Cartoon by K. Bendib, all rights reserved

The key problem today is that the bulk of Americans get their news from the television, not to mention the many who get their news from corporate (establishment) owned and controlled AM radio stations. As we know television news has now become what I like to call “News Entertainment”. They are the Professional Wrestling of the World of Journalism.

Prior to the 1st Gulf War, television news was not a big money maker for the networks. As a matter of fact many TV news programs ran at a loss. CNN took the stage during the 1st Gulf war and proved that big news can be big money.

Ever since CNN made this discovery the other TV news organizations focused on ratings. Now ask yourself what gets the best ratings? Remember to take into account that we live in a country that has made the Jerry Springer Show its highest rated program, which also explains how the Republicans mustered up enough votes among the American populous to “Select” George W. Bush as its leader (well, enough votes to take it to court). This basically proves that the intellectual capacity of the average American TV viewer should be of concern to anyone who cares about our future as a nation. Now let’s continue; what gets ratings in a Jerry Springer/George W. Bush loving nation? Science, philosophy? Not quite. Scandal and sensation get ratings. That is very obvious. A President getting a little extra sex is more fascinating than a President a hiring convicted felon to be in charge of the private information of American citizens. Of course, what else should we expect from Jerry Springer watchers?

Perhaps the most disturbing and worrisome trend is the surge of ignorant viewers who now rely on the most prolific purveyors of propaganda; the Fox News Network. Their Jerry Springer approach to the Iraq invasion has helped to boost their viewer ship and their bias PR work for the Bush administration has made them the darling of the White House. Is it any wonder that the reading levels of our students drop every year? Is in any wonder that the average college graduate of today has the same level of education as the average high school graduate of the 1950s? Whatever happened to natural selection?

Is there anything else going on in the world? Is it simply cheaper to cover one story, or are they hiding the other stories? CNN has shaped this nation into a “One Topic” nation. Gulf War 1, OJ Simpson, Monica Lewinski, Impeachment, 2000 Elections, Gary Condit, 9/11, Afghanistan, Anthrax, the Sniper and now Iraq. One topic at a time, rarely overlapping, completely dominating the news while all other stories go unreported. Is this just due to the fact the News Entertainment World is not financially able to cover more than one story, or are they deliberately keeping other stories away from the public?

They also scare us into ratings. “News Updates” have been replaced by “News Alerts” and “Breaking News”. What is that all about? News alert? Does this mean there is some special event that we are being alerted of? No, it means the networks are trying to sound like what they are telling you is important. I am sorry, crap, is almost never important.