Media Corruption

According to the American Press Institute, the purpose of journalism is to “provide citizens with the information they need to make the best possible decisions about their lives, their communities, their societies, and their governments.” If a news organization were to take this goal seriously, it would obviously have a major impact on how they choose to present the news and what stories they choose to give to the public. They would focus on stories that had a major impact on the lives of American citizens, and give us information about who is responsible for the changes we are seeing.

However, that is not what they are giving us. Instead, the news media presents us with propaganda – heavily tailored information designed to make Americans fear what they want us to fear, buy what they want us to buy, and vote for the politicians they want us to vote for. For evidence, all one has to do is remember the 2008 presidential election. A one term senator few people had ever heard of swooped in out of nowhere, claimed the Democratic nomination, and won the Presidential election despite being up against a significantly more experienced opponent. The election of Barack Obama is the direct result of the media agenda that hyped him up to the American people and made him seem like a superhero.

And that is not the only way the media attempts to manipulate the American public. The mainstream news media in the United States is heavily slanted in favor of the wealthy and the powerful, while dedicated to hiding information that would be most relevant to regular working Americans. In an interview published in The Atlantic this month, journalist and media critic Sarah Alvarez said, “It’s not that low-income news consumers are not interested in being served by media, but there are these huge information gaps that result from targeting higher-income consumers [….] If you’re in a low-income community and you see that story, that might be validating if it’s done well. But it’s not informative. It’s not helpful.”

Alvarez believes that this failure to address the needs of regular Americans is an accidental failure on the part of the media. She believes that they simply haven’t found a way to plug themselves into this “untapped market.” However, call me cynical if you like, but I believe it is far more likely that this refusal of the media to deal with matters that are important to everyday Americans – matters like health care, education, and social security – is a deliberate decision made by the corporate owners of the media.

In 2015, 90% of the American media is owned by six huge corporations: News Corporation, Walt Disney, National Amusements, Comcast, Time Warner, and Viacom. These companies dictate what the news organizations they own focus on, and the interests of the billionaires who run these corporations are definitely not the interests of regular, working Americans. Is it any surprise that they make it so difficult for Americans to learn about the issues that are important to us?

As an independent candidate running for president on a populist platform, this is especially frustrating. The media has no interest in showing Americans that they have options outside of the main parties, especially any option that will actually address their issues and help to make their lives easier. I have been told by reporters that they were specifically told not to give coverage to independent campaigns because that would be considered “supporting the campaign” by their managers.

If you are sick of being lied to and manipulated by the corporate-controlled media, I would encourage you to join me in 2016 in fighting for a better America. Remember to cast your write-in vote for Art Drew for President of the United States.