Media Matters

The President of Russia has been scrutinized worldwide for his bizarre relationship with the media. As I have kept a wary eye on Putin’s tendency to revert to USSR ideology, particularly in this arena of censorship of media I have noted that censorship early on did not take the form of bans; rather, manipulation. Of late, as conspiracy reports have trickled into American media, I had to wonder…does Putin now react out of fear, or as so many fear, a desire to refurbish the iron curtain.

If it is fear—fear of the media, that is, perhaps I should allow myself to empathize with him, and you should too.

It is a teeter-totter game with our own media here in the USA as legislators try to ensure the oh-so-important freedom of speech while not impinging on the capitalistic foundation of America in placing anti-trust regulations (monopolies).

The consolidation of our local media has subtly been taking place since its inception right under our noses. Take a look at the “big ten” and how their reach extends beyond just television. Since this list has been compiled we have seen even more consolidation (i.e. AT&T, SBC, Yahoo).

Back to Putin: Why might he fear his own media? Simple. Knowledge is power, and whether or not the knowledge the media presents the masses with is true or not, as a democracy, the voting US is subject to and influenced by this information feed. Please read this, I would botch it if I reprodiced it, but keep in mind this is not a critique of the president. We will find a similar article on our next president regardless of party affiliation; Bush is just our current president, and thus more recent articles.

So, I empathize with Putin. The situation in America is not isolated! Our northern neighbors voice similar concerns.


This post may seem disorganized as this is a subject upon which I am not well versed, so I am begging for feedback, and asking that the reader do his/her own research. If, after either reading this or completing an investigation of your own you feel concerned, take action! My uncle Myron was terrified that the US Army would one day overthrow the government and disavow him of his rights. I have to wonder, as far as fascist takeovers go, should he have been more afraid of a consolidated control of information?