News Crap

Weak people think of the people with differing points of view to themselves mainly as people with differing life experiences. Understanding people is weak.  Respecting people is weak. Money is to be made and power is to be acquired by defining people with differing points of view as adversaries. Adversaries are necessary for dramatic interest in news stories and other stories. Holding the attention of people long enough so they will pay attention to advertising is especially important. The people who do not pay attention to advertising are adversaries of a good business model. Confrontational political systems, and political conflicts more generally, are good for the news business.  They create drama. Regarding weak people as adversaries also makes it easier to make money and acquire power through adversarial legal systems.  By definition, weak people have no power, at least when compared with billionaires. Non-gullible people are adversaries of the rich and powerful.  Non-gullible pe

Keeping profitable often requires direct and indirect government subsidies, whether in Australia or elsewhere. Funding elections is the purpose of media empires.  The money for that funding either comes from governments or advertisers, at least when other customers are unwilling to pay much, if anything. The process of reaching into the minds of customers and potential customers sometimes requires shouting.  That can be achieved by throwing newsprint around their neighbourhoods and by throwing bigotry around through broadcasting. But when newsprint is irrelevant and bigotry is unfashionable, hypocrisy becomes the next option. We know fossil fuel use is still on the rise but our advertisers now want us to promote their net zero campaign, whatever that means .