To Leigh: Sorry about the "Loon war" - that's a bit too much faith in the spellchecker!
________________________________________________ Rui Correia Advocacy, Human Rights, Media and Language Consultant 2 Cutten St, Horison, Roodepoort, Johannesburg, South Africa Tel/ Fax (+27-11) 766-4336 Cell (+27) (0) 83-368-1214 "Quando a verdade é substituída pelo silêncio, o silêncio é uma mentira" - Yevgeny Yevtushenko "When truth is replaced by silence, the silence is a lie" - Yevgeny Yevtushenko -----Original Message----- From: PEN-L list [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Leigh Meyers Sent: 12 December 2006 19:55 To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [PEN-L] big media's big secret agenda on public stupidity Off Topic... Just blogged this: PINOCHET: A Declassified Documentary - The National Security Archive http://leighm.net/blog/?p=775 Jim Devine quotes Rui Correia: >> Scandals and fanatic sensationalism there is aplenty, but where is >> the deep >> thought analysis? > > it's likely done in media outlets aimed at the actual decision-makers, > like the power elite. . After the scandals and fanatic sensationalism, wouldn't you like a nice... 'Ovaltine' and a 'Beanie Baby to snuggle? How about a day at the spa, a good stiff drink(which is why alcohol advertising is limited in most mass media, it works *too* well), getting laid by a girl who looks like a size 0 starlet, getting laid at all? Or, as Fee Waybill of The Tubes put it, "...how about a Winnebago? A WHOLE herd of Winnebagos! Weeeee're givin' 'em away!" A while back, in Emigre' magazine, which was sort of a precursor non-glossy Adbusters, it was noted that the upper middle class and rich are more suceptible to advertising on T.V., especially advertising at the extreme edges of content like 'Ovaltine fuzzy slippers comfort, or at the other end, a wild snowboarding weekend in the Alps with a size 0 ho. However, imho, the power elite aren't part of that group, they are too busy watching how they *appear* ON T.V. to better 'frame' their image, and to keep up with current events as they appear to the rest of the society. My rough guess is TV watching time for someone like Henry Kissenger or Bill Gates is extermely limited and they are quite specific in the information they are looking for when they DO watch. BTW Rui, the subject line in that 9/9/2006 message was: Winning a small battle in the *Looong* war, the information war Not Loon war... although it *could* make kids loony (a factor in autism for a start) Funny, I write the subject lines that way on purpose, especially with news stories where a one line 'zinger' comment is enough, and also to give an inking of content. Unlike: [PEN-L] Re: [PEN-L] Re: [PEN-L] Re: [PEN-L] Re: [PEN-L] Re: [PEN-L] Re: [PEN-L] Re: [PEN-L] Re: [PEN-L] Re: [PEN-L] Re: [PEN-L] Re: [PEN-L] Re: [PEN-L] Re: Irans New Power Balance Here's the loony war post: > > 3. ABC/Disney also planned to distribute the historically false > "Path to 9/11" to more than 25,000 American classrooms, via > lesson plans created by Scholastic -- the world's largest > publisher of children's books -- with whom Disney has lucrative > content sharing deals. The study guide suggested that former > Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein had a role in the Sept. 11, 2001, > terrorist attacks. Yesterday, Scholastic cancelled distribution > after thousands wrote the company to complain. . Greetings, ABC's plan to air an inaccurate 9-11 "docudrama" has ignited public outrage with hundreds of thousands of people sending letters to Disney headquarters and local ABC stations to protest their willful distortion of history. These media protests have had an impact, but the root problem will remain unless we act now to stop media giants from becoming even more powerful. Rampant media consolidation over the last two decades has put control over the media in the hands of a few large corporations. We see it in action now. Local stations have been instructed by ABC -- and its corporate owners at Disney -- to air "The Path to 9/11" a five-hour "docudrama" that is riddled with falsehoods about events that lead to the September 11 terrorist attacks. Disney is set to wield reckless control over local television for ratings and political gain. Media ownership matters. It is time to rollback rampant media consolidation and defend localism and public service. Tell the FCC to Stop Big Media's Abuse of the Airwaves: http://action.freepress.net/ct/QpwFY8d19uJb/ "The Path to 9/11" reportedly features a series of fictionalized scenes, written by a right-wing activist, that are in direct conflict with the bi-partisan 9-11 Commission's report. Now, Disney is forcing local broadcasters to air these falsehoods in our communities. The Federal Communications Commission is poised to give companies like Disney even more power over our airwaves. FCC Chairman Kevin Martin has asked the public to comment on his plans to let conglomerates like Disney buy up even more of our local stations. Tell Disney and the Chairman Martin that enough is enough: Petition Link: http://action.freepress.net/ct/QpwFY8d19uJb/ No matter your politics, we should all embrace the public's right to have a strong voice in how the broadcasters use our airwaves. Sadly, the local station owners that are most responsive to our interests are being pushed around by conglomerates like Disney. It's time that the FCC responded to the public and limited Big Media's damaging influence on our democracy. Onward, Timothy Karr Campaign Director Free Press http://action.freepress.net/ct/R1wFY8d19uJ6/ P.S. -- To learn more, visit http://action.freepress.net/ct/Q1wFY8d19uJ5/, a broad-based coalition of consumer advocates, public interest, media reform, organized labor and other groups that have joined together to fight runaway media consolidation. To learn more about the controversy surrounding the ABC "docudrama," visit: http://action.freepress.net/ct/PpwFY8d19uJv/ P.P.S. -- Disney Plays Politics: 1. While Disney is marketing "Path to 9/11" as an accurate retelling of the 9-11 Commission it also claims that "for dramatic and narrative purposes, the movie contains fictionalized scenes, composite and representative characters and dialogue, and time compression." It's so rife with falsehoods that an FBI agent who was brought in to consult on the docudrama quit because, he said, "they were making things up." 2. The docudrama's scriptwriter -- a noted conservative -- admits that the film's most controversial scene -- where a Clinton administration official passes up an opportunity to kill Osama Bin Ladin -- was based on nothing at all, telling a right-wing radio station that the scene was "improvised." 3. ABC/Disney also planned to distribute the historically false "Path to 9/11" to more than 25,000 American classrooms, via lesson plans created by Scholastic -- the world's largest publisher of children's books -- with whom Disney has lucrative content sharing deals. The study guide suggested that former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein had a role in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Yesterday, Scholastic cancelled distribution after thousands wrote the company to complain. --------------------------------------------------
