Jurors Hear Closing Arguments in Jackson Trial

Jurors heard the closing arguments in the Michael Jackson trial yesterday, and will probably begin deliberations today. I have not done any postings for Michael Jackson, nor have I really paid much attention to the case. But I probably should add a comment, now that the trial is over. This entire trial represents the most reprehensible disgusting character of the mainstream American press. The press is no longer covering the important news issues of the day, that the American people must know. The press has become another form of entertainment, to get the latest scoop of sex, or violence, or sleaze that would shock and awe the American public for the simple task of filling the coffers of big corporations who now own the news media. Of course, the American public has become desensitized to the sex, sleaze and violence being reported by the press, but still wants to know more--did Jackson really molest that child? Did he give alcohol? What were they really doing at that sleep-in at Neverland? Are there any videotapes? Why do I care if a pop star was molesting a child? Or a President was having an affair with an intern? Or a football star killed his former wife and her male friend? Or a woman saws off a man's penis with a steak knife? Or two rich, bratty teens conspire to kill their parents? These are all trials of the centuries that a corporate news media company has spent millions of dollars of journalistic resources to attempt to scoop the story from its corporate media competitors. And yet, the corporate media will fail to investigate stories which do have a major impact on the public--what is this 'Downing Street' memo and how does it relate to the U.S. war in Iraq? That story has been all over the European press for weeks, yet it is virtually uncovered here in the U.S. "The Downing Street memo is too complicated of a story. The American people won't understand it. The memo may embarrass the Bush Administration, and we don't want that since we want we want to control more of the media and more power and more profits."

It is funny. I was exposed for a while to the inner-workings of a newspaper. I had joined the West Valley College Norseman--a small junior college paper in Saratoga--as a photographer to cover sporting events and campus events. Our little staff of students saw The Norseman as a respectable institution, and we certainly tried to get the best possible product out to our customers--the West Valley College students. In the mainstream American press, I certainly don't blame the reporters, editors, or cameramen covering these events. I have more contempt for the corporate owners and managers running these news organizations as a profit center. For as the gatekeepers of information, they are doing the American public a disservice in providing the important information needed to understand the world and its complex issues. For a democracy to thrive and prosper, its citizens must be knowledgeable and well-informed by an independent press.

We no longer have that.