Another counter to the "Liberal Media"

In chapters 1 and 2 of the book, I write about how people think the media and liberal but show that the media are actually owned by large corporations, and thus, the media are as liberal as the companies that own them allow them to be.

Think of it this way: There are liberals in the world. And they have money. And they are willing to spend it to hear their side in the news. So of course there will be liberal sources of information available to them. This is why there are shows like the Rachel Maddow show, etc.

But there are also conservatives in the world. And they have money. And they are willing to spend it to hear their side in the news. So of course there will be conservative sources of information available to them. This is why there are shows like Bill O'Reilly's, etc.

The news is determined by money. Not ideology.

Yet, convinced that the media have a liberal bias, Fox News was created by wealthy Republicans (Google it) in order to provide the "conservative side" (even though they claim to be fair and balanced and all that nonsense).

Now, very wealthy Republicans are planning on buying up some major newspapers. This is part of their plan that involves: 1) Taking over state legislatures; 2) Redrawing legislative districts to assure they can maintain control; 3) Stirring up the people; and 4) Controlling the media.

The net effect of these policies would be to control the law, get the population upset about issues that actually mostly harm only the very wealthy, and control information, thereby assuring policies into the future that would benefit them.

From the New York Times:

Three years ago, Charles and David Koch, the billionaire industrialists and supporters of libertarian causes, held a seminar of like-minded, wealthy political donors at the St. Regis Resort in Aspen, Colo. They laid out a three-pronged, 10-year strategy to shift the country toward a smaller government with less regulation and taxes.       

The first two pieces of the strategy — educating grass-roots activists and influencing politics — were not surprising, given the money they have given to policy institutes and political action groups. But the third one was: media.       

 

Other than financing a few fringe libertarian publications, the Kochs have mostly avoided media investments. Now, Koch Industries, the sprawling private company of which Charles G. Koch serves as chairman and chief executive, is exploring a bid to buy the Tribune Company’s eight regional newspapers, including The Los Angeles Times, The Chicago Tribune, The Baltimore Sun, The Orlando Sentinel and The Hartford Courant.

 

Not sure what will come of this. But it is likely that the news will soon become just another tool of the powerful to control the rest of us.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/21/business/media/koch-brothers-making-play-for-tribunes-newspapers.html?smid=fb-share&_r=0