Frank Zappa on the "Liberal Media"

[Miss Modular]

Recently, I got Frank Zappa's book out of the library. While the book was published in 1989, I found much of the sentiments in this passage to be very timely. The bolding, italics, and underlines are his emphasis, not mine:

Liberal Media Bias?

The concept of a "liberal media bias", spoonfed to CNN viewers in talk-show blather and pompous 'news commentary' throughout the Reagan years, has at last been exposed for the pitiful manipulation it always was.

"Liberal" bias? Suppose a newsperson was some sort of frothing "liberal"--would he get a broadcast job in the first place? Not on CNN. But suppose he did, and tried to sneak in some form of "bias" into the story, do we think he'd last a week? Get serious. Frothing right-wing extremists are, however, prominently displayed and in plentiful supply on CNN.

The license holders for most broadcast outlets (especially the commercial networks) hardly qualify as "liberal" by any stretch of the imagination--and the guys on the board of directors? Gimme a break. This applies to all news outlets--electronic and print. The guy who owns the outlet determines policy and content--that's why he owns it, so he can control it. This power to mold public opinion is bartered for 'favors' among 'friends'--it is the essential tool for spin-control.

The "liberal media bias" scam was a smoke screen, designed to conceal the squads of White House spin-doctors, sprinkling antiseptic on each morsel of "news" as it wafted past the rotor blades in The Gipper's backyard--all in the name of balance and fairness, of course.

Between 1980 and this writing, a news story could be deemed balanced and fair only if it had a hefty rightward spin. Certain types of stories got "special attention": HEALTH ENDANGERING GAY LIFESTYLES THREATEN ENTIRE NATION or RISING INFANT MORTALITY RATE LINKED TO GROWTH IN THE ABORTION INDUSTRY. Most of this shit sounded like it was drafted in "The Pastor's Study" at Falwell's Old-Time Ministry of Gospel Propaganda. Will the next four years be any different? What do you think?

The Gipper goes into private practice now--look for him as a TV pitchman for G.E. or some other defense contractor, and, perhaps, a born-again film career (Bedtime for Bonzo II: Terror of the Green Monkey).

Would a Kind And Loving God let an asshole like that (and all his fabulous appointees) escape unpunished after eight years of Constituional desecration?

(No, but one with a way-sick sense of humor is toying with the idea even as you read this.)