Dethroning Midas

In the '80s, I was an MTV addict. I loved that they played music videos non-stop, had special feature shows about music such as Headbanger's Ball and 120 Minutes, and had VJs who seemed to live to eat, sleep and breathe music. I adored MTV News, because it reported on what music was being made in a given scene. One of the main reasons I loved MTV was, because its mission in life was to reflect what was happening in music.

This all changed after about a decade in existence when MTV's focus shifted from reflecting the culture to dictating it. Perhaps at some point they realized they had real power. I saw an interview not too long ago with a member of Duran Duran, who remembered that the moment they realized MTV was a defining force was at Live Aid, a benefit concert on two continents that brought together anyone who was anyone in music. The Duranie was on stage during the final act when the number of stars could rival the universe, and he looked over and saw two of MTV's top producers standing next to him. Two production guys onstage with mega rockstars. MTV was very good to Duran Duran, so the band member didn't want to state the obvious, which was that the two producers didn't belong there.

This is how I've felt for nearly the past two decades watching Fox News and the entire News Corp. organization in their rises to power. The media in the United States has always been hailed as the beloved and respected Fourth Institution. There is the Executive branch controlled by the president, the Legislative branch controlled by Congress and the Senate, and the Judicial ruled by the Supreme Court. Until the rise of Fox News, the media had been the fourth branch that kept a watch over the other three. The media was an added layer of protection to the people of this country. They were the quality checkers who inspected the toys before the stores put them on the shelves for your kids. They were the brave journalists who made politicians up to no good shutter when they walked through the door. All that changed when Rupert Murdoch and Fox News broke into the U.S. market and picked their team.

Traditionally, there has always been a bit of a bias one way or another depending on the source of the information. Even the networks weren't exempt from a story that leaned more to the right than to the left, but they made an honest effort to keep themselves in check. Not Fox News. They came out of the gate as unapologetic, right-wing, Republican slanted news, and to add insult to injury, left their slogan, "Fair and Balanced" hanging like a smirk on the face of a date rapist. To anyone who was a true fan of the institution of media, and its history, Fox News was and still is absolutely infuriating.

At the heart of their sick world is Rupert Murdoch, himself. A tireless opportunist who seats himself at the throne of News Corp. like a golden king. He dictates talking points to further his own political and financial agenda without a care in the world of what that agenda will look like in the real world, because plain and simply, he doesn't live in the real world.

Murdoch can have his stations advocate for a candidate in the U.S. who he happens to like without a care in the world for how the candidate will effect policy if he is elected. How many people has Murdoch sent to Washington D.C. via his barrage of highly questionable information and agenda-driven spin delivered by Fox News, who have voted against the best interests of the American people? I am, by no means, putting all of the blame on Fox News and its management, the folks who think that all they have to do is wave a flag and love Jesus, and the economy will be magically cured by capitalists are just as much to blame. However, consistent and deliberate studies from thousands of universities throughout the world have proven media's extensive impact on people and their decision-making processes.

This information in the right hands results in people wearing their seatbelts to be safe, sneezing into their elbows to prevent the spread of colds, and washing their hands to stem the tide of communicable diseases and illnesses. In the wrong hands, it results in fraudulent elections, poor people advocating for the wealthy guy who will make their living situation worse, and the blind hatred and persecution of country music trios who exercise their First Amendment right of free speech.

The fortunate thing is that Murdoch has finally been called to the table to answer for his crimes against journalism, albeit long overdue. I find it incredibly ironic that he is called out by a country with state-run media rather than the country with "freedom of the press", but at least someone has the chutzpah to take him on. I have always valued my motto that "when you sail a paper ship, it has to sink eventually", and I hope it reigns true in this case. There is nothing more in the world that I would love than to wake up in the morning and watch a real 1960s-style newscast. No cute banter, no supermodel-like newscasters, no punditry, no opinion, just real, honest to goodness, fair and balanced news.