Sydney Fireworks, New Year
by Rob Chandler is licensed under CCA-BY-2.0 Generic
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:OperaSydney-Fuegos2006-342289398.jpg
"The propagandist's first requirement is to be heard," said Jacques Ellul in 1962.
Regardless of whether or not you've heard of Ellul, this observation ought to be self-evident to anyone who thinks for more than a moment about the matter.
Why then do so many media megaphones irresistibly remain servants of someone they also regularly describe as an outrageous liar? Why magnify manufactured outrage?
When facing any other serious threat, it would be a no-brainer to first remove the threat. And, to be fair, some media are making headway in countering propaganda, mainly by bringing us other wanted news.
By searching out the lucid opponents any propagandist has, perhaps more yet will elaborate better and new visions for the future–without mention of the propagandist or his outrageous fantasies.
A wonderful quality of propaganda is how quickly it decays, when denied opportunity for a "refresh."
So much "news" is still slave to the gossip formula, named by media analysts for years, of reacting to Disaster, Celebrity, Crime, Sex, and Violence. This is sad commentary on the lack of imagination of some media and media educators when thinking of their audiences.
After too many years of countless variants of this kind of verbal and nonverbal abuse, for sure, our household will not be alone in continuing to search out the better media options.
Happy New Year!
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