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US now ranks 53rd in World Press Freedom Index - a sad time for Democracy




  3. CarolynGillis
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"The only security of all is in a free press. The force of public opinion cannot be resisted when permitted freely to be expressed. The agitation it produces must be submitted to. It is necessary, to keep the waters pure." --Thomas Jefferson to Lafayette, 1823. ME
CarolynGillis

18 responses // US now ranks 53rd in World Press Freedom Index - a sad time for Democracy

  • This is the reason we don't get to have John Edwards as our candidate. Thanks, Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton for destroying Fairness in Broadcasting.
    Marilynn_Murray
  • Yes! Marilynn.
    Senator John Edwards did not have a chance under this system. He was strong and stood up to powerful corporate interests but couldn't get in due to media distortions. I was disappointed that even the more Progressive Huffington Post blocked him out. I lost respect for them and started to wonder why I thought they were a good source of ideas before. They are another brick wall. That is why I love Current.com I feel like it is somewhere I can put my virtual head together with others who share my ideas and argue with my ideas..that is healthy for our civilization.

    Our media makes people who are less educated and more impressionable and trusting choose ideas that are not beneficial for themselves or anyone.

    I know that Obama has accepted contributions from Health Care industries but I hope that he chooses the right way and admire him for his flow of ideas that seem to be somewhat similar to my thoughts. I know most of US politics is a lot of hot air....we have no choice but to see what he does though:

    Plan to Change Washington

    “I am in this race to tell the corporate lobbyists that their days of setting the agenda in Washington are over. I have done more than any other candidate in this race to take on lobbyists — and won. They have not funded my campaign, they will not run my White House, and they will not drown out the voices of the American people when I am president.”

    — Barack Obama, Speech in Des Moines, IA, November 10, 2007
    CarolynGillis
  • This is also the beauty of the internet, where we can actively find the truth. The truth is out there (to borrow the famous line), but we can no longer rely on others to find it for us.
    jkateel
  • jkateel
    The danger now lies in those who do not seek the truth but rely on the most stimulating, repeated pixels and sound bites to put together their own perception of the truth.
    I hope that the older generation and the less inquisitive will find their way before they are destroyed by misinformation. I fear for them.
    I can see their destruction all around me.
    They are passively absorbing corporate hogwash that tells them they need things that are harmful to them.
    My hope is with our upcoming generation who seem to be finding their way much better.
    I have two in college now and I am very proud of them and their friends. My daughter is studying media and laughs at how PR is submitted and dropped in, as is.
    CarolynGillis
  • It's a great society when people know they're being lied to, but still just passively sit and believe what is being put up as the most shocking or easy to stomache.

    People have the freedom to pick up rags everyday and convince themselves that "They couldn't say it if it weren't true!".
    That 'someone' will hold the media accountable, but until that happens- oh well, it's not the peoples' job.
    Meanwhile We're getting punched in the face with financial anomie, but if we keep hearing there's no class war, then there must not be! If we keep hearing that our government is screwed up, but it's funny(satire is one thing, but I believe it should call people to action. Shows like colbert report and south park and others like that are excellent at poking at the atrocities, but leave people laughig, not angry or scared or anything but just still sitting on the couch. Spectator mentality, if you will.) then we just stomache it and tell that nagging voice that it's not our place to act and that the consequences to reactionary tactics are too much.
    I'm way off topic now.
    But I'm with you guys, John Edwards (kucinich too) had no chance at all with the US media.
    ILiveonaClock
  • Stop being unpatriotic. Those who question George W. are evil-doers who clearly have ties to North Korea, Iraq, and the Taliban.

    The US has to take over the world and torture everyone who disagrees with us. It's the only way to protect democracy.
    BurningBush
  • BurningBush, Are you available to be President?
    Marilynn_Murray
  • BurningBush.
    You are very smart.
    CarolynGillis
  • Truly sad, and actually a damning indictment of the American people. We are responsible for this country too. That is why sites like Current are so important now as well as fightng for Internet Freedom, which they are coming after as we type.
    JanforGore
  • Last week on American Idol, one of the contestants sang about 'America, the land of the free...' My wife and I just shook our heads and laughed because nothing could be further from the truth. Since 9/11 America has gradually, subversively become a police state. Sadly no one is doing anything about it, sadder still is most Americans don't even realize whats going on.
    colmor
  • In response to Colmor, the name of American Idol pretty much plays on that one. We can't go about having any British Idols, or Portuguese Idols, or Lithuanian Idols, or Korean Idols. That would be straight up treason. Only American Idols, please.
    Adumbration
  • Yes, it is true that we have to search for the truth ourselves, but we have been called the Apathetic Generation. I think that must change first, not the media. If we start questioning, we'll eventually get answers.

    I'm just glad there are sites like Current, and regular folks creating blogs and doing their own reporting. I've let go of the MSNBCs, the CNNs, and never paid mind to Faux News. I say we leave those 24-hour news channels. Nothing but a bunch of talking heads who care very little about the public's interests... Or this nation's, in fact.
    MornRail
  • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reporters_Without_Borders#Worldwide_press_freedom_index

    The information on Press Freedom is variable of course but here on WIki it tells about a huge drop in our freedoms from 2002 to now...could Fox No News and Rupert Murdoch Profits before humanity.. have anything to do with this change?

    MornRail...I agree about the news but I am finding a little more common sense in MSNBC lately...not pure flow but some better direction with Abrams and Olbermann....I also agree that we can thank our lucky stars for this Current blog..I think my head would explode every morning without this way to vent!!!
    CarolynGillis
  • the problem with the press is that their ****** and their ***** keep ****** the ***********. And when we have ******** for *** then there can be no *********. Worst of all, the *********** and the ************* are both in ********** for the *********** of big money.

    Thank god for Current.
    chet_arthur
  • real

    lucid

    chet

    lol
    Incredulous
  • Unfortunately, mainstream media silences the voices of reason. They have made their money by spinning schoolyard politics. What happened to good old fashioned JOURNALISM? Journalists today are actors, being paid to spin for profit!
    Conniepae
  • great find.....but the thing is, americans are so conditioned to believing this nonsense, that even when you tell them the truth, americans will still disbelieve it!

    so BS news for BS people.

    remember when the news in america covered the world? hell remember when CNN covered the world?

    ABC used to as well. its all garbage.....go online...and read papers from all over the world and make sure they are not regurgitating the same story. lots of them get their news from news banks....so look for an author and remember his name.
    okinawanmajik
  • Such sad news. Lest we forget, though, that our own consumerism drives much of what controls what we see and hear. If we support corporations that are the backbone of advertising revenues for particular media outlets, then those corporations' interests come heavily into play when said outlets make decisions as to what will and won't be said through their avenues. This is why I'm a strong supporter of internet based media and user-created content such as Current TV. I think we're certainly looking at a new era in information and it's up to us to keep the ideas and facts flowing freely between us all. I sense a revolutionary change coming.
    pascual

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