I’ll admit “the news” can be pretty addicting.
But it pays to remember what the underlying objective of nonstop “news”, by the likes of CNN, Fox and others, is…
making money.
Don’t get fooled into believing otherwise.
Yesterday, I got involved in a Facebook comment string on a post about how Obama was criticized, especially by Fox News, for failing to attend a rally in Paris in solidarity against the Charlie Hebdo terrorist attack.
My take on the matter was…WTF cares!
And really, I could say that about a lot of things that masquerade as news these days.
I especially like to pick on Fox.
Why?
Because they don’t even put up much of an effort towards being a legitimate news channel.
It’s very hard for me to take Fox News serious…and the same goes for the likes of Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck’s TheBlaze.
Just take a look at the websites of Limbaugh and Beck.
What seems to be the objective there…to enlighten their readers with good and useful information, or simply to make Beck and Limbaugh more money?
Both sites are massive eyesores…
Littered with ads trying to sell everything from guns and ammo to identity theft protection.
Don’t Rush and Glenn already have enough fucking money not to have to distract their readers with relentless ads about stuff no one really needs.
No, of course not…there’s never enough, right?
I believe all these guys, and especially Fox news, foment our worst fears and prejudices because they know that’s what drives ratings.
And those ratings make the paychecks of O’Reilly and Hannity larger, and ultimately inflate the wealth of the Newscorp billionaire owner, Rupert Murdoch.
That, IMHO, is the real purpose behind the existence of Fox News, as well as Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck…
And in pursuit of that purpose, they do major harm to people and planet.
How?
Well, a particular case in point is the extent to which they add to the absolute ignorance that is global warming denial.
And as their massive audiences fall prey to this insanity, the more certain Congressman are emboldened to remain in the pockets of big oil and block any legislative attempt to do something to solve a very serious problem…
Same goes with spiraling wealth inequality, racial strife and other divisive issues of our day.
People and the planet we live on are thus threatened by all this nonsense in the name of “news” dissemination profiteering.
This is serious stuff folks.
If Rush or Beck really wanted to get their messages across, perhaps they could take the lead of one of my favorite bloggers…
Leo Babauta of zenhabits.net.
Check out his site. See any adds? See anything at all other than the bare message that he’s presenting to his reading audience.
It’s not that Leo doesn’t need to make a living…hell, he’s got a wife and 6 kids!
But to Leo, what’s more important is improving the quality of life of his readers…making the world a better place…not making money.
And he does just fine with the quarter of a million or so who regularly view his blog.
The Fox News, Beck and Limbaugh approach to “news” presentation reminds me of what Jesus once said about the Pharisees of his day, who he viewed as a threat to the people of Israel…they’re all about (and I paraphrase)…
Straining gnats and swallowing camels.
They have the power at their disposal to make things better, to be impact mindful…
But do they use it that way?
No, instead they try to peddle us garbage and feed on our worst fears, just so they can make an extra million or two.
I’m here to tell you that further increases to their already massive net worths is NOT what’s most important.
They certainly don’t deserve nearly the amount of attention that people give them.
image credit: News Corpse via Compfight cc