“They perpetuate the Malthusian myth that the world faces inexorable population increases”
To be fair, the Malthusian myth is that population growth will outstrip food production.
The Matrix Media works in absolute lockstep, all really indistinguishibly malicious.
Very accurate. So many more examples. Target Rich Enviroment
Theodore Roosevelt's 1911 speech to the Sorbone in Paris is famous for the "man in the arena":"It is not the critic who counts . . . the credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena - Theodore RooseveltBut the entire speech rewards a reading, including this appropos segment:. . . The phrase-maker, the phrase-monger, the ready talker, however great his power, whose speech does not make for courage, sobriety, and right understanding, is simply a noxious element in the body politic, and it speaks ill for the public if he has influence over them. To admire the gift of oratory without regard to the moral quality behind the gift is to do wrong to the republic.Of course all that I say of the orator applies with even greater force to the orator's latter-day and more influential brother, the journalist. The power of the journalist is great, but he is entitled neither to respect nor admiration because of that power unless it is used aright. He cna do, and often does, great good. He can do, and he often does, infinite mischief. All journalists, all writers, for the very reason that they appreciate the vast possibilities of their profession, should bear testimony against those who deeply discredit it. Offenses against taste and morals, which are bad enough in a private citizen, are infinitely worse if made into instruments for debauching the community through a newspaper. Mendacity, slander, sensationalism, inanity, vapid triviality, all are potent factors for the debauchery of the public mind and conscience. The excuse advanced for vicious writing, that the public demands it and that demand must be supplied, can no more be admitted than if it were advanced by purveyors of food who sell poisonous adulterations . . .
I prefer the formulation, "Big Journalism" - or the even more specific (and IMHO perfectly accurate) appellation, "Associated Press journalism" to "The Mainstream Media." After all, "media" is a plural noun, and Big Journalism is singular - if you've seen one of them, you've seen them all. Big Journalism calls itself "the press" as though there were no other, but books which aren't written to journalistic deadlines are certainly printed, and are certainly included in the First Amendment reference to "the press."Article 1 Section 9 of the Constitution includes the stricture that
No title of nobility shall be granted by the United StatesTherefore "the freedom of . . . the press" cannot refer to an oligarchy of printers.Article 1 Section 8 explicitly provides the authority
To promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveriesSo the First Amendment should be understood to guarantee the right of the people to spend money and apply technology to their efforts to promote their opinions.
A common defense of error today is to say, with due indignation, "I have a right to my opinion!" Legally this is true, given that our First Amendment is extant. But as G.K. Chesterton once said, "Having the right to do something is not at all the same as being right in doing it." There is no moral right to an immoral opinion -- nor to one bred of emotionalism unconstrained by reason -- nor to a deceitful one.
The trouble is that journalists and Democratic politicians arrogate to themselves the right to enforce their own brand of sophistry.sophist1542, earlier sophister (c.1380), from L. sophista, sophistes, from Gk. sophistes, from sophizesthai "to become wise or learned," from sophos "wise, clever," of unknown origin. Gk. sophistes came to mean "one who gives intellectual instruction for pay," and, contrasted with "philosopher," it became a term of contempt. Ancient sophists were famous for their clever, specious arguments.philosopherAmerican conservatives are, in the etymological sense, "philosophers," and their opponents are, in the etymological sense, "sophists." For if you think about it, to get away with sophistry you need some sort of power advantage over your opponent in order to enforce your presumption. And in the passive acceptance of journalism's cynical perspective, "liberals" have precisely the requisite sort of advantage.O.E. philosophe, from L. philosophus, from Gk. philosophos "philosopher," lit. "lover of wisdom," from philos "loving" + sophos "wise, a sage.""Pythagoras was the first who called himself philosophos, instead of sophos, 'wise man,' since this latter term was suggestive of immodesty." [Klein]
Modern form with -r appears c.1325, from an Anglo-Fr. or O.Fr. variant of philosophe, with an agent-noun ending. . . .
theinsivisb1ehand: "the media is the state."
Innuendo. You forgot "innuendo."
And even liberal Don Henley bothered to sing about it 20 years ago.
I have nothing but contempt for ‘journalism’ as it is now practiced by mainstream news organizations, particularly in this country. The article does a pretty good job of demonstrating why.
news media: intellectual pornography.