Media Can't Be Trusted & People Know It

The great Eric Sevareid (CBS commentator) said many years ago, "I have never quite grasped the worry about the power of the press. After all, it speaks with a thousand voices, in constant dissonance." I believe that was once true -- and when it was, our freedom was protected because there was always a way for the truth to get out to the people. Sadly, it is no longer true.

As the graphic above says, 90% of what the American public reads (newspapers, magazines), watches (television), or listens to (radio) is owned and controlled by only six giant corporations today. And none of these six corporations truly have any independent news sections. They all demand the news be reported through the filter of what is best for corporate America -- regardless of whether that is also best for the vast majority of Americans or not.

This has seriously crippled our democracy. And if it weren't for the internet (where freedom still reigns -- at least for now), we might not even have a democracy anymore. People who get all or most of their news through the mainstream media (those six corporations) don't get the full picture of what is happening in the world. They only get what the corporations want them to see of the real news, combined with pop culture and entertainment news (because that is what sells advertising).

The only bright spot in this dismal picture is that the American people (at least most of them) seem to realize the major media outlets are not giving them a full or accurate reporting of the news. A recent Gallup Poll shows that only 21% of the public has confidence in television news -- down from 46% in 1993 (when they first started asking about it). And newspapers don't fare much better. Only 25% of the public expresses confidence in newspaper reporting -- down from 51% in 1979.

This lack of confidence in the mainstream media is reflected throughout the political spectrum and across all demographic groups. Here is the breakdown (with the first number being confidence in television news and the number in parentheses being confidence in newspapers):

General public...............21% (25%)

Republicans...............17% (22%)
Independents...............17% (20%)
Democrats...............34% (37%)

Conservatives...............22% (21%)
Moderates...............20% (27%)
Liberals................19% (30%)

18 to 29...............28% (38%)
30 to 49...............22% (27%)
50 to 64...............16% (20%)
65 & older...............21% (18%)

Men...............16% (23%)
Women...............26% (28%)

High school or less...............29% (27%)
Some college...............20% (25%)
College graduate...............17% (25%)
Postgraduate...............10% (23%)

I wish I could say there will be more diversity and independence in the future (a return to the "thousand voices in constant dissonance"), but that is highly unlikely. The impetus today of the corporate-owned media is not to deliver the news, but to make money for the corporation (and slant the news that is reported for their benefit).

This makes it extremely important for us to jealously guard the freedom of the internet.