The last few days, I have begun to notice something. The mainstream media has been literally ignoring the protests in Wisconsin. At first, I didn’t think much of it. But, as the days went by and the freedom of Wisconsin protesters began to be threatened, I began to think of this as a more sinister plot to purposely mislead the American people.
We often look at other countries with disbelief as their “state-run” news station reports completely different facts from what international press is reporting. What we don’t realize is that the same thing happens here all the time. The mainstream media often had live streams of events in Egypt. I watched with fascination as the protesters and the pro-government supporters battled it out. However, when protesters were locked out of the capital in Wisconsin on Wednesday night and were banging on doors, chanting “Let us in,” there were mere mentions of the incident and not much else. I had to get online and search before I finally found a live stream of the capital building.
Many casual news viewers do not even know what is going on in Wisconsin. Fox News has probably covered the protests most, but in a way to demonize the protesters. Fox reporters have repeatedly called the protesters “thugs” and “classless.” They showed footage of protesters becoming violent, clashing with police. Of course, there were palm trees in the background and there was no snow to be seen, even though it is WINTER in Wisconsin. One Fox reporter claimed he was hit by a protester. But, in the day and age of You Tube and technology, the footage could be slowed down and viewed. It was, not surprisingly, proven that no protester touched this poor reporter. During the evening, MSNBC has been covering the protests. Rachel Maddow and Ed Schultz have both done excellent jobs. But, daytime MSNBC is virtually silent on the issue.
And let’s be clear – this is a huge issue. In what has become an increasingly apathetic country, content to post status updates on Facebook and count that as protesting, it is amazing that tens of thousands of people have protested in the Wisconsin winter for THREE WEEKS. They did not organize a protest and then that was it. Demonstrators have camped out at the capitol building, sleeping in the rotunda. Police officers have worked their shifts and then return to protest with their fellow union members. There is nothing minor about this. But, the American press has reported on the event with less gusto and time than what Lindsey Lohan wore to her court appearance.
I understand that during all of this Charlie Sheen was going off his rocker, but I don’t think that was the problem. I think the corporations that own these media outlets did not want to cover the growing discontent of the American worker because big corporations profit from the increasing income gap. Corporate-owned media are anti-union. Maybe not as obvious as Fox News, but the other networks are just as bad.
On The Web
- Add Another $7.5 Million to the Wisconsin Protesters’ Tab (commentarymagazine.com)
- Ann Althouse Covers Budget Protest at Wisconsin Capitol (americanpowerblog.blogspot.com)
- Paul Krugman: There’s A “Virtual Blackout” On Wisconsin News Coverage (thepiratescove.us)
- Liberals Provide Smears And Innuendo Over Wisconsin Doctors Notes Story (thepiratescove.us)
Thank you! Yes the mainstream news coverage is horrible. It hasn’t yet been reported adequately that Walker’s bill is about taking from the poor and middle class and giving to the rich. It’s time we wake up and look around. There is plenty of money. Walker just gave 180 million in tax breaks to big businesses-many of which are headquartered out of state. Then he tells us we’re broke. He intends to reduce services to the poor, disabled, elderly, and squeeze those who teach our children, heal our sick, put out our fires, protect and serve, grow our food, and take out our garbage.
He attempted to ram his legislation thru in dark of night. This is a money grab by Walker and the out of state corporations that pull his strings. This is a fight to determine what kind of Wisconsin we believe in and want our children and grandchildren to live in. This is a war between corporate country club conservative rule and honest, hard working people of Wisconsin – Nothing Less. I’d like to see CNN, CBS, NYT, etc detail this.
Well stated, Mr. Sterling.
The media blackout was intentional, as was the distortions perpetrated on Fox “News”. And I’ve seen what that leads to, when half of the people I talk to about this have no clue about what is going on in Wisconsin. “You’d better find out and take a stand,” I tell them, as we, the middle class, are a dying breed.
Your comments hit the nail on the head: the workers of this country are apathetic, complacent and, for many of them, brainwashed into believing that the rich are here to help us. Did you ever read “What’s the Matter with Kansas”? I’m from the midwest, and this book is right on about the poor Kansas farmer supporting the politicians that take his money and use it to twist the knife in his back. The same can be said for these “misinformed” workers (like those of the Tea Party) that actually agree with Walker; they’d criticize (out of jealousy, I’d suppose) a government worker for making a respectable wage, but not think twice about the state senator who makes 50,000 (that’s base pay) for spending ~70 days in session. (Look it up if you don’t believe me.) I know they’re at work outside of the 70 days, but the comparison stands.
Crucify the teacher because he or she makes 50,000 a year (thats AFTER 20 years of service)? NO! We should applaud them for working their ass off and, if we’re really capitalists, try to attract top talent by paying them better? The same goes for firefighters, police, state engineers, etc. – they work hard to educate us, protect us and improve our lives. We owe them much more than we already give; whether or not you believe in the fairness of unions. And its fundamentally wrong to entertain the discussion started by Walker and co.
So, WHY would media blackout (and distort) what is certainly important news? This isn’t about Republican vs. Democrat; it isn’t about Fox vs. MSNBC — they’re all bottom feeders. Its about rich vs. poor. The rich, who control the media, are well aware that the working class — those that make commerce in America possible and — would be angry if it knew just how much it is exploited. The media has done an excellent job of spreading misinformation and keeping the exploited disorganized and misinformed. But that’s going to change.