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I am not the most gifted of writers and I am not sure I can do justice to this incredibly important issue. But I do have a good sense of danger, I think. I do have a good bullshit meter and a sense of proportion.
I knew, as many of us did at the time, that "embedded" reporting was the very essence of losing free media. We felt it, didn't we? But maybe, at the time, it was hard to fully appreciate the long-term consequences-the more elusive and hidden effects on our collective minds. A strong and aggressive media is of tremendous import in a democratic society. Without it, I do not think it is possible to have a truly educated and informed electorate. But even worse, to have a media that is serving the needs of artificial collectives such as corporations -whose interests do NOT lie with those of the People- is a downright danger.
I am writing this mostly because the point has once again been hammered home with the BP oil disaster and hearing that BP is scaring off even high profile news organizations and threatening them with arrest. It seems unbelievable, I know, but it happened and we are forced now to try to understands where we are at this point. And it is a scary answer.
The 'embedding' of reporters was a very dangerous slippery slope and I am afraid it has been slippery indeed. We have slid all the way down into a truly frightening alliance of government and corporations. When you combine this with our generally dropping level of literacy, the future begins to look an awful like the kind of Dystopian images we have seen portrayed in films like "Rollerball" or "Idiocracy".
I have always felt that one of the most overlooked and underappreciated psychological mechanisms is the ability to manipulate people's expectations. You can see one example of this in political campaigns when incumbent presidents try to lower people's expectations for their debate performances. GWB was a master of this type of thing. Another example was when companies switched from having live operators answering calls from their customers to having phone systems. Even at a young age, I knew that once people accepted this declining level of corporate responsibility, it would not be something that would ever improve. Once people's expectations for how they can be treated is lowered, it is nearly impossible to raise it up. The Health Care debate is another example. Most countries in the world would not accept the current poor health care available. That is because they are accustomed to being treated better. It is not because Americans are dumb or placid. It is simply because they do not EXPECT any better.
This is how I view the issue of the Media and the "embedded" phenomena. I think it lowered our level of what is acceptable and we came to believe that a free press just isn't as vital as it really is.
As expected, I do not think I did this issue justice with my OP. But I DO think it is a HUGE issue. One that I hope more eloquent DU'ers will pick up.
I don't want recs, I just want more people to talk about this.
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