Mainstream Media: For-Profit, Forgot Physics

I want to scream out into the crowd, "Turn your faces to me. Listen to me. Stop what you're doing, then take a minute to think things through." I know it would do no good. Even with faces turned, their ears would not hear. They'd see beyond me into their immediate futures, thinking of dinner, the grocery store, the ripest gossip spread just five minutes ago. How to hold the attention of the world, if only for a second? Don't. Of seven billion plus people, there's only ever a small percentage who'll pay attention to any specific subject at any given moment. If you've read this far, then I'm talking to you.

Corporations utilize the propagandistic properties of advertisements in an attempt to gain the attention of current consumers and potential consumers. This simple truth is how "branding" (once a term for identifying livestock) became its very own industry full of propagandists, psychologists, staticians, graphic designers, web developers ad infinitum. All these little groups, multinational corporations, individual people, waving their hands and hollering, "LOOK!" And, based on their custom made employee and customer satisfaction surveys, they claim: "it's working."

I highly doubt that's the case. But, whatever.

The mainstream media consists of for-profit corporations: 1.) that brings a real conflict of interest into relaying the "news"; 2.) that means some "news" wont become "news," especially, if it hurts the corporate bottomline. Remember, corporations are on a quest for the mathematically impossible, never-ending rise in profits. Think: / but, remember gravity \. So...as you can see, understanding the basics of physics can also help one understand the basics of economics: what goes up, comes down (unless in a vacuum--space--then it keeps going until it crashes into something else). Corporations by definition consist of groups of people, most of whom seemingly neglected their physics courses. Physics also covers conflicts (of interest), in physics its called "friction."

Friction can best be seen when comparing news coverage between the various mainstream outlets. Each "news" story is branded by each company that releases it. The branding of this "news" is purposeful, deliberate, and meant specifically for a targeted demographic: the brand's viewers. The competition between brands slows the dissemination of facts while increasing spread of stories. This is friction and it is how dividing lines are drawn between people (demographics). These branded stories conflict with eachother as each corporation encourages the inaccurate and often misguided use of adjectives to obscure the "(un)known facts" with the journalist's own speculation.

Speculation bought and paid for by the very corporation that hired the journalist, who was given the corporation's writing guidelines, who then took the adjectival highway to a pugalist instead of an editor. Though, I'll admit, a good editor hits a writer far harder and usually with brass knuckles, that is beside the point. The mainstream media, in all its multinational and multibillion dollar glory, is conducting an adjectival orchestra as if the news, itself, is a string section, the transmission devices are the wood section with all that tweeting, and the viewers, well, what the hell is an orchestra with nobody to hear, to view, to experience it?

Now, we know, the mainstream media's adjective happy journalists work for corporations that think speculative branding of the news is more important than objectively telling the news. They think this because they're told this by their surveys, their survey analysts, and the numerous levels of yes-men within their ranks. They think this because they prefer stories over facts. More importantly, they think this because they have no imagination, they see only $$$. One can infer the story from the facts, if one has an active imagination and logic working for them. Unfortunately, with mainstream news stories one cannot infer the facts from the story.

One can definitely infer that something happened. And then, one can peruse the various video sites hoping to stumble upon RAW footage ("allegedly" not shopped), where one can begin the ardous process of thinking for one's self. But, wait. Why would RAW footage be so popular, if the viewers want stories? Oh, I don't know. Perhaps, the viewers actually want facts and not branded speculation? Just saying. Hold on. Do you recall that first paragraph? Scroll up if you need a refresher. Maybe the demographics are different for raw footage watchers and for mainstream media's viewers. I'll buy that. Maybe the branding helps disseminate the facts to larger groups by targeting specific sub-groups. Or, maybe the branding helps disinform larger groups by targeting specific sub-groups. Though it really could go either way, I lean towards the latter.

That said, when you read the news, read between the lines. Understand that regardless the position the news corporation takes, there is a fiscal motive. In the for-profit world there's always a fiscal motive. In fact, its legislated by Congress that there be a fiscal motive. Yes, that's right, the bottomline is profit because Congress legislated it to be so. Ah, but who the fuck is Congress? And, which fucking Congress did that dumb shit? It all goes back to...Stop. We'll save that one for another night.

I'll leave you with this: All news stories are biased interpretations of some of the facts, never all the facts. When news stories break most of the facts are unknown. How can one write 400+ words on a fact that takes less than ten words to adequately disseminate? Speculation. The speculatory tone is a way for mainstream media outlets to ensure proper branding of each breaking news piece. Once branded the news is then disseminated to the appropriate audiences where the constant bombardment of speculative adjectives leaves the audience drenched in subconcious anticipation of chaos spreading to their neighborhood, to their neck of the woods. All that inner tension building, external mounting pressure, branded by MSMs, stigmatized by wilting govies...its nothing but pitting, in-fighting among giants. And, that my friends, is friction, basically, it's physics.