6 ms·

I agree. China, in general, is not a good role model. U.S is a better role model.

1024core 9y ago
Anybody who thinks that the US does not control its media is naive. See, for example, how Al Jazeera and RT (granted, the latter is no bastion of independent journalism) are effectively exiled from the US. Al Jazeera had to set up an "American owned" subsidiary before it could get access to the cable network.
- kobeya 9y ago
  Of course the US doesn't control the media. If they did, how would Monica Lewinsky have ever been a thing? There are people who control the media. Rupert Murdoch, for example. And organizations which have undue influence due to advertising and ownership structures. But not the government.
  - deleted 9y ago
    [deleted]
  - 1024core 9y ago
    Monica Lewinsky is nothing. When the drum beat of war in Iraq was happening, even the NYT wrote editorials supporting the war. Later, in 2004, NYT had an article ready about how Bush lied to get us into the war. But, surprise! it was not published until after the election.
    - woodandsteel 9y ago
      Just because the US did something you consider wrong doesn't mean the media is controlled. And in fact there was lots of debate in the NYT at the time about the Iraq war. You know what, I am guessing you are one of those people who defends China and Russia by admitting they are bad, but then falsely claiming the US is in no way any better.
      - 1024core 9y ago
        > Just because the US did something you consider wrong doesn't mean the media is controlled. The opposition to the Iraq invasion was vast and loud. There were protest marches against the invasion all over the US, and in many other parts of the world. And yet the NYT editorial supported the war. How is this even possible? How can the NYT, this paragon of journalism, not see what the ordinary people could see, that the case for the Iraq war was rigged? And by the way, it's not just I who consider it wrong; most of the world does so. You may relish the idea of killing innocent civilians, but most of us do not.
- veidr 9y ago
  The US government does not control the US media in the sense that China or Russia or Saudi Arabia does. In fact, no advanced country with an even marginally-functioning democracy does. It does exert direct control in certain limited cases, through gag orders and "national security" secrecy laws. That practice has been expanding in the US for the past 16 years, and that's alarming, but still doesn't amount to anything comparable to China's control of the media. Private groups and individuals with political agendas do control a significant fraction of the US media, however. But, they achieve and maintain this control through normal business means; by spending money and leveraging their resources to expand and consolidate. We all know by now that Fox News (just the most famous example) is an organization created to disseminate propaganda on behalf of these private interests. However, this group does not align with "the government" -- as the US government changes in response to the tides of the electorate, organizations like Fox News find themselves basically in alignment with the government, then in opposition, then in alignment again. These organizations by and large stay true to their core mission, which in the case of Fox News is to further the interests of the very rich by advancing a set of themes and grievances that together form a sociopolitical worldview that resonates with enough Americans — even those who aren't wealthy and won't actually benefit when/if that worldview is translated into policy — to give that worldview increased political clout. So the US media is largely (but still not completely) controlled by a relatively small group of extremely wealthy individuals and interests. That may be harmful to the public interest and undesirable, but it's not the same thing as actual government control of the media as practiced in totalitarian regimes.
  - Spooky23 9y ago
    The US government does not directly control the media as blatantly as regimes like Russia or China. But they sure do have the ability to influence the editorial agenda, and they sure seem to have a way to divert the attention of the media when itis advantageous to do so. Consider the Gulf War of 1991 and Iraq invasion of 2003. http://billmoyers.com/2014/06/27/the-first-iraq-war-was-also-sold-to-the-public-based-on-a-pack-of-lies/ http://billmoyers.com/2014/06/27/the-first-iraq-war-was-also...
    - kobeya 9y ago

Anybody who thinks that the US does not control its media is naive. See, for example, how Al Jazeera and RT (granted, the latter is no bastion of independent journalism) are effectively exiled from the US. Al Jazeera had to set up an "American owned" subsidiary before it could get access to the cable network.

kobeya 9y ago
Of course the US doesn't control the media. If they did, how would Monica Lewinsky have ever been a thing? There are people who control the media. Rupert Murdoch, for example. And organizations which have undue influence due to advertising and ownership structures. But not the government.
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
- 1024core 9y ago
  Monica Lewinsky is nothing. When the drum beat of war in Iraq was happening, even the NYT wrote editorials supporting the war. Later, in 2004, NYT had an article ready about how Bush lied to get us into the war. But, surprise! it was not published until after the election.
  - woodandsteel 9y ago
    Just because the US did something you consider wrong doesn't mean the media is controlled. And in fact there was lots of debate in the NYT at the time about the Iraq war. You know what, I am guessing you are one of those people who defends China and Russia by admitting they are bad, but then falsely claiming the US is in no way any better.
    - 1024core 9y ago
      > Just because the US did something you consider wrong doesn't mean the media is controlled. The opposition to the Iraq invasion was vast and loud. There were protest marches against the invasion all over the US, and in many other parts of the world. And yet the NYT editorial supported the war. How is this even possible? How can the NYT, this paragon of journalism, not see what the ordinary people could see, that the case for the Iraq war was rigged? And by the way, it's not just I who consider it wrong; most of the world does so. You may relish the idea of killing innocent civilians, but most of us do not.
veidr 9y ago
The US government does not control the US media in the sense that China or Russia or Saudi Arabia does. In fact, no advanced country with an even marginally-functioning democracy does. It does exert direct control in certain limited cases, through gag orders and "national security" secrecy laws. That practice has been expanding in the US for the past 16 years, and that's alarming, but still doesn't amount to anything comparable to China's control of the media. Private groups and individuals with political agendas do control a significant fraction of the US media, however. But, they achieve and maintain this control through normal business means; by spending money and leveraging their resources to expand and consolidate. We all know by now that Fox News (just the most famous example) is an organization created to disseminate propaganda on behalf of these private interests. However, this group does not align with "the government" -- as the US government changes in response to the tides of the electorate, organizations like Fox News find themselves basically in alignment with the government, then in opposition, then in alignment again. These organizations by and large stay true to their core mission, which in the case of Fox News is to further the interests of the very rich by advancing a set of themes and grievances that together form a sociopolitical worldview that resonates with enough Americans — even those who aren't wealthy and won't actually benefit when/if that worldview is translated into policy — to give that worldview increased political clout. So the US media is largely (but still not completely) controlled by a relatively small group of extremely wealthy individuals and interests. That may be harmful to the public interest and undesirable, but it's not the same thing as actual government control of the media as practiced in totalitarian regimes.
- Spooky23 9y ago
  The US government does not directly control the media as blatantly as regimes like Russia or China. But they sure do have the ability to influence the editorial agenda, and they sure seem to have a way to divert the attention of the media when itis advantageous to do so. Consider the Gulf War of 1991 and Iraq invasion of 2003. http://billmoyers.com/2014/06/27/the-first-iraq-war-was-also-sold-to-the-public-based-on-a-pack-of-lies/ http://billmoyers.com/2014/06/27/the-first-iraq-war-was-also...
  - kobeya 9y ago