Gregory G. H. Rihn (milwaukeesfs) wrote,
Gregory G. H. Rihn
milwaukeesfs

Salon, May 2, "Influence of the Media."

After two months of weather-related cancellations, Sue Blom's Salon met at her residence on May 2. Topic was "The Influence of the Media on Society." We had a very rambling and lively discussion. Questions raised included whether or not the United States can still be said to have a free press or not. Given the supine acquiesence of American media to the government line, and the shocking amount of material reported by other reliable outlets (including the BBC!) that went totally unremarked in the US, we tended to think that this was a serious question, although "independent" might be the missing parameter rather than "free". President Eisenhauer warned us about the "miltary-industrial complex," but we didn't think that the media was that sort of industry, too.

The other major question brought up asked why Americans purport to not trust the media, yet large numbers of people seem to believe everything they read or see. We did not have as satisfactory a conclusion, although desires for security, certainty, and validation were determined to be likely factors.
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