The myth of the “liberal media” suffered another blow
yesterday when CBS CEO Les Moonves was recorded telling a group of investors
that the sudden rise of Donald Trump “may not be good for America, but it’s
damn good for CBS.” Let that sink in for a moment. America is going down in
flames, but CBS doesn’t care because it makes for great TV.
This is capitalism at it’s finest — screw everything as long
as we’re in the black. And I would guess that this is the sentiment of other
media owners as well. The media has never been liberal. It’s a business run by
people whose only goal is making a profit and satisfying investors. That’s it.
Public service? Ha! Actually informing viewers? Forgedaboutit.
Bible belt voters run screaming from the room at the mention
of “socialism,” but don’t seem to have a clue that this country is being run
into the ground by greedy amoral capitalists like Moonves. And that’s the key. There is no room for
morality in capitalism. There is no incentive to do the right thing if the
right thing interferes with making a profit, so we ship jobs overseas, resist a
living minimum wage and create loopholes to keep from paying our fair share of
taxes. It’s all about the bottom line.
Add the amoral nature of capitalism to the fact that only
six companies own over 90 percent of the media in America, and you have a near
monopoly that provides the information and entertainment that will bring in the
highest profits and keep the masses resting numbly in front of their TV
screens.
Trump is a disaster for this country, but Moonves and others
are making money hand over fist by giving The Donald tons of free airtime. Because
Bernie Sanders is the only candidate that might even try to shake up the
currant dynamic, he’s on the media’s enemies list, receiving negative attention
when he gets mentioned at all.
Unrestrained capitalism is destroying America. Isn’t it time
we try something different?
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