What people should know about state media.
Criticisms such as "lying press" or "manipulated media" are doing the rounds, but is there any truth to them? There are people who actually claim that our media are not free or not objective. Media freedom is one of the cornerstones of a democracy. Sometimes the media are even referred to as the fourth estate of the state. A basic condition for a democratic society is "objective reporting"! Reporting can only be objective if it is independent, and independent means that the media are "not" dependent on someone or their payment, but free from any orders!
Let's just take an example now. ARD works mainly with the five most important agencies, i.e. the German Press Agency, the American Associated Press, ddp, Reuters and the Sports Information Service. These companies provide news and reports to newspapers, radio and television stations for a monthly fee. That, means that Reuters, for example, feeds the media with the latest information.
If anyone has ever wondered why all state media in a country write exactly the same thing on a certain topic, it is because they all received the same information. If anyone has ever wondered why the Western opinion is always disseminated, then this is also due to the identical source from which all state media obtain the same instructions or "information".
So, if it is claimed that we have "objective media," why is there a growing suspicion that they are all reporting the same thing, leaving out the same thing, and allowing only one opinion? Why is there now a crackdown on fake news? That would mean that someone decides what is real news and what information should not be spread. What is it about paid media campaigns or the targeted dissemination of information?
Let's refer to an example for this. The "Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation" use donations worth more than 300 million US dollars to finance "media projects". The recipients of this money include many of the most important news agencies in America, as well as German, Spanish or international agencies of this type. Naturally, the recipients of these generous "donations" subsequently also write laudatory reports about the (alleged) "philanthropist of hearts."
Speaking of philanthropists, they not only support the media with flowing money, but they also advocate for journalists directly from the start. In fact, the foundation also provides funds for direct training of journalists around the world in the form of scholarships, courses and workshops. Today, it is possible for a person to train as a reporter thanks to a Gates Foundation grant, find a job at a Gates-funded outlet, and belong to a Gates-funded press association where, of course, reporting is done entirely in the spirit of the donor supporter.
This is especially true for journalists working in the fields of health, education and global development (key words: Corona, pandemic), where "coincidentally" Gates himself is most active.
Hm, it's a funny "coincidence", don't you think?🤔
Corruption is the fuel of ideology.
Sometimes, it is not the will of the media for some of their bad actions, it is those at the top who forces them to do such things with their power.
Here in Germany it goes like this, the media consistently report positively about the established politics, which in return demands ever higher compulsory fees for the media, so the question of whether politicians or journalists did wrong first is for me similar to the question of which existed first, the chicken or the egg.
Personally, I see it more like Malcolm X, who long ago very aptly formulated "what" the media are.