The Liberal Media

I was recently framed as a child-killer.

Not directly. It was passive association, really, and very vague. But it was there nonetheless. I don't know if anyone still watches 60 minutes, but last week, there I was, framed for killing children in Hong Kong by recycling computers. I didn't mean to.

Not that I'm really that upset about my association with that, I was trying to do a good thing, as was everyone else at that event. And, yes, given some research, I do believe that even the owner of the company in Englewood was trying to do a good thing. There were a series of steps that the box went through (and a variety of companies, not all American), before it got to Hong Kong.

I just think it's interesting that the media can so easily spin something that they claim as investigative to create a negative connotation regarding someone. They claim it's investigative journalism, they claim that they are trying to expose people who are exploiting others, to reveal the truth and bring justice to those who can't speak for themselves. But are they really being objective? Can they really uncover the truth?

The media, regardless of the image they try to convey, is a business. They have to capture and audience, and be interesting enough to generate a profit. And that's really what media is all about. It's just another integral part of our capitalist system. They have to find the stories that will generate the best pictures and capture the audience. So how much can we really trust the media? In that 60 minutes episode, what exactly did they leave out (or not bother to figure out)? And how come we give the media so much credibility? Was 9/11 a consipiracy? Is there information that the government is not giving us about the JFK assination? Not to critique investigative journalism, or uncovering the truth, but since Watergate and Vietnam, it seems like the media and politics have not been on the same side. FDR successfully used the media to win 4 elections.... but since then (although, some say Barack Obama's use of the internet is progressive) no politician has seen the media as an ally. So, although media sources can balance each other, it all comes down to this: What are we not being told?