Death of a Free Press in America?
A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet
*****************
Maybe it is just my natural paranoia at work, but I get the gnawing feeling that somewhere, in a dark corner of the Obama Regime, there is a huddle of “Obamanites” in a whispered discussion in which they examine the possibility of a takeover of the press in the US.
I know, I know. It’s just another conspiracy theory, right? Could be. On the other hand, it IS what a socialist government does -- and make no mistake about it -- the United States is now a socialist state run by a socialist government… at least until November.
Look, bailing out the newspapers is the same as throwing money down a rat hole. What the papers need to survive is readers – subscribers. The are losing readers and subscribers, in droves, because their readers have finally caught on to what can only be described as the mainstream media’s “leftist agenda.” The bottom line is – readers don’t like it and are no longer reading those “leftist rags.”
If the Government does, indeed, devise some way to bail out the major newspapers in America, two things are certain: One – neither the government nor the newspapers will ever refer to it as a “bailout.” Number two -- the government will “own” those newspapers and the government will control what is printed or not printed in them. For a model of how this would work simply check the old Soviet Union.
In the area of North Carolina in which I live there are three daily newspapers. Major newspaper corporations own two of them and one is an independent. All three are leftist papers. If I want to reads balanced news or news with a conservative viewpoint, I must either watch Fox News on TV, or get on the internet and look go to a conservative news site to get it. And that is exactly what those who used to be readers and subscribers of these papers are doing. But the owners and editors of those papers have their heads so far up the leftist agenda they are tone deaf to the oh, so obvious, reason for this vast migration away from their publications!
It is a sad commentary on the mainstream media in the US when Americans find it necessary to use the Internet to go off-shore to find a source of news that will inform us as to what is REALLY happening in our country, and in, what I laughingly refer to as, “our government.” But millions of Americans are doing just that. I am among them.
It is almost a ritual, at my house, to read the paper over morning coffee or breakfast. But, hey, we can do without it. By the time my carrier gets the daily paper to me these days, I have already read the news on the Internet. Such is the era in which we live.
There is already far too much government interference and just plain meddling in the affairs of business in this country. That is the nature of a socialist government such as we have in America today. Call it what you will, journalism protection, bail-outs for newspapers, it still means the government is curling its fingers around the throats of those who own those news organizations and soon they will begin to squeeze. Taking government money means you do as government says.
Those in the Obama Regime who believe that a government should never allow a crisis to go to waste are busy taking advantage of the current financial crisis in America, and around the world, to shove their socialist agenda down the throats of businesses forcing them to accept government control in exchange for a few more months, or years, of existence.
In my opinion those are Faustian deals… selling one’s soul to the devil in exchange for favors from the devil -- even if those favors are just crumbs from his table. Some make the Faustian deals because they believe in the devil’s agenda. Thus it has always been throughout man’s history on this planet.
Look, newspapers are the modern day dinosaurs of the news media. Eventually they will go the way of the dinosaurs. They will become extinct. It is not advisable to interfere with the natural cycle of progress, even in business -- one could say -- ESPECIALLY in business. As the newspapers die off they will make room for whatever is to take their place.
Having no newspaper to peruse over breakfast is much more acceptable than having a newspaper of which the government is the editor. I shudder to even think of it.
Any government bailout of the press, in any form, simply means no more free press.
A government, which controls the flow of information to its citizens, will have ultimate power over those citizens. Under the Obama Regime, America is heading in that direction as directly as a Martin flies to its gourd.
Maybe it is just my natural paranoia at work, but I get the gnawing feeling that somewhere, in a dark corner of the Obama Regime, there is a huddle of “Obamanites” in a whispered discussion in which they examine the possibility of a takeover of the press in the US.
I know, I know. It’s just another conspiracy theory, right? Could be. On the other hand, it IS what a socialist government does -- and make no mistake about it -- the United States is now a socialist state run by a socialist government… at least until November.
Look, bailing out the newspapers is the same as throwing money down a rat hole. What the papers need to survive is readers – subscribers. The are losing readers and subscribers, in droves, because their readers have finally caught on to what can only be described as the mainstream media’s “leftist agenda.” The bottom line is – readers don’t like it and are no longer reading those “leftist rags.”
If the Government does, indeed, devise some way to bail out the major newspapers in America, two things are certain: One – neither the government nor the newspapers will ever refer to it as a “bailout.” Number two -- the government will “own” those newspapers and the government will control what is printed or not printed in them. For a model of how this would work simply check the old Soviet Union.
In the area of North Carolina in which I live there are three daily newspapers. Major newspaper corporations own two of them and one is an independent. All three are leftist papers. If I want to reads balanced news or news with a conservative viewpoint, I must either watch Fox News on TV, or get on the internet and look go to a conservative news site to get it. And that is exactly what those who used to be readers and subscribers of these papers are doing. But the owners and editors of those papers have their heads so far up the leftist agenda they are tone deaf to the oh, so obvious, reason for this vast migration away from their publications!
It is a sad commentary on the mainstream media in the US when Americans find it necessary to use the Internet to go off-shore to find a source of news that will inform us as to what is REALLY happening in our country, and in, what I laughingly refer to as, “our government.” But millions of Americans are doing just that. I am among them.
It is almost a ritual, at my house, to read the paper over morning coffee or breakfast. But, hey, we can do without it. By the time my carrier gets the daily paper to me these days, I have already read the news on the Internet. Such is the era in which we live.
There is already far too much government interference and just plain meddling in the affairs of business in this country. That is the nature of a socialist government such as we have in America today. Call it what you will, journalism protection, bail-outs for newspapers, it still means the government is curling its fingers around the throats of those who own those news organizations and soon they will begin to squeeze. Taking government money means you do as government says.
Those in the Obama Regime who believe that a government should never allow a crisis to go to waste are busy taking advantage of the current financial crisis in America, and around the world, to shove their socialist agenda down the throats of businesses forcing them to accept government control in exchange for a few more months, or years, of existence.
In my opinion those are Faustian deals… selling one’s soul to the devil in exchange for favors from the devil -- even if those favors are just crumbs from his table. Some make the Faustian deals because they believe in the devil’s agenda. Thus it has always been throughout man’s history on this planet.
Look, newspapers are the modern day dinosaurs of the news media. Eventually they will go the way of the dinosaurs. They will become extinct. It is not advisable to interfere with the natural cycle of progress, even in business -- one could say -- ESPECIALLY in business. As the newspapers die off they will make room for whatever is to take their place.
Having no newspaper to peruse over breakfast is much more acceptable than having a newspaper of which the government is the editor. I shudder to even think of it.
Any government bailout of the press, in any form, simply means no more free press.
A government, which controls the flow of information to its citizens, will have ultimate power over those citizens. Under the Obama Regime, America is heading in that direction as directly as a Martin flies to its gourd.
J. D. Longstreet
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