The Messenger Is the Message, by Butler Shaffer
QUOTE
As I write these words, we are into the third day of a seemingly endless period of mourning for Tim Russert. While he seemed to be a likable fellow – in a conventional sort of way – and I can sympathize with his family, friends, and colleagues over his loss, there is something telling about the state of journalism in this country in the way his death is being transformed into a national tragedy. Here in Hollywood, the demise of even the most prominent of the prominent stars does not merit the media’s nonstop observance such as we are witnessing not only from Mr. Russert’s network, but from others as well.
This endless electronic eulogy brings to mind the classic observation of Marshall McLuhan: "the medium is the message." A centrally-directed, vertically-structured society requires a uniformity of thought in order to maintain a collective commitment. This requires a continuing indoctrination in the values and purposes of the ruling establishment. Government schools exist for the primary purpose of conditioning young minds in such a viewpoint, a function acknowledged by the Los Angeles County government when it declared that children need to be taught "that we are all part of one big social system" and "must learn to participate effectively in the system." H.L. Mencken was more to the point, as usual, when he wrote that the purpose of schools is:
to manufacture an endless corps of sound Americans. A sound American is simply one who has put out of his mind all doubts and questionings, and who accepts instantly, and as incontrovertible gospel, the whole body of official doctrine of his day, whatever it may be and no matter how often it may change.
It is representative of the sharp division that exists between establishment, mainstream media journalists, and those who have opted for the joy and integrity that accompanies the hard work of digging out truth. The likes of H.L. Mencken and Albert Jay Nock have their modern counterparts in a number of journalists and commentators who insist upon working outside the towers and chambers they are to investigate. Such people would consider it a slur upon a noble profession to be "embedded" with generals and admirals or Daddy Warbucks as sources upon which to depend for their writings. Just a few of such people include (in alphabetical order) Becky Akers, Jim Bovard, Alexander Cockburn, Robert Fisk, Amy Goodman, Glenn Greenwald, Chris Hedges, Seymour Hersh, Bob Higgs, Chalmers Johnson, Karen Kwiatkowski, John Pilger, Justin Raimondo, Paul Craig Roberts, and Lew Rockwell. Please let me know the next time you see any of these persons interviewed on NBC, ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox News, or elsewhere in the mainstream media!
At a time when newspapers and weekly news magazines are experiencing major circulation declines, and television news is losing viewers – all to the benefit of more free, open, and responsive Internet reporting – the mainstream media is struggling for its very existence. There may be a metaphorical message in the untimely death of television news’ most visible personage. Like those who gather to celebrate the life and death of a friend, perhaps the mainstream media is using the memory of Tim Russert to celebrate its own life, which seems now to be in a terminal state.
This endless electronic eulogy brings to mind the classic observation of Marshall McLuhan: "the medium is the message." A centrally-directed, vertically-structured society requires a uniformity of thought in order to maintain a collective commitment. This requires a continuing indoctrination in the values and purposes of the ruling establishment. Government schools exist for the primary purpose of conditioning young minds in such a viewpoint, a function acknowledged by the Los Angeles County government when it declared that children need to be taught "that we are all part of one big social system" and "must learn to participate effectively in the system." H.L. Mencken was more to the point, as usual, when he wrote that the purpose of schools is:
to manufacture an endless corps of sound Americans. A sound American is simply one who has put out of his mind all doubts and questionings, and who accepts instantly, and as incontrovertible gospel, the whole body of official doctrine of his day, whatever it may be and no matter how often it may change.
It is representative of the sharp division that exists between establishment, mainstream media journalists, and those who have opted for the joy and integrity that accompanies the hard work of digging out truth. The likes of H.L. Mencken and Albert Jay Nock have their modern counterparts in a number of journalists and commentators who insist upon working outside the towers and chambers they are to investigate. Such people would consider it a slur upon a noble profession to be "embedded" with generals and admirals or Daddy Warbucks as sources upon which to depend for their writings. Just a few of such people include (in alphabetical order) Becky Akers, Jim Bovard, Alexander Cockburn, Robert Fisk, Amy Goodman, Glenn Greenwald, Chris Hedges, Seymour Hersh, Bob Higgs, Chalmers Johnson, Karen Kwiatkowski, John Pilger, Justin Raimondo, Paul Craig Roberts, and Lew Rockwell. Please let me know the next time you see any of these persons interviewed on NBC, ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox News, or elsewhere in the mainstream media!
At a time when newspapers and weekly news magazines are experiencing major circulation declines, and television news is losing viewers – all to the benefit of more free, open, and responsive Internet reporting – the mainstream media is struggling for its very existence. There may be a metaphorical message in the untimely death of television news’ most visible personage. Like those who gather to celebrate the life and death of a friend, perhaps the mainstream media is using the memory of Tim Russert to celebrate its own life, which seems now to be in a terminal state.
Say? Media-as-Terry-Schiavo?
