I hope I get an answer. I receive Greg Palast's emails and find errant articles on google news and can't believe how much juicy news and details that really rock the realms of mainstream reality go undiscussed. This has bugged me for a long time. The DSM is just the latest in a line of issues with far reaching implications that the gatekeepers of Public Discourse ignore. Recently, we've seen the voting irregularities and the $9 billion missing in Iraq just to name TWO.
Here's my letter to the ombudsman of the NYTimes:
Dear Sir,
This applies to the tone of the Times' indifferent, yawning coverage of the DSM and no particular article. I'm sure you can find the few articles on this issue that the Times actually did in both the news section and the editorial/opinion section. I'd like an answer to this question:
There is somewhat well known view that says the Mainstream Media (and the Times) will gladly go into great detail with tons of coverage and effort about scandals and contraversies so long as those issues do not undermine the security of powerful establishment institutions in DC and Corporate America. What does this mean? I'll answer that:
It means no real hard news or aggressive analysis or coverage of profound matters in high places that would cause mass revolts and serious questioning of the powers that be: political and corporate corruption, their relationship and consequences...this includes all matters of taxes, laws, lobbyists, foreign affairs and many other "sensitive matters". The Downing St. Minutes belong in this group and have, of course received little attention or credibility from the establishment. Watergate and Eron probably stand out as abberations to this norm. However, maybe even not Enron since little else has come of it.
That said, shallow matters that do nothing to raise real skepticism of our establishment preconceptions get aggressive coverage: Whitewater, Bill-n-Monica, Terry Schiavo, UN Scandals (not ours of course!), MJ trials, Pederson trials, Tom Delay, sex, drugs, violence, religion and anything fluffy and inconsequential that draws attention to the lowest common denominator of human nature. Huge distractions from real matters of importance and the media complies.
I certainly hope that you notice this about our media and I'd like your comments.
Thank You,