the standard of living of the working and middle classes. The issues are far more serious and germane to everyday folks then the foolishness of O.J. Simpson. This is a intentional move by the New World Order boys and their acolytes, it’s media slight of hand, a type of reverse Jedi mind trick to keep us asleep, discombobulated and bamboozled. Don’t go for the okey doke. Seek out media that edifies your mind and promotes your culture. Don’t buy, support or consume media that is racist, degrading or depicts us in a negative light unless you are really geared up and prepared to discern and decode their subtle and obvious messages. In other words be very discriminating and picky. Better yet, to be truly safe turn off the television and radio and put down the paper and magazines.

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posted by Junious Ricardo Stanton @ 6:41 PM