I’m an optimist at heart. I really did envision the end of this blog happening when everyone in media finally came to their senses and went back to producing actual journalism. Alas, it’s looking more likely that Hell will freeze over before that happens. In fact, like petulant toddlers, most “news outlets” today seem to have merely dug in their heels even deeper and committed to pushing more propaganda than ever. I guess they can always hope there are still a few dozen people running around in the world who are willing to ingest their narratives…
That said, I realized it was an OK time to end this project a few weeks ago, when I began understanding just how many independent writers and news outlets with big followings have taken up the same crusade and started more regularly calling out corporate and social media propaganda themselves. In particular, if you haven’t added Breitbart, Project Veritas and The Federalist to your news repertoire, I’d strongly suggest doing so. Every week, it seems, these outlets carry stories similar to those you’ve read in this blog – exposing corporate media’s worst lies, missteps and blunders. Some solid examples:
Two different Project Veritas undercover pieces where unsuspecting New York Times reporters admit that major media narratives on Trump and January 6 were completely fabricated: “New York Times Reporter Discusses CIA / NSA Sources; ‘Ridiculous Pee Tape Didn’t Exist’ … ‘Crazier Leftist Sh*t’ Influences Reporting” and “Pulitzer Prize Winning New York Times Reporter: January 6 Media Coverage ‘Overreaction,’ FBI Involved, Event Was Not Organized Despite Ongoing Narrative.”
I’m not a huge fan of opinion pieces, but this one, from Breitbart (Chris Cuomo’s $125 Million CNN Lawsuit Contains Stunning Corruption Allegations) contains summaries of the allegations and a link to the Cuomo lawsuit itself, where I was able to read every allegation firsthand. Cuomo, like all of us, should be considered innocent until proven guilty, but after taking the time to read this, I feel pretty comfortable saying that CNN in 2022 seems more like a reality TV show than a credible news source.
This Federalist piece by Tristan Justice about Fact Checkers with “a history of amplifying misinformation.” After the New York Times sheepishly admitted this week that the Hunter Biden Laptop story for 2020 was legitimate (yes, Navigating News readers already knew that a year-and-a-half ago, when I published What Happens When the Press Stops Doing Its Job; The Hunter Biden Laptop Story), Justice exposed how NewsGuard, one of the most influential “Fact Checking” websites in the nation (yes, I’ve covered “Fact Checking” already, too, in this post), gives “nearly every outlet that opted to ignore or discredit [the Hunter Biden laptop story] a near-perfect rating from NewsGuard’s accuracy and credibility score,” while at the same time giving failing “credibility scores” to The New York Post - the singular outlet that DID originally break the laptop story. Ironic, no?
This Breitbart news piece exposes NBC’s Today Show for “softening pics of Lia Thomas for More Feminine Look.” Not much more to say than that. Clearly, NBC has an agenda and they’re not above altering reality to achieve it.
As I look back on all we’ve explored together in Navigating News, I’m pretty thrilled at the range of topics. From government-funded journalism (I tackled this not once, but two times) to corporate media tendencies toward bullying; manipulating data to prove a pre-determined narrative (this also warranted a second post); distraction; the weaponizing of language; manipulating techniques; omitting / ignoring crucial information (I covered this in another post as well); using anonymous sources; speculation and buried ledes; and teaming up with social media websites to control stories & narratives – the list is extensive.
I’ve also been shocked to see just how often allegedly competing corporate media outlets seem to work in lock-step today, determining pre-set narratives and never deviating (baseless, anyone? I don’t think I’ll ever forget that silly and oh-so-judgmental word as long as I live). It reminds me of a popular meme I came across today:
Apparently there was a big old argument on Twitter about this meme when Elon Musk re-posted it last week… but in the context of this blog, I couldn’t help thinking how closely the “I Support the Current Thing” mantra describes the way corporate newsmedia outlets are trying to train us all to think.
It’s no secret they’ve been trying to rile us all up for decades so we watch or read more and their advertisers are happy. Until recently, though, not many people (myself included) have understood that they all seem to be working in lockstep with the government as well… which is a scary thought, considering the “Press” is supposed to be “free” of any attachments to the organizations they purport to cover. The bigger reason this is upsetting, though, is that this partnership helps both corporate media and the government manipulate our emotions and feelings about “the current thing” – whatever it is on any given day. Almost always, the goal is to get us outraged, angry or distracted from other big stories (and sometimes all of the above). The sooner we see that manipulation for what it is, the better off we will all be.
Two good friends and readers shared a fascinating opinion piece with me last week – The Frictionless Souls Addicted To The Cause - echoing the same sentiment and taking it one step further:
“The desperate hunger for new causes is a spiritual vacuum. The Ukranians and the Russians believe in what they’re fighting for. We believe in the need to believe in something. The conflict over Ukraine stretches back centuries while our fervent investment in it goes back a few weeks. It is quite likely that a few weeks from now we will be just as invested in something else...”
In quoting that piece, I’m not trying to insinuate that the suffering of people in Ukraine is irrelevant, by the way. What I am trying to do is illustrate how the media and government, working collaboratively, mold and direct our thoughts and actions. That should deeply frighten anyone who understands what the Press has historically been about in this country.
A neighbor and I recently discussed how exhausting the relentless, fear-driven news cycle can be, and how tired we are of living at their beck-and-call. And yet, news - in absolute moderation - is a necessary evil; there’s no getting around it. My first great hope is that I have armed the thousands of people who’ve read this blog with the tools they need to understand how to approach the information being crammed down our throats, 24/7.
My second great hope is that I have introduced readers to credible, alternate news sources so they no longer feel they have to watch TV news or read corrupt corporate outlets just because they always have. I’ve personally been impressed with Epoch Times, Breitbart, LifeSite News and The Federalist, in particular.
*note: Epoch Times and LifeSite are both openly biased – the former against China and the latter in favor of a pro-life stance – but I find their reporting refreshing, as they cover topics, stories and people largely ignored by corporate media with great effort at including verified factual information (Epoch Times often includes a list of sources at the end of articles). Agree or disagree with their biases, they present a sorely-needed “other side” viewpoint that is blatantly missing from virtually every corporate media outlet in this nation. In other words, they make their readers think. And that, I’m pretty sure, used to be the purpose of journalism.
My third great hope is that I have encouraged many readers to stop living and dying by the words of corporate media outlets… or any media outlets at all, for that matter. News is important, but so is listening to your own instincts and living your own life… and life, as so many of us have learned these past two years, is a gift that oftentimes passes too quickly. The saddest line I read in a book recently was written by a priest, who noted that his mother spent her last days alive feverishly watching MSNBC. It’s not sad because it’s MSNBC. It’s sad because watching news is not a worthy way to spend your dying days. Living is the only way to do that. And you can’t live when you’re watching TV, or staring at a phone or device. You just can’t.
For those of you who started following this project more recently, I’m leaving all of my posts, dating back to August 2020, on Substack for anyone to use as a resource. Please feel free to access them any time. I’m also, as noted in last week’s post, considering compiling them all into some sort of book or booklet that can be passed on in a more tangible way. If I do, I will make a post in this blog, letting you know. Stay tuned…
One thing I’m not doing, though, is going away any time soon. I’ll still be writing a bi-monthly series called Person of Interest for Cincinnati Magazine, and I’ll still be writing feature stories for them from time to time as well (here, here and here are a few recent examples of what I write).
That said, a million thanks to all of you who have supported this project. It means so much to me to have been able to share my experiences with such an open-minded audience. Our world is a mess right now for sure, but there is hope. It lies in those of us who are willing to take chances, speak out and stand up for what’s right. I am grateful to be in your good company -
Many thanks, Lisa, for enlightening me on so many fronts. You have touched the lives of many and I know you will forge ahead. May God bless you always!
Thank you for your time, expertise, and care. I have learned much!