Even before Citizens United, the scope of public discourse open to those who do not toe the corporate line was greatly constricted due to the fact that 95% of what Americans see, hear and read is controlled by a handful of giant corporate media conglomerates. The classic example is the Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting study, cited by Amy Goodman in Exception to the Rulers, which was conducted during the critical week before and after February 5, 2003 --- the day Secretary of State Colin Powell made his case to the UN Security Council for invading Iraq. The study revealed that out of the 393 experts who appeared on the four major networks at the time (CBS, NBC, ABC & PBS) only 3 were anti-war --- this at a time when 61 percent favored diplomacy and inspections over war. Goodman aptly refers not to a silent majority, but a silenced majority --- silenced by the inequitable distribution of power between the shrinking public spheres of discourse measured against a near complete corporate control of the media landscape.
Posted on: Sat, 19 Jul 2014 07:43:03 +0000
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