Follow related website bookmark from Reddit:
The comprehensive guide to "news" outlets.
Started talking about this in a different post... Figured i'd post an informative piece on the subject. First and foremost: **"NEWS OUTLETS EXIST ONLY TO GENERATE PROFIT.** To clarify, here is a complete list of what "news" outlets concerns are: -Money -Viewers or Readers That's it. Notice the omission of the following: -Bias -Accuracy of content Just like anything else in this country, (US) if you get enough eyeballs looking you can slap an ad on it and make money. And "news" outlets will use pretty much any tactic to get more eyeballs looking it's way and not towards the competition. More eyes = more money to charge for ads. These tactics include, but are not limited to: **1) Spinning certain stories in a way to draw more attention than what is warranted.** **Example:** *Dominique Strauss-Kahn*. Americans would rather read, listen, or watch a story about an elevated, powerful, rich foreigner having his stature ripped away by a low income housekeeper, a position the average american sympathies with. Right off the bat, people are going to take the side of the housekeeper because they relate to it. Most Americans can not relate to being rich and powerful. Moreover, most Americans resent the fact he has more money and power than they do. Simple psychology. All you have to do is spin the story the right way and you have yourself a genuine "Evil rich white man rapes immigrant housekeeper" story. Which leads to the next tactic... **2) Wordplay** **Example:** Strauss-Kahn was *actually* charged with "attempted sexual assault." Which literally translates into "he may have tried a sexual encounter, but it didn't actually happen." This is not the same as the charge of "rape." Which, in case you didn't know, translates into "a forced sexual encounter with penetration." Ergo; "Attempted Sexual Assault" is **not** the same as "Rape." Almost instantly, the "news" outlets were calling his trial a "rape trial" or saying that he was "arrested on charges of rape." The word rape was thrown around more my anchors than a major league pitcher throws a baseball. The borderline-ignorant *average* American notices the ol' Texas switch just pulled, and automatically assumes this rich white foreign man did work on the housekeeper. **3) Consistency** Ever notice how there is usually only *one* story that dominates the prime news-cycle and every other "news" outlet is running a similar story? The reason for this is to A) Make sure you hear the story they want you to hear, the way they want you to hear it, as many times as possible. And B) So that you don't go to other sources to seek out alternative stories. Which means they lose viewers, and by association, money. Example: Ever been driving and listening to the radio when the adverts start to play? If you're like me, you attempt to find an alternate station. But 5 out of your 6 presets are also playing adverts. Think this is a silly coincidence? **It isnt.** In most areas, multiple radio stations are owned and operated by the same company. In my area, a nation-wide company named Citadel Broadcasting owns and operates a couple of television stations and four out of six of the top six listened-to radio stations. The reason their radio stations run ads at the same time is the same reason "news" outlets run the same stories... The corporations paying for the adverts want to make damn sure that viewers/listeners don't switch to another station to get off without listening to what they pay for in search of new content. And the "news" outlets don't want you switching to their competition in search of new content. This en-mass slanting of stories occurs on a scale and with a frequency that would make the Third Reich take notes under the preface of "how to run a successful propaganda campaign." Recall a couple months back when Casey Anthony was acquitted of murdering her child. Do you remember all of the rage and anguish that came from the public after the verdict? All of the rage posts here on Reddit? All of the upset status updates on facebook? All of the "news" outlets showing only interviews of enraged random people on the street? Hell, she was even voted #2 "Most Hated Person In America." Now, Q: **How many of those people do you suppose were at Casey Anthony's trial? Or even studied the evidence of both the defense and prosecution and came to an objective conclusion?** A: Probably none. The only "evidence" the American public got was sitting on their couch from Nancy Grace during her show "The mom-killed-missing-white-girl hour with angry haircut" and other various "news" programs. This goes to show the amount of trust the population of the US has in it's justice system. If that isn't proof enough of corruption on an apocalyptic scale by the American media, I don't know what is. **TL;DR** It's time to start realizing the content that is pumped out to the masses by hundreds of different outlets can be traced back to a hand full of massive corporations who's only goal in life is to make money by selling ad space for marketers who want to sell you shit you probably don't even need anyways. And that this content should not be labeled "news," but what it actually is... "Skewed." **Bonus Fact:**Radio stations are 100% advertising. The music played are singles licensed to them by record labels to play for free in hopes the audience goes and buys the album. The contests and giveaways are sponsored by whomever provided the "prize" to advertise their new album/event/concert etc... And then of course there are good-ol'-fashioned vanilla advertisements. **Bonus Fact 2:** Google profited enough money in five months by selling advertisements to outright buy Motorola. *Ads are a powerful thing my friend.* more