The control of the mass media

I was watching a documentary the other night about allegations that the moon landing was recorded in a studio. Although this is not a new idea, it did get me thinking about what control we have on information fed to us by the mass media. Within this group, I include, all print, television, film, radio media, the internet. although this list is not exhaustive. (Even blogs)

We do not see what is happening outside of our immediate bubble and therefor rely on the mass media to furnish us with news of ‘world’ events or information we may seek. We only have to look at how two different versions of the same news item are put across to us on ,lets say by two different television stations or in two different newspapers. This is largely because the reporter’s and the editor’s subjective views are laced into the story, giving it a different slant to their competition, who are doing the same. Some reports are really very different. The point of this is not how different storys are manipulated but that we get most of our information from the mass media.

It is obvious that nobody can really be everywhere and witness everything, so as a result, everybody relies on the media (the internet included) for information.

This is obviously open for abuse in that the media can convey pretty much what they want to the gullible masses, who, like sheep, swallow it all, or at least most of it.

To claim that the moon landing was filmed in a studio may seem far fetched, but is it really that far fetched?

Again, I am not arguing the fact that it was, but that there is a possibility that it could have been. The film, ‘Wag the Dog’ takes this to a more tangible level. A false war is filmed and presented to the public as true, to increase the existing president’s position for re-election. It is obvious that the media has to obtain it’s information from one source or another, be it from eyewitnesses or from other sources. It follows then, that the source could also furnish the facts it deems fit, be it a form of censorship or just subjective views. Thus, already tainted information, is further contaminated by those in the media, and at the user end, the public get a moulded story.

If we do not witness it first hand, then we fall prey to the version we are fed and with the special effects of modern times, unless it is totally ridiculous or futuristic, we would have difficulty telling what is real and what is not. And if it is conveyed in the print media, then there is only need for touching up by the use of words. The digital era is such that digitally touched-up photos appear to be the real thing.

Granted we probably do get lots of truth through the mass media, however, not being equipped with the tools to detect how much is true and how much is either subjective or complete untruth, we are unable to detect what we should or should not believe. This makes us pawns to the powers that control these media towers. Be it large corporations or governments. We just need to look at the difference between SABC and E-TV news reports or documentaries or on a global scale, that of CNN and BBC.

  

Globally, the mass media are very much the same in that they control what is conveyed to the masses and as a result, the masses are molded to believe what the powers behind the media want them to. Many countries have  media outlets, who are either controlled or are sympathetic to certain politicians or political beliefs. How do we, as the masses protect ourselves? Well, the cruel truth is that we cannot. The only defense we may have, is to read a number of different publications and watch as many different news broadcasts from different broadcasters as we can, then we could place all together to form our own opinions. But, us being humans we already have preconceived affirmations and we choose the form of media that agrees with or justifies our own views.

Due to the impartiality of the media, we will never get just the facts and we will always be led by the nose to believe what they want us to.