One imagines wise boomers carefully examining the intricately arranged series of "Media Matrices" and sagely nodding at the subtle points illuminated in each. "Yes, I've heard of this 'Onion'; really not a very useful source of news!" "I wonder why they didn't draw the firm who employ my favorite news personalities here in this 'North Star' area?"
Do we really think the main problem in USA is that not enough people consume median journalism? This veers dangerously close to an assumption that our only real problem is that the "Fairness Doctrine" no longer protects us from Badthink. I'd propose a different idea. If there are actual problems of long standing, e.g. myriad interminable wars or shocking incarceration rates, they might owe their durability to the fact that few people really oppose them as hard as some other aspects of modern life are opposed. What sort of coverage would we predict of these problems from "the North Star"? Might that segment of the "matrix" elide such coverage altogether? When we do hear opposition to or even coverage of morewaralwaysmorewar or similar issues, and it comes from kooks like TheNation or ZeroHedge, does that reinforce the marginal importance of these issues, or perhaps does it call into question this matrix picture altogether? What was the point of the internet, if we all ought to watch the same news?
Do we really think the main problem in USA is that not enough people consume median journalism? This veers dangerously close to an assumption that our only real problem is that the "Fairness Doctrine" no longer protects us from Badthink. I'd propose a different idea. If there are actual problems of long standing, e.g. myriad interminable wars or shocking incarceration rates, they might owe their durability to the fact that few people really oppose them as hard as some other aspects of modern life are opposed. What sort of coverage would we predict of these problems from "the North Star"? Might that segment of the "matrix" elide such coverage altogether? When we do hear opposition to or even coverage of morewaralwaysmorewar or similar issues, and it comes from kooks like TheNation or ZeroHedge, does that reinforce the marginal importance of these issues, or perhaps does it call into question this matrix picture altogether? What was the point of the internet, if we all ought to watch the same news?