11:19:04 AM|||Scott Nolan|||

Propaganda:
Hypothetical Question: If the United States were a fascist dictatorship with state run media, how would that state run media be any different than the mainstream news media we have today?

Personally I am disgusted with the mainstream news media in the United States today. The news organizations are all tightly controlled by a very small number of "competitors" - all of whom have the exact same motivations, to expand their revenue base through targeted advertising. This leads them all to get very friendly with the government that helps the big corporations who have things to sell. The good news is that there are a few voices in the wilderness willing to speak out and tell an alternative point of view. Here are my current favourite sources of news:

• Deutsche Welle is a great source of world news, lately surpassing the BBC in professionalism and impartiality. Aside from their website, DW is carried on several smaller public television and public radio stations around the United States as German Journal.


• Democracy Now is a strong alternative voice to the mainstream U.S. media. While it is very definitely biased, it's bias is eloquently stated and maintained specifically because the mainstream media news sources are all biased the other way. Democracy Now is carried on Pacifica Radio and on Free Speech Television (aka: Dish Network channel 9415). By the way, both Pacifica and Free Speech Television are excellent examples of what radio and television could be. Pacifica has excellent jazz music as well as political commentary and world news. Locally we can pick up WPFW, 89.3 on FM radio. Sadly they only have a RealAudio feed, and I do not trust RealNetworks' software on my computers.


• BBC News is still a pretty reliable source for world news, though they have not been very critical of the Blaire decision to support Bush's private war on Iraq, and they appear to have been manipulated from time to time by very large corporate interests lately. They are no where near as biased as any of the major U.S. media news channels. Many National Public Radio stations carry a BBC News feed from time to time, and some university based public television stations and BBC America all carry BBC News.


• WAMU, 88.5 is my local National Public Radio station, and the home of both the Diane Rehm Show and the Kojo Nnamdi Show (both are excellent talk radio shows with very good moderators and lively discussion about current issues). WAMU is also the home of The Big Broadcast, which is rebroadcasting of classic old dramatic radio shows. We pick up WAMU on FM 88.5 or via the internet.


• NewsChannel 8 in Washington, D.C. is a 24 hour local news service, and though they are a subsidiary of Allbritton Communications Company and biased much like the big national U.S. news media, they are more tightly focused on local issues.

I hope you can find reliable and unbiased news sources in your area.:

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