The (Truly) Alternative Press
A Sampling of Periodicals Which Dare To Challenge The Status Quo
With nine massive transnational corporations owning over 90% of all media distribution world-wide, we should expect that the bulk of agenda setting stories will serve the interests of those corporations. That is just common sense.
Further, many of these nine corporations are widely diversified into other key economic sectors. For example, Westinghouse (which owns CBS) and General Electric (which owns NBC) also have divisions with major U.S. defense contracts. Disney (which owns ABC / Capital Cities) also owns record labels, movie studios, theme parks, Discovery Channel, Discover magazine, etc. So we should not expect these firms to criticize the defense budget, discourage couch potatoes, or criticize the fantasy-based and escapist aspects of our culture. That would simply not be in their best interest.
This is key, of course, because mass media IS THE way ideas, information and news are transmitted to nearly everyone on the planet. To feign doubt regarding this truth is to ignore the obvious influences Hollywood has across the globe, even in third world villages. Monitoring, control and reactive intervention are now technologically possible, so their economic and political value is mined routinely by those who have more ambition than soul.
The statistics, the observable realities, and even the well-understood human psychology, lead us to a shocking realization: George Orwell’s vision of “Big Brother”, specifically information management by and for an elite ruling class, largely surrounds us today. Orwell’s “Double-speak”, which re-defines words, even to the point of inverting their original meaning, has a modern (and legitimized) practitioner: The Spin Doctor. As Orwell observed first-hand during World War II, a constant re-writing of history is necessary to suit the purposes of the elite. For example, the Kennedy-family was resurrected from ‘bootlegging outlaws’ in the 1930’s to ‘saviors of liberal democracy’ by the 1960’s. U.S. nuclear testing (i.e. on our own unwitting soldiers), U.S. roles in Central and South America (i.e. Panama, Columbia, Guatemala), Indonesia (i.e. East Timor), and the Middle East (Iran, Palestine, Israel), and official cover-ups by every Presidential adminstration over the past 40 years testify to both the desire and ability to manipulate public consciousness. Even the official “Inflation Rate” calculations were modified (publicly and purposefully) over 20 years ago to ensure lower Cost-Of-Living-Adjustments for government obligations and lowered expectations for wage increases from U.S. workers, regardless of the fact that these figures now bear no relationship to the reality of the actual increasing cost of living for Americans. [Note: Officially cumulative inflation over the last decade has been 34%, but housing, insurance, food, gasoline, education, automobiles, and utilities have increased by 100% or more, while health care costs have risen nearly 300%]. Routine disinformation campaigns, and even outright lies, have become so commonplace as to rarely raise much interest from a cynical and apathetic public. Today, people feel (and act) so powerless that the Orwellian prediction of a two-way video monitor in every room is not even necessary, although many public survelliance cameras are spread throughout cities, on highways, in shopping centers, banks, stores, warehouses, even dressing rooms and bathrooms. According to on-camera testimony from various ex-spooks, CIA and NSA computers monitor nearly every bit of telecommunication (telephone, cell phone, broadcast, e-mail, etc.) in the U.S. and, with or without the consent of other governments, the world.
The point is simple: People in power have the tools to manipulate the public through the media; they have been perfecting these means since the dawn of radio; they DO CARE TO manipulate the public to enhance their profit and power; and therefore we should expect that we are being actively manipulated via the mass media, not for benefit but for theirs. This is really just common sense.
So your choices are simple: (1) Enjoy being manipulated, OR (2) Include a supplement of alternative media in your informational diet.
For those choosing the latter course of action, here is small sample of alternative periodicals which we have found to be courageous, informative and independently-minded.
The Nation – The oldest continuous publication in the U.S., whose independence is made possible by its “no advertisers” policy, which is offset by subscription fees and philanthropic donations. While a discernible “left” bias is evident, the no-holds-barred editorial style allows contributing writers to openly argue with each other, and no topic or viewpoint seems taboo. Contributing authors have commanding credentials, articles are well researched and well argued, the writing is consistently literate and educated, and dogma is rarely in evidence.
Mother Jones– The most infamously alternative of the alternatives. Named after a woman who was spunky well before women were allowed to be spunky (and who is long since dead), this magazine provides in-your-face anti-establishment opinions and reporting. As their current logo reads: “Celebrating 25 years of Raising Hell.”
Utne Reader– “The Best of the Alternative Press” is the Reader’s Digest of independent thinking. This is the hard copy version of the internet’s main promise: re-circulation of interesting and unconventional ideas, counter-spin on the mass media’s predictable pronouncements, a virtual salon for lonely souls taking the road less traveled.
HopeDance– Though much smaller HopeDance is a bi-monthly which dares to tackles issues both large and small, tangible and mystical. While maintaining a solutions-oriented and typically local focus, the topics covered draw upon and are applicable to national and international concerns. In particular, HopeDance sets an excellent example for what a local, community-oriented magazine can (and should) be… including lists of available barter services, support for a local currency, regular education events (e.g. sustainable housing methods), and even “wild dancing”.