There Is No Media

"There should be no such shock because there is no real news media in the United States today. What masquerades as a free press is largely the propaganda arm of the right wing of the Republican Party. Few brave souls still present the news in a balanced way. Most of them are 'opinion' writers like Paul Krugman. Few liberals get to speak out on television--where most Americans get their 'news'--except on 'roundtable shows' where right-wingers shout down their comments.

"This right wing tilt in the news is hardly news. It's no accident either.

"In the mid-70s, Nixon's dishonesty brought him down and the Vietnam War ended in failure. These events disgraced and even traumatized right-wingers who insisted Nixon was innocent and claimed our national security depended on winning in Vietnam. They cursed the campus radicals and mainstream media who proved them wrong.

"As usual, the right-wingers refused to take responsibility for their heroes' recklessness and crimes. They blamed liberals instead. They organized and used their immense financial power and elite connections to remake America in their right-wing image, claiming they were retaking America from perceived socialists in academia, the media and even business boardrooms."

More of this great piece is here. The focus of this lengthy article is on the late William Simon, one-time Treasury Secretary under Nixon and a major player in the far right think tank industry.