Of course it's Propaganda!

Most news programs put their own 'spin' on the news. Don't know who to trust these days.

How is this any different than business where this happens every day? The top 2-3 competitors take most of the market share and eventually gobble up the others. If you don't know how to make yourself relevant in the "marketing channel" then you have to find other ways to get your message across.

All these candidates had a chance to be heard earlier. Now it was valuable to put the top 2 or 3 against each other to go into more detail. The organizations hosting the debate have that right. Maybe later it valuable to have another debate where all the early candidates who didn't make it get to pose tough questions to the top 2-3. This way these additional views can be brought out again.

I look at this election as a marketing issue, not a censorship issue.

Note from MJ: David, the problem was that it wasn't just the "top candidates" who were allowed to participate in the debates. Ron Paul, for example, has done far better than Guilliani in just about every way (primary showings,straw polls,opinion polls, etc), yet Paul was not allowed in the debates and Guilliani was. Do some research on this one - you'll be surprised by some of the things you find.

The news media is pushing for McCain to win the republican nomination because they know that he is really a liberal democrat.

This way if the far left democrat doesn't win the presidential race, they will still have their liberal democrat, who is disguised as a republican.

I really don't think the majority of working Americans watch the news. It's probably because they are sick of the media trying to push their minority agenda on the working class.

All I can say is the working people of America better wake up and get some one in office who will take care of America.

American jobs (stop sending jobs over seas). The NAFTA project has cost Americans millions of jobs.

Stop borrowing money and giving it to foreign countries and expecting the American taxpayers to pay the debt.

America needs to pay our own debt off. We should not be in debt to anyone.

Cut out government waste.

America needs to stop encouraging minorities to expect a handout.

If you are disabled then I want a legitimate program that will help you.

If you are a young adult who isn't married and has babies, then you need to learn to take responsibility for your actions. This is not the taxpayers responsibility.

I could go on and on but there is no use. No one cares about decency or morals anymore.

Let's all do whatever we want to do and forget about being kind one to another.

Hey, let's all dress up like clowns and sodomites and parade around in catholic churches.

Is this what America has become? Can the sensible people who are left in America not see what the liberal media is doing?

Is this the beginning of the end for America?

Is there not someone who can step up and turn America back into a great nation?

Maybe a night in shining armor will step up and put some hope back in the American people (workers).

From the looks of the candidates running, we need this to happen.

Of course if someone did show up and put hope back in the American people, the liberal media would chew him up and spit him out.

looking for hope,
James

My comment isn't about the US Elections (though I do keep up to date about it) but it is still about propagand-O nonetheless.

In the Singapore media and the South East Asian media in general, the death of Suharto is the biggest news this week.

His human rights violations record was not given particular mention in the Singapore press, and even then, they were written in Singapore newspapers as '*so-called* human rights records'.

I'm not being disrespectful to the dead, but this is a double standard. We pull no punches in describing who Saddam was when he was executed early last year.

Propaganda is a nice word describing how forces behind the news media are trying to lead America by the nose and tell us how to think and live. It is so sad that most Americans are like sheep being led to the slaughter believing what the media and politicians tell them as gospel without doing any of the homework themselves to find the truth. Personally I am glad this eight years of being led by fear and lies are almost over with.

Mark, you have this absolutely right. It should not be the media's job to decide who the viable candidates are, based on their views. They did in Howard Dean and Kucinich four year ago, they did in Kucinich this year--denying my right to vote for him next week, since he has dropped out--and they're squeezing out Ron Paul (the only one of the Repbulican candidates I could consider voting for).

Note to James: McCain is no liberal. He is a dangerously disguised continuation of the current regime--and sometimes not so disguised, as in the infamous "Bomb Iran" song.

Mark,

I have to respond to Shel Horowitz, if I may.

Would a conservative who believes in working and being responsible for his family, want the American tax payers to absorb 12 to 40 million illegals (law breakers).

McCain tried to pass the bill to do just that.

Kennedy and Lieberman use McCain to get their agendas passed by the republicans.

If you think he isn't a liberal then you are crippled too high for crutches.

Also, as bad as Bush is, at least he has reduced the amount of federal income tax withholdings from my paycheck and yours.

When Clinton or Obama get pushed in by the liberal media you will definitely see an increase in your withholdings.

They have to do this so they can send Africa 30 billion dollars more than they are already giving.

Why doesn't the government put the 30 billion dollars into an account, to help the retired working people buy their high price medication that they need.

Should the elderly not get what they need? After all, they did work and pay taxes all their life.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, the USA should not be in debt to anyone.

Disgusted with a corrupt government,
James

The Comedy Channel has two shows whose sole purpose is to create spoofs regarding this topic, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Colbert report with Stephen Colbert. I find their humour excellent and they continually make fun of the inept and ridiculous news reporting in the US.

That being said I believe the major news stations in the US and in fact in Canada have their own political bias. What is often reported as news and facts is in reality the newscasters own commentary. This method of reporting "news" when in reality it is a "commentary" is most certainly propaganda.

I have to admit, this posting is somewhat offtopic but in my eyes:
important news :-)
just before I came across some exciting information about an event which will take place on the 10th of May 2008 - but there is a deadline on 15th february...
propaganda ? no
can this influence the decision of somebody ?
definitley...and Mark, maybe you would like to send an email to your whole list about this project ?! I think in some way it fits pretty well into the thinking behind the Mark Joyner Constructs (please correct me, if I am wrong).
More information about the project: http://www.pangeaday.org/
In 2006 Arab-American documentary filmmaker Jehane Noujaim was awarded a TED Idea Prize (http://tinyurl.com/2y687j)for her wish to "bring the world together for one day a year through the power of film."
So everybody can submit a film about a story he wants to share to strengthen tolerance and compassion until 15th february 2008. There will be a four hour live event with the best contributions on the 10th May 2008 official hosted in eight cities around the world. There are already listed a lot more public events: http://www.pangeaday.org/screenings/
already three announced for New Zealand...
Please Mark spread the word about it in your community :-)

thanks
Paul

My theory: the mainstream news media is an estate that belongs to a group of people who are controlling the "system of things" on this planet. They say what news or information will be transferred to the masses, they say what should be covered up, they say who should be heard.

The editors who follow along with these disgusting practices have allowed their minds to become a "commodity" to be used in that fashion.
For a piece of bread a man will trespass......

Marsha

How about . . . the military industrial complex actually is in charge of the centralized media visa vie black ops & known intelligence agencies. Both Dr. Paul and Dennis Kucinich are calling that out and represent a great threat to stealth and covert action.

Brilliant! I posted this one on my blog! Thanks for your thoughts.

Stephanie Haile aka Wavecritter
http://www.TheLoneBlog.com

I think that news agencies sometimes do it purposely, but I think more largely news needs to be attention grabbing to sell, so they make big deals out of small victories - which can in turn swing the whole vote.

Note from MJ: Hey David, not only are they making big deals out of small victories, they are cherry picking which victories get attention.

With so many News Channels jostling for attention these days, no wonder, News channels are doing what marketer's do.

They are using Attention Grabbing techniques to reach a wider audience so that they can help businesses, using Ad space on these Channels, make profit and in turn help the News channel make money.

So it's a win-win situation.

Real News can wait.

Note from MJ: D, actually it's a win/lose. The media wins in profit. You lose because you're no longer genuinely informed - our decisions are only as good as the information upon which we base them. A better relationship would be for a larger company to make their profit in other areas (entertainment, etc.) and then run the news programming as, you know, news - not propaganda or sensationalism.

Bravo! Mark,

You are correct. If the news media doesn't give us the truth then, we have to know everything about the candidates by their actions.

In other words, how did they vote on the issues.

I don't care about entertainment propaganda, but I want to know the truth about who I am electing to run our country.

I want to know how they stand on raising taxes, cutting spending to pay off the deficit, and encouraging corporations to create jobs for Americans.

Mark, thanks for upholding the truth,
James

Hi Mark,

I used the "win-win" analogy as a satire. I meant that some news channel are there for the sole purpose of making money.

Thank you.

Note from MJ: And indeed you are correct :-)

A government that controls the education system need not control the press.

Think about it.

"A government that controls the education system need not control the press." - Joel Sanders //////

I agree with Joel. On my blog I post about problems in American education, plus stories, news, and legislation. My husband has written a book, entitled "Set Our Teachers FREE! A Plan to Save Public Education" about the problems in U.S. public schools and a complete plan to fix things. It's been difficult to make people realize how far reaching the problems in education are and that they bode ill for the future of the USA if something isn't done.

I included your cartoon and comments on my blog.
http://setourteachersfree.com/main/mark-joyner-views-propaganda/

Hopefully, it will help to wake people up to the need for more critical thinking on the part of citizens and students. Perhaps even the agenda of the Department of Education will receive more scrutiny. Al Qaida is not the only threat to our national security.

Brenna Kingsland
http://setourteachersfree.com

Much of the news is indeed propanda these days, however most of it is so subtle that few people notice.

A simple smirk or change in voice tone from the trusted anchorman can make the difference in how someone listens to a news story.

A simple word included or excluded can change the perspective of a story, and all perspectives are leading perspectives. It's the nature of a perspective that it is pointing in some direction.

Excluding a candidates name from a list of candidates or from a graph communicates in a very subtle way how insignificant a candidate is assumed to be.

If this were truly about news or marketing, the media would have many hotter stories by reporting on Ron Paul, because his views are so starkly different, and what's happened with his campaign via the internet is so revolutionary.

Rupert Murdoch openly acknowledges that he is pro war and that his news mediums include bias. I don't think it's some grand conspiracy, but it has more to do with the subtle social dynamics that lead our thinking... and yes, many anchormen/women and other assumedly unbiased perceived authorities know the power they wield with the way the subtly position a story.. and many abuse it.

I was astounded again and again at the extent to which "fair and balanced" Fox repeatedly took not so subtle liberties to lead the public.

What's exciting is how the Internet is becoming ever more the great neutralizer. It has been quite heartening to watch individuals create YOUtube video after YOUtube video drawing attention to and expose the problems with the mainstream media coverage, and to generate publicity for Paul in the face of the mainstream news blackout.

A grand conspiracy by the elites? Doubtful. It's the way the system works though, with certain people profiting from sitting atop the establishment and (ab)using their powers and the trust people have placed in them.

With mainstream media coverage in a way that honored Paul as a viable contender, I contend that his poll numbers would have been as much as triple what they were. So many people here in the US have still not even heard of the man.

Not only is the internet birthing the rise of the author... but the rise of the activist, the artist, the solopreneur, the change agent, the visionary.

Mark my forthcoming book is currently subtitled, the Rise of the Visionary, and has everything to do with how the internet is creating a huge power shift, as well as a shift in consciousness.

As we can see our enemy's children bleeding in the streets, and all kinds of video footage from the hand-held camera phones of people everywhere, we have greater compassion for those unlike us. And the values of the internet are arising in the consciousness of the younger generations now, who have learned how to interact with others online through sharing, communication, transparency, etc.

The power is shifting back to the individual, who can now mobilize a march among fellow students worldwide, at the command of her phone connected to MySpace. (It happened in 2006 with the immigration bill)

The individual now, more than ever, holds the power to change the world. These are exciting times! Thank you Mark for empowering all of us with the Simpleology tools and platform. With these courses and tools, we can change the world.

Hello Mark,

Sorry I've not been checking in, so this is a late response, but ...

My number 3 mentor in life, Kevin Cullinane, like you, was a military intelligence officer (a Marine, training soldiers to infiltrate Vietnam with psychological warfare in 1963). To make a very long story short, he was exposed to libertarian literature and began to realize the same tactics he was teaching to South Vietnamese and United States soldiers was being used on a daily basis on the American people back home via newspapers, TeeVee, etc. ... When U.S. soldiers fired on students at Kent State, he got REALLY disillusioned.

He left the Marines (they sent him court martial papers but when he started writing about covert U.S. conduct in Vietnam they backed off, as did he. But he spent the next 30 years researching and quietly teaching all that kind of stuff. He is a master teacher, and along with his wife, combined academic studies with mountaineering/ survival training and farm work, plus the history and philosophy of freedom, for teenagers for many years.

I took his 1 week, 40 hour training -- Freedom School for adults -- 6 times, all of them significantly different. I have taught bits and pieces of this stuff along the way myself. (Reading your book, Simple*ology, was like taking a mini-version of his course. We even have the Rules of Thinking and Korzybski in common!)

With mountains of research to back it up, including orthodox, government documentation, there is NO QUESTION in my mind that certain people have disproportionate influence on what goes on in this world, especially America. Maybe not a Grand Conspiracy in the usual sense, but some very wealthy and powerful people doing things for their own power and wealth, and NOT in our best interest. (Just read Plato's Republic, and about the men of Gold, Silver and Bronze. Guess which ones WE are?) Any possible good intentions are far outweighed by the vast amounts of damage they always do. Plus they are not telling us about what they are doing, if they can keep it a secret, which is getting harder all the time, of course, what with the internet and such. I think those who deny these people exist, and who will not invest the time in actually reading the relevant documentation, rather than brushing it off, are in a major state of denial.

Anyway, in addition to Kevin, John Taylor Gatto -- a former teacher, and INDISPENSABLE -- researched how the Rockefellars and Carnegies significantly influenced, with large amounts of funding, the direction of American education and history beginning in the late 1800s. They wanted everything to be biased toward state controlled collectivism, because these anti-free enterprise, monopoly capitalists wanted to use the Police Power (guns) of the State to protect their business interests. They PRETEND to be pro-free-enterprise, but are not. So they make up programs and call them free-trade, but are anything but. They are the ones who have pushed to get the Ten Planks of Marxism installed in this country, quite successfully. (Just read them, all ten are in place to one degree or another, some of them 100 per cent.)

Then look at the roster of the Council of Foreign Relations, which has been the source of a very high percentage of cabinet, State department and other high level officials since Woodrow Wilson. Many of the CFR members are owners of the major media. And they are ALL transnational, collectivist elites. The media is not owned by the so-called conspiracy. Members of the military/ industrial/ banking/ media elite ARE among those who shape our world. (Shadows of Power, by Perloff is a good start.) So they have the media AND education, too. Not to mention control over the money supply and increasing levels of critical resources, too.

I am always perplexed, though, with the massive amounts of documentation about all these things, why people still disbelieve that there are a few handfuls of people around the world who think and act like Genghis Kahn, Alexander the Great, Napoleon, etc. Do people seriously believe there are no longer any megalomaniacs left on earth? ... that there are no longer people who would be kings, pharaohs or emperors if they could get away with it? ... that they would sacrifice a few eggs to build the omelette of their design? Make that a LOT of eggs. (I highly recommend Richard Maybury and Chaostan.com as he , for example, started explaining, back around 1993, what was going to happen, and did, with Osama bin Laden and in Iraq, as well. Also Carroll Quigley, a Bill Clinton mentor, lays much of it out in his 1,400 page book, Tragedy and Hope.)

Just because they carry laptops and ride in limos instead of spears and chariots does not mean the wanna-be Man of Gold personality type is dead. in fact, there are probably a lot more of them in modern time, with far more sophisticated tools and resources, and they probably fight amongst themselves for power, too, otherwise they would likely have gotten a bit farther than they have. Although the overall trend toward world government for the benefit of the transnational business interests is almost a done deal at this point.

Ron Paul knows about all this stuff, and even writes and speaks about much of it. He also knows how perilously close we are to a point of no return. What ever the so-called Men of Gold create will not last forever, but a lot of people will not be happy, or even alive, while we wait for it to self-destruct or dissolve. Like most things, it is far easier to stop it before it gets too much velocity. But boy, do they have a lot of velocity now.

Thanks for listening. And reading.

The world is being run by delinquent law givers.
You can be arrested physically and be held without being given a chance to voice your innocence. This is pure propaganda to flex their muscles, based on opportune moments.

Then, there is the other kind of "arrest" which has to do with every single person on the planet.
I will give you a little hint:
I was reading where this guy named Jesus came upon a gathering of people, included in the bunch were the law givers (the behind the closed door sect)of those people. They wanted to stone a woman to death because she was defiling her bed(a prostitute).

And then this guy named Jesus said:
" Let anyone who is without sin throw the first stone"
Then he began writing on the ground/dirt and gradually they all went away. Quietly.

So, today I am asking to let any MIND that has not been arrested/captivated by the devious charms of this world, let that MIND speak out!

Inspired by a wonderfully, uplifting chapter from the book of Isaiah, Chapter 55.

With the technology at hand of course (lol)SPEAK! Your mind is the bedrock of your whole soul.

Definitely controlled propaganda. At one point I thought that they might be getting fined for each time they said "Ron Paul". If it were just one or two, I might have a different opinion, but it is every single news network.

I like that c-span shows an entire event instead of sound bites or one side of the argument and they don't jump right on and give their opinion of what we just heard to "interpret" what just happened. Like we can't figure it out for ourselves. On c-span there are very many callers that bring up Ron Paul and it is funny when the guest looks at the host to see if or how to answer.

I was still watching the news channels, even though it was driving me nuts, until about two days ago. I already knew the information they were reporting on but I could not believe how they could twist facts with their opinion.

Ron Paul has raised more money from active military than all of the remaining candidates COMBINED. I was soooo happy they were actually talking about Ron Paul. And then the the last thing the reporter says is "yeah but contributions don't always translate into votes" and kind of chuckled. If someone was watching this report they might have dismissed the facts because of how the reporter ended the piece. I KNOW of others who make cases and debate the issues by ONLY what they hear from TV news media.

"According to opensecrets.org, the top three contributors to Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul’s campaign are from the U.S. Army, U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force respectively." I would think that if military personnel take the time to contribute their hard earned money to a candidate, why the heck would they vote for someone else?!?

If it was any other candidate they would be all over it and the piece would have ended very differently. Like 'It is obvious that Ron Paul has the support of our active military so let's hear what he has to say about it, Dr. Paul...' Not going to happen.

Enough, I obviously have major problems with MSM so bottom line is...

It IS distorted and IS censorship. I am very disappointed with most of my fellow Americans who can't see through the game. Do you watch the news to find out what is going on in the world or to find out what some other person (who most likely is nothing like you) thinks, from their perspective, what is going on in the world? Don't get me wrong, I love hearing others opinions. What kind of growth would we have without them. However, they don't belong on a newscast.

Mark,

I just watched the quick start video for Viral Marketing Theory and have come to the conclusion that mainstream news media is just viral marketing for whoever is in control of that source.

The mainstream news media is an estate that belongs to a group of people who are controlling the "system of things" on this planet. This news media can "predict" winners (and thus influence your vote) on statistically irrelevant information ...

You are right it is propaganda, the only thing that matters is, when will the people in government and media tire of it?

There are better ways to run a country. And even so if there are people of influence "behind the scenes" doing the "marketing" it is a waste of their time as well.

Isn't there better things to do then influencing elections, you know, finding a way to make oil obsolete, and make a whole load of money in the process? Seems like that would be a more entertaining challenge, well Im not much for killing, so to each there own I guess.

Mark,
Yes. 99% of the corporate-controlled media is propaganda. Just do an experiment: Determine to watch ONLY foreign media for a week and see how you find things reported on that don't get the light of day in the West! Mark, I'm sure you notice this since you are living outside the U.S. Do some investigation into who owns the major networks. Watch the documentary: *Outfoxed* about Robert Murdoch's media empire and his politics. It's quite an eye-opener. In the early to mid 90's a big media consolidation took place and about four corporations bought everything. Today, the consolidation is down to fewer corporations owning all major audio,video, and print media with PBS and NPR included. Conflict of interest? Thank God for alternative media online, otherwise we'd be s.o.l.! All these Presidential Pre-candidates -Ron Paul, Dennis Kucinich, Lyndon LaRouche were totally censored in past campaigns and still are. Google Kucinich's recent interview with Russia Today (video) to see why. Ron Paul speaks the truth but doesn't bring good news about the economy and the mass-media didn't want you to hear it during the campaign, so you didn't. Lyndon LaRouche (my favorite- larouchepac.com)declared the financial system dead, back in July when almost NO ONE was saying it and said we need to take the whole system through bankruptcy re-organization. You only hear about the financial collapse now, because the financial system has disintegrated and they can't hide it anymore. 2 Trillion in retirement benefits evaporated recently, but how many of us heard about it? Over one million home foreclosures in 2007 and 2008 and virtually nothing on MSM. Every bank is bankrupt, but are they telling us the truth about that? You may find this Robert Kiyosaki article on the economy interesting. Note: It ain't pretty. Sorry to be a party-pooper.

*How the Financial Crisis Was Built Into the System*
http://finance.yahoo.com/expert/article/richricher/124339

Here's another one from Ambrose Evans-Pritchard:

*Secret Citibank Memo: Financial Disaster Will Lead to Civil Disorder in 2009 or 2010*

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/ambroseevans_pritchard/3526645/Citigroup-says-gold-could-rise-above-2000-next-year-as-world-unravels.html