Dear Media:
Since you have been busy this week with non-stop coverage of the royal wedding and the spectacle that is Donald Trump, I thought I would take it upon myself to fill you in on the less newsworthy items that you missed. Clearly, the royal wedding of a country that is not your own, in addition to the frantic rantings of an ego obsessed real state tycoon, take priority over middle east turmoil, vicious attacks on labor, and deadly tornadoes ripping through the country.
I assume you haven’t heard–since there has been little to no coverage–that Wikileaks has released the Guantanamo Files, which include classified files on more than 700 past and present Guantanamo detainees. These documents shed new light on the six-year long persecution of a journalist because he worked for Al-jazeera, the unreliable evidence used to justify due-process free detentions, and the capture of children and men as old as 89. Of course, I wouldn’t expect such large and important outlets to be bothered with such silly, insignificant revelations.
Moving on, in both Bahrain and Syria the situation continues to deteriorate. Both countries have adopted policies of retribution against pro-democracy dissidents. Bahrain’s monarchy has detained doctors who treated injured demonstrators and patients who had taken part in the protests were dragged from hospital beds. Most recently, Bahraini authorities sentenced 4 protesters to death following their trial that was held in secret. Syria’s Bashar al-Assad has stepped up his deadly crackdown on protesters as well, by unleashing the army along with snipers and tanks to open fire at demonstrators.
Meanwhile, at home, the war on working class people has escalated and Democrats have joined in. In Tennessee, House Republicans have cleared the way for total repeal of collective bargaining rights for teachers. Following the lead of Wisconsin’s GOP, the Democratically held Massachusetts House passed a bill–late at night to avoid a mass of protesting workers–that strips municipal employees of the right to collectively bargain health benefits.
In tragic news, more than 150 tornadoes that have torn through seven states, killing at least 300 people and wiping out whole towns, making this the deadliest tornado outbreak in decades.
While these stories are significant, it’s obvious they don’t merit the same level of attention that the marriage of British royalty does. After all, how often do we get to watch a monarchy, that symbolizes centuries of imperialistic oppression, throw a wedding? And with only 8,000 members of the media in attendance, it would be a travesty if a minor enticing detail were missed.
The main reason that you don’t hear about these things is because our media has a filter. That filter is all those editors who so willingly follow party line and serve the interests of the elite. You can’t get more elite than the British Royal Family.
Just look at the WHCD tonight. It tells you all you need to know.
I am a ex-Pat Brit and I agree that U.S. news was unnecessarily hijacked this week. It is one thing for Brits to want to follow up on what is culturally in their interest, but why does the rest of the world have to have its news curtailed? Last night especially, I wanted to hear more from Alabama and Mississippi about their terrible tragedies, but all I could find was the British Royal Wedding. It’s high time that US news channels returned to reporting the news and got completely out of the entertainment business!
Rita:
As long as they are for-profit enterprises it will not change.
Thank You for succinctly bringing some sorely needed perspective to the ongoing ‘mirage of glamor’ that is today’s mainstream media. We may accept that television is the soporific of the masses; but journalists, and the ‘media’ overall, should do everything they can to enlighten rather than sedate us, to reveal the wonder and sorrow of our world, and all that makes us human.
Way to go, girl! I know there are a lot of people who feel the way you do about all the overriding attention given to the royal wedding. Just a few weeks ago the streets of London were jammed with people marching to protest government cutbacks in social services. I bet the royal family is exempt from any kind of major cutbacks in the royal budget. But the commoners are sure to suffer- you can always bet on that.
Don’t forget the coming Class action Supreme Decision
Great point Eric. I’m actually working on an article about AT&T vs Concepcion right now. Consumers lost big this week, and hardly anybody noticed.
Hmm I wonder what we should say to the thousands of British people who camped out to experience a little bit of history. Or how should we respond to the people of the United States who yearn for news that leaves them smiling instead of filling them with despair? We live in dire times filled with hate and violence. We saw a wedding the likes of which we may never see again in our lifetime, the Monarchy allows us to dwell for a moment on a fairy tale, it affords us the luxury of escapism, so hard to come by today. The media did what the media does, beware of countries that report only “relevent” stories, the line between democracy and communism is frayed. Good article Rania sans the anger.
She has a right to be angry. If you aren’t angry at the way the elites have messed up this country then I don’t know what to tell you.
Excellent Article! The British Royal Family and Oligarchy are nothing but elitist degenerates and neofeudals. These people may look harmless but they are indeed very powerful. The media has lost all its credibility and is only there to provide ”infotainment”