General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Gotta love Amy Goodman and Democracy Now! ....... [View all]RufusTFirefly
(8,812 posts)I don't watch any TV (not even Rachel) and for the most part all I'm deprived of is celebrity gossip and non-stories that the corporate media convert into something that they flog for days. (The "Dean Scream" is the gold standard for such manipulation.)
Unfortunately, corporate media propaganda spreads like a virus, so unless you are completely isolated, it's difficult to escape hearing about "the story that everyone is talking about", even though it is often wrong, irrelevant, or blown completely out of proportion.
The spate of DU threads on the breathless topic du jour is probably an indication that some folks are so deeply immersed in the Through the Looking Glass world of the corporate media that they're no longer even aware of the extent to which they're being manipulated. (As an aside, I consider "great commercial" to be an oxymoron.)
Another pet peeve is something I liken to dueling sports mascots. Some folks get so caught up in the back-and-forth sniping between TV personalities that they mistake this for the actual game. Personally, I don't care whether someone on the lefthand side of the corporate media spectrum (i.e. a centrist) gets off a real zinger about a rival on the righthand side. First of all, the two shows are unlikely to have cross-over audiences, so it's a case of preaching to the converted, and secondly (and more importantly), it's nothing more than a distraction.