Surviving Capitalism (Not) : The great illusion of free press

We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Tuesday, February 10, 2015

The great illusion of free press

Click here to access article by Mike Walsh from Euro Weekly News.

Walsh brags about his publication's commitment to freedom of the press:

I regularly enjoy coffee with two mainstream media editor friends.

Neither will carry my articles because of my ‘pro-Russian leanings.’ I won’t play a part in mainstream media’s orchestrated anti-Russian rhetoric. Be proud of me; my candid nature suggests that, in the Euro Weekly News at least, you enjoy a free press.

Then he continues on to devote merely 440 words to this vital subject. Well, that is something that is better than nothing which is what we get in major media, but I think it is really not something to boast about. Euro Weekly News may not be a major media corporation, but it is of significant size and thus is clearly dependent on advertising by private businesses and corporations. Thus, it's content can hardly offer a significant challenge to their interests. The subject of a free press (or lack of) is of critical importance, and thus deserves a whole series of lengthy articles devoted to it--something that the managers/owners of Euro Weekly News will never permit.