Hacker News Reader

Comment by iJohnDoe | Hacker News Reader

I would say that everyone knows this, but that simply isn’t the case. The vast majority don’t know that mainstream media are just mouth pieces for whatever message that needs to be distributed. More often it’s what message shouldn’t be distributed.

Aren’t the major media and news outlets owned by only handful of people? They won’t dare risk pissing off the government.

View on HN

If you're a newspaper baron running propaganda pieces hyping the CIA's moral righteousness in executing the leaders of yet another elected democracy, you're not exactly going to have doubts about their ability to kill you and everyone you love to the sound of media trumpets.

The more concentrated media is, the fewer families TPTB need to threaten with violence for not keeping the newspapers on message. It's really very convenient.

That's an oversimplification on two points: one, media barons do not need to be threatened to be made supporters of a policy regime that largely benefits them. Secondly, not only the owners need to go along with it, there has to be a cultural thing about agreeing with the line.

Rupert Murdoch fires journalists who step out of line within hours. Doesn't take long for the new editorial culture to emerge within businesses he's acquired.

Looking at you, Vice.

Most major media news organizations in the US are owned by large public corporations, so ultimately their shareholders. For example CNN is owned by AT&T and MSNBC is owned by Comcast.

If people know this but aren't outraged (or something similar), it makes me wonder what the word "know" really means in a practical sense.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com