Written by Walter Hecht   

Have you ever noticed how little information there is in the “news?” Traditional news on TV and other media is spectacle and entertainment, designed not to inform, but to garner ratings and advertising dollars. Car chases are a big deal in cities, but who really cares to watch the police do their job apprehending a solitary driver?

When Katrina happened, we were in Northern California on vacation. The networks focused on interviewing individuals trapped in New Orleans to show the human side of the tragedy, but a task that required no real effort on their part. I turned to PBS for information and in one thirty minute segment, I was informed about what was really happening in New Orleans. The networks could inform the public if they chose, but the owners of the media and the 1% mostly don’t want an informed electorate. It’s easier to get what they want if the rest of us don’t know what is happening. So to them, no news is truly good news.