In the 1940s, while the CIA was receiving hundreds of Nazi “scientists” into the US under cover of Operation Paperclip, our nation began experiments in mind control, the atom bomb, a Pledge of Allegiance, and a plan to control “The Media” – Operation Mockingbird.

Today, we hear right-wing critics properly denounce fake news, but few see the complexity or extent of it.

The mainstream media do omit stories most newsworthy, and do waste our time and misdirect our attention with stories calculated to help us interpret issues as would best serve corporate interests. I’ve known that since 1982, which is why I quit the News biz.

What I see now is that even seasoned reporters with impressive awards can have their stories shut down. And the major media and “alternative media” both refuse to cross certain lines.

https://www.wanttoknow.info/mediacorruption

I understand that. If their audiences have been raised on one worldview, they must proceed carefully in disclosing a larger worldview. But how long will they wait? Are they waiting for permission to proceed? Permission from whom? Who is controlling the ultimate unfolding?

I used to think it was We the People, back in my naive days (which is why I wanted to be a journalist, to help lead us all toward enlightenment, fearlessly discovering and sharing truth). But now I see there are powerful entities in charge of the planet, and They call the shots, and no one outside the highest echelons of the secret societies knows who They are.

Years ago, They realized freethinking radicals were closing in on them, naming Them. So They got to work. They invented a fake “alternative” to expose Their existence.

The Powers that Be became the Deep State. The evidence for Their existence was folded into a new story with misinformation and high emotion – and distributed by Their own and other’s “alternative news sources.” They analyzed the frustrations of the largest demographic they could most easily manipulate, crafted Their messages to tweak those frustrations, and encouraged a sense of community in an entirely new way – through social media. Then They tapped a TV reality show host, gave him a new script, and the rest is American history.

Yes, I believe the Trumpsters’ suspicions about the Deep State is based on reality.

But their faith in Trump, I believe, is totally misplaced. He’s the poison pill hidden inside the hopeful story that speaks to all their wounds, a story crafted just for them. And while they misdirect their time and energy toward this charlatan businessman, truly good responsible reporters are trying to work within the system to expose what’s going on. Not all of them, of course; many are toadies. But, like all the world, the truth is mixed with lies, and our job is to sort it out, not blindly accept an easy “alternative” that feels good.

The News corporations continue to control our news, yes.

But individual reporters still put their lives on the line to bring us the fights for justice going on all around the planet an in our small towns.

As a former (award-winning) radio journalist and later a professor of Composition & Rhetoric – and especially in this day of emotional verbosity passing for “news” – I wish everyone could understand what exactly comprises sufficient “support” for a news story.

Alas, we’ve been so poorly educated, we don’t know the difference between statement of fact and opinion. Often the most outrageous statements get the most attention.

These reporters exemplify excellent reporting, and they all suffered at the hands of their corporate employers. Their stories should be known.

https://www.wanttoknow.info/mediacorruption

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And shame on Trump for calling all reporters liars, mocking them, and even invoking violence against them. It’s the corporations who deserve our wrath.