Final Word from Wednesday, January 12, 2011
If the mass media told the truth, the masses would revolt, and governments would collapse. The inability of the mass media to tell the truth (with exceptions, of course) is one of the least-discussed reasons for the decline in their appeal. Just as samizdat was used under Communism to spread an alternative version of reality, the internet allows users to search out different versions of reality and to decide for themselves which is true. One of the main occupations of the mainstream media has become the drive to discredit alternative versions of reality by relying on "experts" with undisclosed vested interests who routinely lump anyone with a nonconformist view into conspiracy theorists or extremists. In such an environment, those who win big are those who are able to pretend to be nonconformist while continuing to serve the system and interests that created them. Europe is slow to find the Fox News model.[Czech Republic United States of America Rupert Murdoch]
Glossary of difficult words
samizdat - the clandestine copying and distribution of banned literature, esp. formerly in the Communist countries of Eastern Europe;
occupation - way of spending time;
mainstream - the ideas, attitudes or activities that are regarded as normal or conventional;
drive - determination and ambition to achieve a particular purpose;
undisclosed - not revealed or made public;
vested interest - a personal stake in an undertaking or state of affairs;
to lump - to treat as alike without regard for particulars;
Fox News - a successful U.S. TV news channel created by Rupert Murdoch.