media

The modern glut of information, combined with the erosion of the mainstream media's cultural authority, is directly related to the increasing difficulty we now face in figuring out what's true and what's not. There are many factors involved in this, but one of them has certainly been the established media's slowness in adapting to a quickly changing political and technological climate.  

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In the wake of 9/11, ultraconservatives have used the concept of a War on Terrorism (WOT) – a “war” with no foreseeable end and hidden enemies lurking everywhere – to tighten control over the American public, undermine civil liberties, advance their own foreign policy agenda, distract attention from their own controversial domestic agenda, and intimidate the opposition.

We can expect terrorism to remain a dominant media story throughout 2004, and terrorism-related media-worthy events to be used in service of the political goals of the far right.

In the face of the media-dramatized WOT, it has been hard for dissenting voices to be heard. Opposition to conservative policies and actions, and to Republican candidates, is met by accusations that the opponents are unpatriotic or seek to put Americans at risk.

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