There are times when I think that mainstream media coverage of world events is becoming more uniform than ever before. This writer argues that and targets as the most recent example the monolithic corporate media coverage of events related to Ukraine. He complains that mainstream media coverage has taken on the role of propagandists for the government instead of providing more objective, nuanced reporting.
Objective U.S. journalists would insist on a truthful narrative that conveys these nuances to the American people, not simply behave as clumsy propagandists determined to glue “white hats” on the side favored by the State Department and “black hats” on everyone that the U.S. government disdains. But virtually the entire mainstream press corps has opted for the propaganda role....In a typical liberal fashion he whines about the lack of objectivity and media's role of supporting Washington propaganda, but avoids any attempt to explain this phenomenon. He refuses to see this coverage as reflecting the concentration of power in a ruling class who control both government and the media along with all other important institutions in society. Such coverage is arguably worse than ever before, but I wouldn't want to pursue that argument because media has always served ruling class interests. This is especially true since media ownership became concentrated in major corporations beginning in the early 20th century. Read The Brass Check by Upton Sinclair and his scathing attacks on corporate journalism during this period, and read Even the Gods Can't Change History by George Seldes in which he as a journalist reviewed the numerous lies he saw printed in the nation's media over a half century in support of imperialist ambitions.
A much more valuable contribution to this issue of media disinformation would be uncovering facts about how and why this happens. However, this would inevitably lead into massive exposures of myths about government, about the reality of a ruling class, about the power of a ruling class based on private ownership of the economy, and about how this system impels its controllers to seek profit and power which, in turn, lead to the crimes of wars, exploitation, poverty, environmental degradation, and a media coverage that lies about what our rulers are doing.
Anyone wanting to pursue a career critiquing media coverage in depth would run up against this ruling class and would suffer many consequences. Some journalists like Gary Webb paid with their careers and ultimately their lives while trying to pursue the truth about our government's involvement in drug trafficking.
