G
Gandalf Grey
Guest
Milking The Mayhem and Baiting For More: Inside The Mind Of The Media
By Linda Milazzo
Created Apr 20 2007 - 8:30am
Time now for a commercial sponsored by American Media Whores...
Terrorists... Mass murderers... Tired of feeling isolated? Sick of being
unknown? Not wanting to commit that massacre for fear no one will know? Well
your dreams of martyrdom have finally been answered.
COMMIT YOUR CRIME IN AMERICA, where American Media Whores promise you'll
NEVER be forgotten. They'll broadcast your every move. For weeks. Months.
Even years. Your universal martyrdom will exceed your wildest dreams!
No joke...
Virginia Tech University. Bluffton University. Duke University. Rutgers
University. Columbine High. Visual suffering and televised tears.
Sensational. Salacious. Dramatic. Delights for pernicious predators like
self-serving media whores.
American media are parasites. Tragedy and mayhem are their hosts. They prey
on sorrow, incite fear, and ignite rage. They even start wars. They anoint
'the evil', and savage 'the good.' They swift-boat honor and uplift lies.
They make idols of murderers and glorify their crimes. They cater to
sorrow-seekers and thrill-mongers. They encourage voyeurs. They create
addicts who worship the offender and worship the offense.
Media sequester what they choose and feature what they want. They magnify
what should be ignored and ignore what should be known. Truth is
inconsequential.
Ratings are what rule. And ratings set the rules:
Create "breaking news." Avoid the unappealing, like war, the poor, and the
unattractive. Focus on wealth, beautiful women and handsome men. Stories of
adorable Anglo children are sure to sell. Rehearse phrases like "tragedy of
unimaginable proportions," "overwhelming pain and suffering" and "sadly no
one survived." Pay little mind to the "good stuff."
American media suck blood from stone. And life from death. They are our
principal source of deception. They gave us George W. Bush and "shock and
awe." As Danny Schechter would say, they are "weapons of mass deception,"
http://www.wmdthefilm.com/mambo/index.php [1]. They are not Democracy's
protectors. They are corporate America's spawn.
Look at the bulk of MSNBC's lineup. Hours and hours of "Lock Up:" life
behind prisons' walls. That's prisons with an "s." A nation-wide tour of
America's penitentiaries. The deconstruction of incarceration as a
recognizable way of life. The legitimization of the prison industrial
complex.
Then more hours devoted to deviant crimes and exploring the minds of
criminals. MSNBC isn't a news stop. It's a crime stop.
On April 15th, one day BEFORE the mayhem at Virginia Tech, I wrote an
article titled "Conflated Tragedies: Bluffton U., Duke U. and Iraq, Too,"
(http://www.huffingtonpost.com/linda-milazzo/conflated-tragedies-bluf_b_45911.html
[2]) which considered the massive media coverage of University tragedies
over the minimal coverage of our military at war. It recalled the Bluffton
University bus crash that filled America's airwaves for many a night. And
the three Duke LaCrosse players who spent a full year in the media light.
Now the media barrage centers on the campus of Virginia Tech. Thirty-three
dead. We "know" the victims. And the perpetrator. We recall their faces,
their names, and their lives. They suffered horrific unnecessary deaths,
played out again and again on TV. The media milking the mayhem for all that
it's worth and setting the bait for more.
Virginia Tech, now four days post-massacre, remains inundated by press.
Satellites are everywhere. Victims and their families are paraded before
cameras. Sympathetic characters exploited for profit. A gruesome teleplay
with all the elements of high drama:
An idyllic community shattered by violence. Thirty-three young people
horribly slain. Lives ended and shattered forever.
And the villain. OH, THE VILLAIN!
His frightening poses. His salacious wardrobe and props. His single-spaced
ramble sexed-up to a "manifesto." Recorded direct to the camera, then aired
again and again. The media will keep him living long beyond his death. To
inspire more villains... to create more horrors... to engage more viewers...
to drive ratings UP!
This afternoon, Larry Hincker, Virginia Tech's Associate Vice President of
University Relationships, called a press conference to assuage the press.
Vice-President Hincker offered the following:
"... There's not a whole lot of information left at this point to
disseminate. The questions and answers, we're going over the same points
again and again and again... How I can continue to get your requests for
information and your request for interviews? I don't know what the number is
here. It's something like 300 to 350 journalists. I couldn't do an interview
an hour and get that done in several weeks. From my University's standpoint,
we have got to move forward. As you can imagine, we cannot let this horror
define Virginia Tech. We're gonna do whatever we can to get this place on
its feet again..."
Caught off guard by Hincker's remarks, drama-queen Wolf Blitzer put the onus
on the INTERNATIONAL press, absolving CNN from being over-zealous. Blitzer
said:
"Clearly a very emotional moment for Larry Hincker... This has been an
extraordinary, extraordinary effort on the part of authorities and officials
at Virginia Tech to deal with literally hundreds of journalists who have
descended on that campus. Not only from the United States but from around
the world. I haven't seen that many satellites, television satellite trucks
for example, since I covered the Oklahoma City bombing... It's a huge, huge
story, obviously taking its toll on everyone, including the officials at the
University at Virginia Tech...
Carol Costello is watching all of this for us. I see some of those satellite
trucks behind you right now. Carol, you and I have covered a lot of stories
over the years and the pressure on the campus from the INTERNATIONAL NEWS
MEDIA has been intense..."
The blame isn't with the INTERNATIONAL PRESS! CNN alone has placed Wolf
Blitzer, John King, Anderson Cooper, Carol Costello, Paula Zahn, Elizabeth
Cohn and Soledad O'Brien directly on the Virginia Tech scene. CNN is in no
way absolved from the "blitz."
Nor is it absolved from inciting danger:
This evening, on the heels of Wolf Blitzer's baiting-for-a-copy-cat-show,
Paula Zahn proposed an egregious reckless incendiary slant. She posited that
Korean Americans at Virginia Tech and across the nation should fear
reprisals because the killer was 'one of their own.'
Paula you ignorant slut! How many hooks can you bait? How much carnage do
you want? You and CNN, NBC, MSNBC, Time Warner, Fox and G.E.? Could you be
any more despicable??? I think not.
Time once again for our "milking and baiting" commercial, sponsored by
American Media Whores:
Terrorists... Mass murderers... Tired of feeling isolated? Sick of being
unknown? Not wanting to commit that massacre for fear no one will know? Well
your dreams of martyrdom have finally been answered.
COMMIT YOUR CRIME IN AMERICA, where American Media Whores promise you'll
NEVER be forgotten. They'll broadcast your every move. For weeks. Months.
Even years. Your universal martyrdom will exceed your wildest dreams...
_______
--
NOTICE: This post contains copyrighted material the use of which has not
always been authorized by the copyright owner. I am making such material
available to advance understanding of
political, human rights, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues. I
believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of such copyrighted material as
provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright
Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107
"A little patience and we shall see the reign of witches pass over, their
spells dissolve, and the people recovering their true sight, restore their
government to its true principles. It is true that in the meantime we are
suffering deeply in spirit,
and incurring the horrors of a war and long oppressions of enormous public
debt. But if the game runs sometimes against us at home we must have
patience till luck turns, and then we shall have an opportunity of winning
back the principles we have lost, for this is a game where principles are at
stake."
-Thomas Jefferson
By Linda Milazzo
Created Apr 20 2007 - 8:30am
Time now for a commercial sponsored by American Media Whores...
Terrorists... Mass murderers... Tired of feeling isolated? Sick of being
unknown? Not wanting to commit that massacre for fear no one will know? Well
your dreams of martyrdom have finally been answered.
COMMIT YOUR CRIME IN AMERICA, where American Media Whores promise you'll
NEVER be forgotten. They'll broadcast your every move. For weeks. Months.
Even years. Your universal martyrdom will exceed your wildest dreams!
No joke...
Virginia Tech University. Bluffton University. Duke University. Rutgers
University. Columbine High. Visual suffering and televised tears.
Sensational. Salacious. Dramatic. Delights for pernicious predators like
self-serving media whores.
American media are parasites. Tragedy and mayhem are their hosts. They prey
on sorrow, incite fear, and ignite rage. They even start wars. They anoint
'the evil', and savage 'the good.' They swift-boat honor and uplift lies.
They make idols of murderers and glorify their crimes. They cater to
sorrow-seekers and thrill-mongers. They encourage voyeurs. They create
addicts who worship the offender and worship the offense.
Media sequester what they choose and feature what they want. They magnify
what should be ignored and ignore what should be known. Truth is
inconsequential.
Ratings are what rule. And ratings set the rules:
Create "breaking news." Avoid the unappealing, like war, the poor, and the
unattractive. Focus on wealth, beautiful women and handsome men. Stories of
adorable Anglo children are sure to sell. Rehearse phrases like "tragedy of
unimaginable proportions," "overwhelming pain and suffering" and "sadly no
one survived." Pay little mind to the "good stuff."
American media suck blood from stone. And life from death. They are our
principal source of deception. They gave us George W. Bush and "shock and
awe." As Danny Schechter would say, they are "weapons of mass deception,"
http://www.wmdthefilm.com/mambo/index.php [1]. They are not Democracy's
protectors. They are corporate America's spawn.
Look at the bulk of MSNBC's lineup. Hours and hours of "Lock Up:" life
behind prisons' walls. That's prisons with an "s." A nation-wide tour of
America's penitentiaries. The deconstruction of incarceration as a
recognizable way of life. The legitimization of the prison industrial
complex.
Then more hours devoted to deviant crimes and exploring the minds of
criminals. MSNBC isn't a news stop. It's a crime stop.
On April 15th, one day BEFORE the mayhem at Virginia Tech, I wrote an
article titled "Conflated Tragedies: Bluffton U., Duke U. and Iraq, Too,"
(http://www.huffingtonpost.com/linda-milazzo/conflated-tragedies-bluf_b_45911.html
[2]) which considered the massive media coverage of University tragedies
over the minimal coverage of our military at war. It recalled the Bluffton
University bus crash that filled America's airwaves for many a night. And
the three Duke LaCrosse players who spent a full year in the media light.
Now the media barrage centers on the campus of Virginia Tech. Thirty-three
dead. We "know" the victims. And the perpetrator. We recall their faces,
their names, and their lives. They suffered horrific unnecessary deaths,
played out again and again on TV. The media milking the mayhem for all that
it's worth and setting the bait for more.
Virginia Tech, now four days post-massacre, remains inundated by press.
Satellites are everywhere. Victims and their families are paraded before
cameras. Sympathetic characters exploited for profit. A gruesome teleplay
with all the elements of high drama:
An idyllic community shattered by violence. Thirty-three young people
horribly slain. Lives ended and shattered forever.
And the villain. OH, THE VILLAIN!
His frightening poses. His salacious wardrobe and props. His single-spaced
ramble sexed-up to a "manifesto." Recorded direct to the camera, then aired
again and again. The media will keep him living long beyond his death. To
inspire more villains... to create more horrors... to engage more viewers...
to drive ratings UP!
This afternoon, Larry Hincker, Virginia Tech's Associate Vice President of
University Relationships, called a press conference to assuage the press.
Vice-President Hincker offered the following:
"... There's not a whole lot of information left at this point to
disseminate. The questions and answers, we're going over the same points
again and again and again... How I can continue to get your requests for
information and your request for interviews? I don't know what the number is
here. It's something like 300 to 350 journalists. I couldn't do an interview
an hour and get that done in several weeks. From my University's standpoint,
we have got to move forward. As you can imagine, we cannot let this horror
define Virginia Tech. We're gonna do whatever we can to get this place on
its feet again..."
Caught off guard by Hincker's remarks, drama-queen Wolf Blitzer put the onus
on the INTERNATIONAL press, absolving CNN from being over-zealous. Blitzer
said:
"Clearly a very emotional moment for Larry Hincker... This has been an
extraordinary, extraordinary effort on the part of authorities and officials
at Virginia Tech to deal with literally hundreds of journalists who have
descended on that campus. Not only from the United States but from around
the world. I haven't seen that many satellites, television satellite trucks
for example, since I covered the Oklahoma City bombing... It's a huge, huge
story, obviously taking its toll on everyone, including the officials at the
University at Virginia Tech...
Carol Costello is watching all of this for us. I see some of those satellite
trucks behind you right now. Carol, you and I have covered a lot of stories
over the years and the pressure on the campus from the INTERNATIONAL NEWS
MEDIA has been intense..."
The blame isn't with the INTERNATIONAL PRESS! CNN alone has placed Wolf
Blitzer, John King, Anderson Cooper, Carol Costello, Paula Zahn, Elizabeth
Cohn and Soledad O'Brien directly on the Virginia Tech scene. CNN is in no
way absolved from the "blitz."
Nor is it absolved from inciting danger:
This evening, on the heels of Wolf Blitzer's baiting-for-a-copy-cat-show,
Paula Zahn proposed an egregious reckless incendiary slant. She posited that
Korean Americans at Virginia Tech and across the nation should fear
reprisals because the killer was 'one of their own.'
Paula you ignorant slut! How many hooks can you bait? How much carnage do
you want? You and CNN, NBC, MSNBC, Time Warner, Fox and G.E.? Could you be
any more despicable??? I think not.
Time once again for our "milking and baiting" commercial, sponsored by
American Media Whores:
Terrorists... Mass murderers... Tired of feeling isolated? Sick of being
unknown? Not wanting to commit that massacre for fear no one will know? Well
your dreams of martyrdom have finally been answered.
COMMIT YOUR CRIME IN AMERICA, where American Media Whores promise you'll
NEVER be forgotten. They'll broadcast your every move. For weeks. Months.
Even years. Your universal martyrdom will exceed your wildest dreams...
_______
--
NOTICE: This post contains copyrighted material the use of which has not
always been authorized by the copyright owner. I am making such material
available to advance understanding of
political, human rights, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues. I
believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of such copyrighted material as
provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright
Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107
"A little patience and we shall see the reign of witches pass over, their
spells dissolve, and the people recovering their true sight, restore their
government to its true principles. It is true that in the meantime we are
suffering deeply in spirit,
and incurring the horrors of a war and long oppressions of enormous public
debt. But if the game runs sometimes against us at home we must have
patience till luck turns, and then we shall have an opportunity of winning
back the principles we have lost, for this is a game where principles are at
stake."
-Thomas Jefferson
