Capitalism Versus The News

The News as it exists now is worthless. Why? The answer to that question draws a peculiar paradox: the news is worthless because it makes a lot of money... It's worthless because it is worth so much. Isn't that funny? Well, that's just another one of capitalism's endless list of contradictions.

So, let's start with what the news is, or what it should be. The news, or the press, is often referred to as the "fourth estate" or the "fourth power" for its explicit capacity of advocacy and implicit ability to frame political issues. Though it is not formally recognized as a part of a political system, it wields significant indirect social influence. The news should act as a lens on our society, it should help guide us in making decisions that shape our society, so we can vote in an informed way when it's time to exercise what little democratic power we have. And here we have a problem already.

Just think about what the news focuses on. It focuses on the things that do not define the shape of our society. It doesn't focus on our day-to-day reality, but on the exceptions to that reality. Whenever something extraordinary happens, that will make the news; whenever there's a mass shooting, a terrorist attack, when some scandal about a public figure arises or when a politician says something that's not "politically correct", the news will be all over it. And when we consume the exceptions to the rule on a daily basis, when that's the lens through which we view our reality, we slowly but surely get to believe the exceptions to the rule are the rule.

The abominable "reality TV" shows aside, how often does the news, or the media in general, highlight the lives of ordinary people? Almost never, that's how often. In the news, as well as in popular series (soaps in particular), the lives of the rich and famous are the focal point. Even a popular comedy like "Friends" depicts youngsters who live together in a New York apartment that can not be afforded by regular people. The lives we see on TV day in day out, the individuals who are in the news every single day, are not on our level; just like anything else in the capitalist economy, they're there to make you and I feel unsatisfied with what we have right now. It creates a feeling of being worth less than the "norm" mainstream media sets for us.

In America specifically, the news should be about the people's lack of universal healthcare in the midst of a pandemic. Not as much about the pandemic in itself, as that's one of the exceptions to the rule the news likes to focus on. The lack of universal healthcare on the other hand is the rule for Americans. Right now there's yet another internal fight between the conservatives and progressives within the Democratic party about forcing a vote on medicare for all Bernie Sanders style. But that's not in the news so much. The news will focus on how the current administration completely fumbles the handling of the pandemic, and how the next administration might be better or worse, when in reality the first step towards a better handling of the pandemic is obvious: universal healthcare.

Ultimately the problem with "the news" is the same as with almost everything else; the fourth estate is owned by the class that sees everything, including itself, as a product that has to be sold. That's why the news focuses on sensational exceptions to the rule of everyday life. That's why the news has to be sensational and entertaining instead of informative. The plutocratic capitalist upper class owns the politicians as well as the platforms on which they campaign and communicate to the voters, and that's why the voters themselves never get the mike or camera. And when they do, it's to smear them as looters, mass shooters or depressed losers who should pull themselves up by their own bootstraps. So, here's a short video from a journalist who hates the news; please watch it for some good informative content...

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