| February 24, 2006 Editor’s Desk by Aaron Selbig, insurgent49 “Most
truths are so naked that people feel sorry for them and cover them up,
at least a little bit”
- Edward R. Murrow
It’s been a newsworthy week here at Insurgent Headquarters.Last weekend, my special lady friend and I finally got around to seeing “Good Night, and Good Luck”, the George Clooney-directed film centered on Edward R. Murrow’s battle with Joe McCarthy. We went to the movies looking for a relaxing evening, but found instead a reminder of the shallow, commercial and complicit nature of modern media. And a reminder of why projects like Insurgent49 exist. Where have the Edward R. Murrows gone? In the middle of the McCarthyist Red Scare of the 1950s, Murrow, the most respected television journalist in the country, took on Senator McCarthy using an irrefutable logic: If we are against communism, shouldn’t we be against this, too? Much like the regrettable era of Joe McCarthy’s fear-mongering, today we are faced with a government that is telling us that, in order to maintain a safe, stable society, we must sacrifice some of the liberty and freedom that we are busy promoting elsewhere in the world. American citizens are being rounded up and, without due process of law, are either being ‘detained’ in offshore gulags or shipped to countries that torture people (make that other countries that torture people). The National Security Agency is monitoring our emails and listening in on our phone conversations. And if you are brazen enough to oppose all of this, then ... you’re un-American. You’re a traitor. You must be one of them. And, also as in the McCarthy era, the perpetrators of this fear-mongering have rediscovered the most important tool of propaganda: the news media. With this valuable weapon, they can convince us that all of the spying, the detentions and the torture are necessary for our security. We live in a time where “fair and balanced” means “official mouthpiece”. “Remember 9/11”, says the soothing voice of the TV anchorman, while a little American flag waves gallantly in the corner of your TV, “ ... and the brave fighting men and women who are ‘over there’ fighting the terrorists so we don’t have to fight them here” ... and then comes the cutaway shot to the president in his flight suit, snarling “bring it on” before a cheering crowd of brave fighting men and women. Now that’s news. And hey, why not? That is news. News that sells, anyway. Do you really think General Motors is going to advertise on a show that questions the country’s leadership? Do you think people really want a depressing (and boring) newscast about the latest round of health care cuts for those brave fighting men and women? Hell no. People want drama. They want action. They want to know that our boys are kicking some terrorist ass. And then after that ... Who’s Jennifer Aniston dating these days? Edward R. Murrow won the battle but lost the war. Due in large part to Murrow’s consciousness-raising efforts, Joe McCarthy was censured by the Senate in 1954. Edward R. Murrow, however, eventually was forced from CBS News over disputes about his controversial subjects. As we left the theatre, my special lady friend and I discussed our newfound role as newspaper publishers. “Why are we doing this?” we wondered, “and why do papers like Insurgent49 need to exist in the first place?” After all, we’re certainly not Edward R. Murrow. We’re not even journalists, really. We’re just passionate, concerned citizens who have grown weary of mainstream news reporting that ignores certain stories while glorifying others, and feel we need to take matters into our own hands. As a matter of fact, Insurgent49 shouldn’t have to exist. It’s sad that it does. If the real journalists would just do their jobs, we wouldn’t have to. In the meantime, we and other newspapers like us will be here, remembering the courage of Edward R. Murrow and hoping that his contemporaries might do the same. Until then ... good night, and good luck. Regards, Aaron Selbig Editor, Insurgent Media AK |
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February 17, 2006 February 10, 2006 February 3, 2006 January 27, 2006 January 20, 2006 January 13, 2006 January 6, 2006 December 30, 2005 December 23, 2005 December 16, 2005 December 10, 2005 December 2, 2005 November 25, 2005 November 18, 2005 November 11, 2005 November 4, 2005 October 28, 2005 October 21, 2005 October 14, 2005 October 7, 2005 September 30, 2005 September 23, 2005 September 16, 2005 September 9, 2005 September 2, 2005 August 26, 2005 August 19, 2005 August 12, 2005 August 5, 2005 July 29, 2005 July 22, 2005 July 15, 2005 July 8, 2005 July 1, 2005 June 24, 2005 June 17, 2005 June 10, 2005 June 3, 2005 May 27, 2005 May 20, 2005 May 13, 2005 May 6, 2005 April 28, 2005 April 21, 2005 April 14, 2005 April 7, 2005 April 1, 2005 |
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| Copyright 2005
Insurgent Media.
All rights reserved. in-sur-gent (in sur'jent), n. 1. a member of a group which revolts against the policies of its leadership. |
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