THE DEVOLUTION OF THE MEDIA

Contemplating on decades of change.

I read something this morning that took me back to the 70s when I was a news junkie. I listened intently to the news every night, read the paper from front page to back every morning, and read news magazines weekly. Then I went back all the way to the 50s and realized that I was a CBS news junkie in those days. The news was one of my favorite programs due to the way news was presented in those days by the news men on CBS.

In those olden and “golden” days, news was presented in a balanced manner: facts were presented on both sides and we were allowed to make our own conclusions about those facts. And, oh yes, there was an absence of ugly gossip news in regular reporting: i.e. We didn't learn about Kennedy's bad habits until long after he died.

Then things began to change: We got into a war that was deemed unnecessary and evil. Some people took to the streets in un-peaceful manners to demand that we have Peace, whatever that was supposed be. Other people excused themselves from society and began to live a life they call peaceful but broke every long time acceptable behavior rule. Things were shaping up in a whole new way. And the media began to change, too.

At first they became determined to tell ALL in a big way. They put themselves in the middle of everything and told facts about what was going on. It was still a fact by fact order of business; but it was more passionate and more involved than it ever had been.

This era included the assassination of President Kennedy and the triumphal destruction of President Nixon over his ”big” lie. Subtly the media changed from giving us facts on both sides, so we could make up our own minds, to giving us facts based on their opinion of what had happened, so that we could agree with their point of view.

It was then (80s-90s) that I found myself getting angry with every news report, and I didn't even know why. Since I was addicted to anger anyway, I enjoyed the anger fits that came from watching the news. But, at that time, I was not fully engaged in what was going on in the world until 9/11. Then I became deeply interested and listened for all the information I could get.

Bushed reaction to this war strike in our country was properly to strike back. War had been clearly declared against us more than once before that day. 9/11 was a wake up call and Bush answered it.

When Bush brought his platform forward, I was 100% behind him I his decision and strategy. I had helped elect him, but I had never been particularly found of his complacency and didn't want him to be President for any other reason than I did not want Kerry to be president; so I voted against Kerry. And I was very glad I did. In my mind I saw Perry going to Afghanistan and begging for forgiveness that we Americans upset them so badly. And, sure enough, he has done that anyway since then.

The media was finding fault, of course—like he didn't react the way they wanted him to when he was told in a classroom full of children that we had been attacked—but for the most part, they were just as angry as the rest of us and ready for us to do something. And just in case you missed that thought, his reaction was perfect considering he was with a classroom full of children.

Soon of course, there was a protesting and agitation going on that we should not be at war with the people who attacked us and declared war on us. The media loved that and took full advantage of an opportunity to blast the President, who was not of their favorite party, and they stirred up as much contention as they possibly could. And, so it continues.

Their new goal in presenting the news is to be a power of their own. They push hard on every contentious thing that happens and present it in the light of what they think about the situation. That is not news. That is manipulation. And manipulating what we think is their common goal these days.

By 2005, when I came here, the media had charged my anger to a boiling over point, and the first thing God had me do when I was trying to recover my senses from being angry all the time was to STOP watching and reading the news. It was completely the right thing to do.

However, after a few years I became somewhat involved with the news again and came to a breaking point again. I had been limiting myself to news I selected to see on facebook, but the boiling over reared its ugly head again and I was striking out in ways not acceptable.

Therefore I have refused to watch or read the news and I have disconnected with the news on facebook. That is calming me down again and I am glad.

We will never be able to go back to the time when news was presented in a balance way and was about fact, rather than opinion. That is sad. But the times, they are a changing... (for those of you who have not heard it, there is a song in that line.) Our job is to not change with them; but to, rather, keep our feet on the ground and our eyes and ears alert to manipulation. We need to reword everything we hear and consider the possibilities of incorrectness in what is being told to us. Or, better yet, realize that if their lips are moving they are lying. :)