Unexpected vacation; media abdication

Check out a satirical comic about Maher Arar's extraordinary rendition by Tom Tomorrow today on Salon.

I was in the states listening to National Public Radio when the Canadian government apologized to Arar for their role in his kidnapping and torture. Anne Garrels read a brief story about the case, saying that he had been deported to Syria "where he was allegedly interrogated." I had a moment of radio rage. Allegedly interrogated? Is that all it was? See, I was under the impression that the "allegations" were of torture. I didn't think there was even any question that he had been interrogated.

But you see, that's the state of journalism today. Even NPR which is supposedly so very liberal, independent and trustworthy has deteriorated to the point where it abuses language to avoid reporting news that government and corporate masters would rather not be heard. It seems like NPR is reporting news, because it still calls itself news and NPR once did something resembling news, but it has become little more than a pack of politicized corporate cheerleaders.

If you have been listening continuously to NPR for the past ten years or so you might not have noticed the change. With a little bit of distance you notice the ever-lengthening advertisements ("sponsorships") for pharmaceutical companies, defense contractors, and agriculture conglomerates (they started out as five-word blurbs, but then they grew inexorably – in length and frequency). The subtle shift in language when dealing with political matters is harder to quantify, but is definitely there. Evidence of partisan skulduggery at NPR is well documented, but you don't have to be a researcher to notice the effects in the types of commentators now invited to voice their opinions. Where opinions were once balanced and questioned, they now reverberate unanswered, especially when they deal with United States foreign policy and international investment, legal and trade agreements.

Media conglomeration in the US has resulted in less diversity of opinion and less real commentary in the official mainstream press. At the same time, public radio has been dragged down to the point where it provides no meaningful competition to commercial media organs. None dare call it conspiracy, because there is nobody left standing to do so. Instead, corporate cheerleaders with airbrushed makeup and great hair read sanitized newsbytes without context, and bejowled father-figures terrify and scold, providing judgments without bothering to inform. In short, certain interests control the medium and the message, and don't bet they're doing it in your best interests.