Corporate
Ownership, Entangling Alliances Are Killing Truth In
Broadcasting
Media Deception: You Are Not
Getting The Truth The Corporate Media And Network News Is
Controlled And Works Against Us Truth Must Spread By
Word of Mouth, By We The People, Or Else It's Never Told NewsFocus Op/Ed, by Tim Watts - 080611
Let me begin by stating that all in the world is not
as you have been told. The old saying that "truth is stranger than fiction"
couldn't be more accurate, for we have been deceived on such a grand scale that
most would have a difficult time in comprehending the full extent.
The behind the scenes machinations of big money and
politics are so well hidden from most of the population, that if people actually
knew how things were really run, we would quite literally have a second
revolution overnight. Henry Ford knew this well when he said,
"It is well
enough that people of the nation do not understand our banking and monetary
system, for if they did, I believe there would be a revolution before tomorrow
morning."
Most people who read this might have a hard time
fathoming how an entire nation could be so well deceived, but it's really not
that hard when you understand the inner workings and hierarchy of an overly
revered media in which we place our blind trust.
The truth is not as you know it. Our faith in
the media myth has been our Achilles heel.
Many have realized long ago that our politicians
will lie to us at the drop of a hat, but most have no clue that our news media
lies and deceives us just as much, if not more so.
We have been deceived by our media to such an
extent, mostly because people are too trusting of our news system. They very
naively believe that broadcasters and journalists would never lie to us. This
trust has worked against us with devastating consequences which are unknown to
most.
To understand how badly you have been misled, you
first need to learn about how our news organizations have been infiltrated. Once
you learn this undeniable historical fact, it is far easier to understand that
life is not as you know it.
The First Attack On The Media, Through Money
If you've never seen the 1976 movie "Network" you've
missed one of the best Oscar nominated films on the power of the media over
people. The media is supposed to be the watchdog over the American republic and
our democracy, but few know or realize that it was usurped nearly 100 years ago and
has been completely stolen from
us in the last thirty years since the advent of Reagan deregulation.
Don't believe it? Put down the TV remote and do some
research on your own for once, instead of being spoon-fed your news, or
disinformation, as it truly is.
Consider this quote from
John
Swinton, former managing editor, The New York Times (and
New York Sun)...
"There
is no such thing, at this date of the world's history, in America, as an
independent press. You know it and I know it. There is not one of you
who dares to write your honest opinions, and if you did, you know
beforehand that it would never appear in print. I am paid weekly for
keeping my honest opinion out of the paper I am connected with. Others
of you are paid similar salaries for similar things, and any of you who
would be so foolish as to write honest opinions would be out on the
streets looking for another job. If I allowed my honest opinions to
appear in one issue of my paper, before twenty-four hours my occupation
would be gone. The business of the journalists is to destroy the truth;
to lie outright; to pervert; to vilify; to fawn at the feet of mammon,
and to sell his country and his race for his daily bread. You know it
and I know it and what folly is this toasting an independent press? We
are the tools and vassals of rich men behind the scenes. We are the
jumping jacks, they pull the strings and we dance. Our talents, our
possibilities and our lives are all the property of other men. We are
intellectual prostitutes." -John
Swinton
In 1917, Congressman Oscar Callaway documented in
the official Congressional record that multi-millionaire JP Morgan had infiltrated
the U.S. media for the sole purpose of exploiting and controlling it.
Morgan hired twelve of
the top news managers to help him determine the most influential
newspapers in America. The idea was to find the primary key news
institutions that other news outlets looked to and were thus
influenced by. (This is documented in the official U.S. Record,
volume 54, dated February 9, 1917.)
Once the
editors arrived at a consensus, Morgan then bought or
infiltrated the top 25 news organizations reported to him by his
task force of news managers. An editor was assigned to run each
paper, making sure that all news stories were controlled and
that the watchdog for freedom was officially neutered.
This was a key
step towards total information and
news control in the United States, giving birth to
censorship, disinformation and propaganda. The guardian of our
forefather's dream of Constitutional freedom had been deeply
wounded.
The Second
Attack On The Media, Through Covert Intel
As if that
wasn't bad enough, the CIA made its own foray into news control
in the 1940s with a program to infiltrate the media, with the idea to
have select journalists parrot the official government line under the guise
of national patriotism. Some news members were simply duped,
naively thinking that they were helping America by disseminating
important news. Others were simply
unscrupulous and morally deficient in their professional trade
and were easily enough bought out, spewing whatever
disinformation and propaganda that they could cash in on.
This project was known as "Operation
Mockingbird," the name alone was suggestive of the mission's
objective, total control of the U.S. media system. Many might
naively scoff at such an idea, until perhaps they hear it
straight from the horse's mouth.
According to
former CIA Director William Colby, "The CIA owns everyone of
any significance in the major media."
If
that quote alone isn’t enough to raise a “Spock eyebrow” for
some, then please consider this gem from another former CIA
Director, William Casey, “We'll know our disinformation
program is complete when everything the American public believes
is false.”
One thing the CIA understands well is that
information is as good as gold, and he who controls information
can use that data for political gain, power and wealth.
Through the
years Operation Mockingbird lured such venerable
broadcast icons as Walter Lippmann, Edward R. Murrow, and Walter
Cronkite, to name but just a few elite out of hundreds of
broadcasters and noted journalists involved in the program.
According to released
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)
documents, a great many of our hallowed media outlets were
alleged to be involved with the Mockingbird project, including
over 400 journalists who were used for numerous assignments, not
to mention many
publishing institutions which were also rumored to be involved
Washington Post reporter
Carl Bernstein was reportedly once told,
"One journalist is worth twenty agents."
The CIA policy is to use and manipulate these
“assets” in order to plant disinformation in the U.S., the same
way they have done for years overseas through their Office of
Strategic Influence. The problem is, it is apparently
sanctioned by Congress for them to do so abroad, but
expressly illegal to do so domestically.
Over the years, it became
increasingly apparent to many observers of the CIA's effort to
control the media through Operation Mockingbird. The biggest blow
to the project came in 1974 when
two ex-CIA agents,
John D. Marks and
Victor Marchetti published a
book entitled "The CIA and the Cult of Intelligence"
(ISBN
0440203368). The book opened the door for many
questions following the tell-all expose on
Project Mockingbird. Public scrutiny of the CIA hit a new
high and drew a concerned response from many in the U.S., including quite a few
people on Capitol Hill.
As word leaked out
concerning the Mockingbird program and concern began to spread
over the possible
infiltration of the CIA into the U.S. media, the Senate began an
investigation under the Church Committee, the United States
Senate Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with
Respect to Intelligence Activities.
The
Church Committee in 1975 revealed Operation
Mockingbird.
Senator Frank
Church (D-ID) testified that the overall expense of disinformation had
cost American taxpayers an estimated $265 million a year. That
number has grown exponentially since the 70s.
The Church Report found that “over a
thousand books were produced, subsidized or sponsored by the CIA
before the end of 1967”.
For all that was uncovered,
the commission was stopped in its tracks by none other than CIA
Directors William Colby (73-76) and George HW Bush (76-77). The
report from Frank Church's committee was said to have been
deliberately buried.
Despite its exposure,
Mockingbird apparently did not die.
FOIA documents were eventually uncovered that
showed CIA agents openly bragging through interoffice memos that
the agency still had in place "important assets" within
every major news organization in the U.S. In 1982, the CIA
admitted to having reporters on their payroll.
The American
media facilitates the agenda of Operation Mockingbird by simply
avoiding stories altogether that are meant to be kept from the
public, or else by mixing some truth with blatant
misinformation, to purposefully muddy the water and obfuscate
the real facts behind the story.
Make no mistake about it, Operation Mockingbird, or a derivation
of it, is still alive
and operating as our media continues to mislead the public
on everything and anything that those pulling the strings wish
their paid media puppets to sell to us. Whether it be the numerous
unreported incongruities of 9/11, the illegal wars in
Afghanistan and Iraq, the orchestrated economic collapse, or the
diversion of the gulf oil spill, the media has not told us
anything close to the truth.
As the X-Files was famous for
pointing out, “The truth is out there.” All we need to do
is look.
The Third Attack On The
Media, Once Again Through Money
The new form of media control became simply
enough, buy into it, or just buy it out. Government
deregulation in the 1980s made it possible for the conversion of our
media into the complicit, homogenized, neutered, spineless industry that
it is today. Once deregulation was enacted, the watchdog
of democracy, our hallowed and formerly esteemed press, became easy
pickings in a hostile takeover for control.
The current media of the
United States is controlled by a mere half dozen owners and CEOs. Those six
individuals have total control over what you see and how your news and
information in the world is shaped and presented to you. See for
yourself in the following table.
U.S.
MEDIA OWNERSHIP
GE / Comcast – NBC
Jeffrey Immelt / Brian Roberts
CBS Corporation - CBS
Les Moonves
NewsCorp – FOX
Rupert Murdoch
Disney – ABC
Robert Iger
Time Warner-CNN
Jeffrey Bewkes
Viacom – UPN
Philippe Dauman
Each of these corporate giants have other
vast numerous media holdings, through cable, radio,
internet, magazines and newspapers. These six corporations
alone account for the major bulk of our entire media.
"The gathering of more and more outlets under
one owner clearly can be an impediment to a free and independent press."
Former CBS News anchorman
Walter Cronkite
With six people
in charge of our current media, it is now all too easy to
propagandize and manipulate the people through the press. Until people
give up their longstanding, naivefaith
in our controlled corporate news media, they will never find their way out of
disillusionment, nor ever know the real truth.
THE EIGHT YEAR TAKEOVER OF THE US
MEDIA
All it took to seize total US media
control was money and 8 years time.
From 50 large media companies, we shrunk to just 6 in eight years.
(The Viacom and CBS split
gives us six corporations since this printing.) Graph courtesy of
the Corporate Accountability Projectwww.corporations.org/media
With the media
unified now under a consolidated corporate ownership, literally in
lock-step with each other, it’s much easier to propagandize with
disinformation, such as the infamous 9/11 link to Iraq, or
non-existent weapons of mass destruction to encourage our entry
into an oil war.
To quote the fictitious
character Howard Beal from the 1976 movie Network… “We’ll tell
you any shit you want to hear.”
“The only truth you know is what you get over this tube. Right
now, there is a whole... an entire generation, that never knew
anything that didn't come out of this tube. This tube is the
gospel, the ultimate revelation. This tube can make or break
presidents, popes, prime ministers; this tube is the most
awesome goddam force in the whole godless world, and woe is us
if it ever falls into the hands of the wrong people."
"And when
the 12th largest company in
the world
controls the most awesome goddam propaganda force in the whole
godless world who knows what shit we'll be pedaling for truth on
this network. So you listen to me, listen to me...television is
not the truth. Television is a goddamned amusement park.
Television is a circus, a carnival, a traveling troupe of
acrobats, storytellers, dancers, singers, jugglers, sideshow
freaks, lion tamers, and football players. We're in the boredom
killing business. So if you want the truth, go to God. Go to
your gurus. Go to yourselves. But man, you're never going to get
any truth from us. We'll tell you anything you want to hear.
We'll lie like hell."
"We’ll tell you any shit you want to hear. We deal in illusions
man. None of it is true. But you people sit there day after day,
night after night, all ages, colors, creeds, we're all you know.
You're beginning to believe the illusions we're spinning here.
You're beginning to believe your own lives are unreal. You do
whatever the tube tells you. You dress like the tube. You eat
like the tube. You raise your children like the tube. You even
think like the tube. This is mass madness, you maniacs. In God's
name, you people are the real thing, we are the illusion. So
turn off your television set. Turn them off now. Turn them off
right now. Turn them off and leave them off. Turn them off right
in the middle of the sentence that I'm speaking to you now. Turn
them off!”
Wise words indeed.
The Proof Is Available, But You Have To Look
If you don't believe you've been lied to by our
politicians and the media, do a search for the following... Jekyll Island and
the Federal Reserve System... Smedley D. Butler
and the attempted fascist coup on FDR and the U.S. by ultra-wealthy Americans...
look at any of our wars, including the false Gulf of Tonkin incident that led us
into Viet Nam... the ridiculous "magic bullet" theory and the assassination of
JFK... or more recently, the false Iraq tie to the 9/11 attacks, or the
blatantly false weapons of mass destruction.
While you're at it, look into the 9/11 event and
read about WTC building 7, or the military grade thermate that was found in the
residual dust from the buildings. Look into the 9/11 Commission sworn testimony
of Norman Mineta who was in the White House bunker with Dick Cheney on 9/11 and
testified that Cheney tracked the incoming Pentagon attack from over 80 miles
out, yet did not have the attacking craft shot down. Research the U.S. anthrax
attacks and learn how fast that story went away once they discovered the anthrax
was military grade and was tracked to Ft. Detrick. Take a look into the 7/7
attacks in Britain.
These are but just a few of the many things
provable that you have been lied to about by our elected politicians and our
complicit and corrupt media system.
As a media member for a quarter century, first as a broadcaster,
then as a Program Director, and finally a consultant, I learned firsthand how
easy it is to manipulate our media, for it runs like most organizations, in a
hierarchy that ends with the wealthy ownership. Those who would errantly claim
our media is not controlled are tragically mistaken or ignorant fools. This
isn't to say that we do not have good journalists and broadcasters, but if you
want to keep your cushy media job, you do as you are told.
In print, your stories are scrutinized by an editor before
publishing. If you are a radio broadcaster you are subject to direction from the
Program Director, consultant or station manager. If you are a talking head in TV
news, your stories are scripted and fed via teleprompter, all of which is once
again subject to editing to meet company policy. Don't be fooled about the
obvious. Our media is very much controlled and deceives you on a daily basis.
Like it or not, that is a fact.
In broadcast school and journalism we were taught two basic
fundamentals:
1) Seek out and follow the truth, because it is the story.
2) Do not become involved in entangling alliances that prevent
you from adhering to rule number one.
That's pretty simple.
Today, many of our major network news anchors willfully break
this code.
This is just a cursory glance at the CFR roster. There are indeed
more media members,
not to mention other noted dignitaries,
including politicians, district judges, and even a Supreme Court judge, Ruth
Bader Ginsburg!
And here's blatant proof positive that even the local media reads
from the same "script."
Conan O'Brien has proof of
media control at the local level:
Video 1 |
Video 2
By now, I certainly hope
you get the point about the CFR fraternity of influence, most especially in our
controlled corporate media.
Truth in broadcasting and journalism is indeed an elusive thing
in today's much over-heralded technological media empire. Don't trust the
media messenger.
Not all stories are fabricated or hidden, but when it comes to
matters that affect the "powers that be" you can bet the message is hidden,
manufactured, or steered in such a way as to benefit them, while keeping you in
the dark. They clearly have the media ownership on their side, as well as the
personnel connections to accomplish this.
Hopefully by now you have a much clearer idea of how our media works against us in
not
telling us the whole truth, or by spinning disinformation, deferring instead to the
corporate culture, a corrupt government and the mega-wealthy billionaires who
bankroll an abhorrent political system.
Your Part--Speaking Up
Now that you are aware of the mechanism that is in place to
deceive you, what are you going to do about it? The gist of this piece is
not just to inform you, but to pose this question to you.
The one thing that I hear the most is, "Well if things
are this bad, what can I possibly do about it?"
In a nutshell, TALK! Speak up! Don't be silent. Have the courage
to spread the truth.
America and the world need heroes in this disinformation and
propaganda war for your mind. Be someone who can make a difference.
Start a
website, create a blog, develop an email distribution list, post flyers, get
active in local community access TV, call in to talk radio shows, write
editorials to newspapers, call your local media and call them out on stories
they're missing, or those that they have entirely wrong. Write your elected
representatives, or better yet, run for office yourself. Create a podcast, make
YouTube videos, start a local discussion group with scheduled public meetings.
There are things that you can do to affect change. You
just have to make the effort.
Never be afraid to fight for what is right, but be afraid if you
lose, or don't even try.
The point is, don't just take this bullshit sitting down any
longer. Do something!
We outnumber the "powers that be" a million to one! They
know it more than you do. If everyone had the courage to make a stand, the rats
would jump ship and start turning on each other faster than you know. Self
preservation is an inherent condition born to all of us, but you have to enact
yours first in order to curtail theirs.
For "we the people," our best weapons are courage and the
truth. Use them both wisely together and they are mightier than the sword.
Information and knowledge are two of the biggest assets you can
have. Truth is one of the greatest powers in the universe, that is why there is
such a concerted effort to shape it and control it. If they cannot do that, then
they hide it.
In the marketing world there is an old adage that is held as
gospel... "Perception is reality." That is so true in the mental sense,
because if you truly believe something to be true, then that is your reality.
Those that fight to control the news and information flow know this all too well
and use this tactic to their advantage.
Again, if you know the real truth, be a true patriot... be a hero
and speak up. Make a difference each and every day.
Talk to anyone who will listen. Educate your fellow man. Talk,
talk, talk, talk, talk, talk, and more talk. Speak out!
Get rid of the corporate media in your life and start seeking alternative news
sources that are not tied to the mega-billionaires who control this corrupt system
of ours. A
good site for finding alternative news sites is
The American
Truth Network. You will find many good links there to start your journey
with.
Talk to your friends, your neighbors, your co-workers, anyone who
will listen. Just don't be silent. It is up to you, all of us, to educate those
around us. If the media isn't going to tell us the truth, then it's up to each
and every one of us to do their job for them.
Don't keep what you know to yourself. That is the worst thing
that you can do.
The one thing that the "powers that be" fear the most
is an
informed and educated society. If people are wise to what is truly going on, it
is much harder for the corrupt leading this world to pull off their secret deals
and nefarious plots against humanity for their own selfish interests.
Secondly, give up on the left-right political trap that enslaves
us in this finger-pointing cycle of lies and deception. The easiest way to
conquer any open society is to divide it. That is exactly what has happened with
our pathetic two-party system of Democrats and Republicans. This is a political
system of design that pulls our nation apart. Truth is not left or right,
Democrat or Republican. The truth only comes in one flavor.
I once met a very nice guy from Yugoslavia named Paulie, who told
me the following,
"You Americans are so stupid, so very naive. You believe what
you hear on the radio and what you see on TV. You are just a baby country of
only two hundred-plus years. We have been around for centuries. We have been
lied to so many times that we no longer trust our politicians and our media. We
know better. When we hear things from our politicians, from our media, that is
when we go to our backyard fences and we discuss with our neighbors. We put our
heads together and we figure out the real story. You Americans are far too
trusting. It is your own fault."
Like it or not, the man is absolutely correct. Just because we
see it on "the TV" we believe it to be gospel. Nothing could be more dangerous
to an open society.
We as a people need to realize that we have been deceived for
many years. We need to learn to put the pieces of the puzzle together to see the
complete picture, without the TV pundits and crooked politicians telling us what to believe or how to
perceive the issues.
God gave you a brain of your own. Try using it
for once, without a left-right political bias.
The next time you think to yourself, "But what can I do? I'm
just one person," remember that the truth travels best by word of mouth.
Don't be silent, because then you ensure that nothing will ever change.
If you are quiet about what you know, then you are helping those
who are working to deceive us all.
Speak out now, while you still can. Whatever you do, don't be
silent!
The real truth is what the "powers that be" fear the most. Otherwise they
wouldn't have invested so much effort in keeping it from you.
It is up to all of us to be disciples for disseminating the
truth.
As the old saying goes, truth spreads like wildfire, so start
burning some ears and just maybe we will finally get the "change" that we were
falsely promised and so desperately need in this world.
It may sound trite, but without the truth, all we have left is a
big lie.
~
Whenever the people
are well informed, they can be trusted with their own government.-Thomas
Jefferson
The Council On Foreign Relations
The CFR Public Relations Piece
The gullible, unknowing are sucked into this organization to be
used by the CFR kingpins at the top.
The man who reads
nothing at all is better educated than the man who reads nothing but newspapers.
-Thomas Jefferson
See also:
The Vaunted Protector of Our Democracy Is Long Gone Few Know of The Concerted Plan To Infiltrate The Media In This Country
NewsFocus, By Tim Watts 031209
What Most Don’t Know About Media In The United States The Takeover And Control of News And Information
in America
In the beginning we had the Gutenberg printing
press. Books and newspapers were the information king, but
printed material was often voluminous and disbursement was slow.
The dawning of the technical age of media
allowed the spread of information at a much faster pace than
ever before in the history of mankind. With the advent of the
electronic age came the telegraph and then the telephone, with
radio, television, cable, and satellite to follow. The flow of
news and information could now travel instantly around the
globe, allowing thoughts and ideas to be shared with lightning
speed. The information age was born.
Just as this new age could become a boon to
mankind, allowing the propagation of knowledge to enlighten
humanity, it could also become a dangerous shackle by
disillusioning man with disinformation and propaganda. The
dissemination of media was only as good as those that created
and delivered it.
The electronic age brought about an era of
ingenuity unlike any ever seen before in the history of mankind.
Technology moved along at a breakneck pace due to the rapid flow
of information. The invention of the computer would be the
topper of them all, giving us the electronic storage and instant
retrieval of data, while allowing it to be quickly sorted and
analyzed in ways never before imagined.
As a result of the computer, a new medium
would soon be born that would involve three of the preceding
electronic technologies; the invention of the internet would
employ telephone, cable and satellite to forge a new medium that
offered broadband delivery capabilities for disseminating all
media, newspapers, radio and television, from one source.
Recognizing the vast potential of electronic
media brought about government intervention for registration as
well as regulation. Commercial patents would need to be issued,
along with guidelines for business use and the establishment of
competitive markets.
A History of Broadcast Regulation
The first act to regulate the licensing of
radio was the Radio Act of 1912 which formally assigned three
and four letter designations to radio stations. It also demanded
all amateur radio operators (HAM) to be licensed and prevented
them from transmitting over federally assigned commercial and
military wavelengths. Regulation of the act was assigned to The
United States Department of Commerce and Labor. They were given
authority to impose fines and to revoke the licenses of any
radio operator caught violating the new act.
A CIA operative allegedly
told Washington Post editor Philip Graham ... in a conversation about the
willingness of journalists to peddle CIA propaganda and cover stories: "You
could get a journalist cheaper than a good call
girl, for a couple hundred dollars a month.
The Church Committee found that the CIA submitted stories to
the American press:
About The Author:
Tim Watts is a veteran San Francisco
broadcaster with 25 years experience in the industry as
an on-air talent, Program Director, and consultant. He
is the creator and sole author of the websites
NewsFocus.org, and
TheAmericanTruthNetwork.com. He has been
writing about U.S. corruption over the last decade, while also investigating 9/11 from the moment that the first tower
fell. He has documented his 9/11 research on a website
called
A September Coup.