Wednesday, January 13, 2021

America is now Iraq, thanks to the formula of media coverage on COVID

I remember how over a decade ago, it was fashionable to point out "the media never tells the good news" of what our soldiers were doing over in Iraq. What did we get? Here's what we got every day:

10 US soldiers killed....... 3 US soldiers killed...... 10 US soldiers killed...... car bomb wounds 18 US soldiers....... attack leaves US soldiers....... 8 US soldiers killed....

This is no different than how the media covers Covid. You ever heard about the falling percentage rate? I know I haven't. What are we hearing?

Covid kills 50......... State of New York sets record deaths........ Covid kills 300....... Covid kills 1000........ Covid kills 75......

Why do the media always follow this same formula? It's what they're taught.

In chapter 1 of the book "Public Opinion", The Father of Modern Journalism Walter Lippmann wrote: (page 40)

The wireless constantly used the statistics of the intelligence bureau at Verdun, whose chief, Major Cointet, had invented a method of calculating German losses which obviously produced marvelous results. Every fortnight the figures increased a hundred thousand or so. These 300,000, 400,000, 500,000 casualties put out, divided into daily, weekly, monthly losses, repeated in all sorts of ways, produced a striking effect. Our formulae varied little: 'according to prisoners the German losses in the course of the attack have been considerable' ... 'it is proved that the losses' ... 'the enemy exhausted by his losses has not renewed the attack' ... Certain formulae, later abandoned because they had been overworked, were used each day: 'under our artillery and machine gun fire' ... 'mowed down by our artillery and machine gun fire' ... Constant repetition impressed the neutrals and Germany itself, and helped to create a bloody background in spite of the denials from Nauen (the German wireless) which tried vainly to destroy the bad effect of this perpetual repetition."

And that's what the media is doing to keep up the pressure and use the virus to achieve its goals. It's a suppression tactic, which produces "a striking effect", right out of the playbook of journalism. Right there on page 40.

Public Opinion, free public domain audiobook

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