Anyone who has studied the history of totalitarian marxist government will tell you one of the first goals of a corrupt manipulative central government is to control the media. But, few would actually believe it occurs in modern political discourse. Unfortunately, they would be wrong; not only does it happen, but control is the key element to keeping the freedom reduction agenda hidden from the masses.
One only has to look at Poland for a great example of how a looming government can keep the people believing their concerns are in the minority – until a few brave souls stand up and say “hey, wait a minute, there are more of us than them”….
(New York Times) They are sent by e-mail from the Obama headquarters in Chicago to reporters who have interviewed campaign officials under one major condition: the press office has veto power over what statements can be quoted and attributed by name.
Most reporters, desperate to pick the brains of the president’s top strategists, grudgingly agree. After the interviews, they review their notes, check their tape recorders and send in the juiciest sound bites for review.
The verdict from the campaign — an operation that prides itself on staying consistently on script — is often no, Barack Obama does not approve this message.
The push and pull over what is on the record is one of journalism’s perennial battles. But those negotiations typically took place case by case, free from the red pens of press minders. Now, with a millisecond Twitter news cycle and an unforgiving, gaffe-obsessed media culture, politicians and their advisers are routinely demanding that reporters allow them final editing power over any published quotations. (more…)
