Propaganda

Propaganda is the dissemination of information, often biased or misleading, to promote a specific agenda or viewpoint. It aims to influence opinions, beliefs, or behaviors by appealing to emotions and potentially distorting facts. This is a good definition of what the news is today. In a typical broadcast the moderator interviews two opposing opinions which means hearing two sets of propaganda. This is much easier and cheaper than asking a reporter to go out and dig up the facts, then digest these facts and then presenting them. What the viewer is not aware of is that these experts offering their opinions have been influenced, either knowingly or unknowingly, by powerful self interest groups. These groups often spend lots of money to promote their interest. One obvious group are the lobbyist while others are corporate manipulators. Back in the 50’s there were reporters like Robert Novak or Rowland Evans who focused on digging out the story behind the story. Focus on Scoops and News: Novak, along with his writing partner Rowland Evans, made it their goal to include a piece of breaking news in every column, a practice uncommon among most contemporary op-ed writers. Shoe Leather" Reporting: He was known for his dedication to traditional investigative journalism, often relying on his own detailed research and reporting rather than just opinion or analysis. The key phrase here is, “Shoe Leather”. This requires a lot of work and dedication whereas just interviewing experts is the easy way out. The public is thus left with the choice of which expert to believe. All too often experts lack the common sense that most people acquire through the school of hard knocks. Book smart is deemed more important than street smart or people smart. The longer one lives the more it becomes clear that book smart is not enough.