Walter Cronkite on Media Ownership

An article about Walter Cronkite was recently published in The Nation, in which the "the most trusted name in news" talked about his views on the consolidation of media and the future of the news industry. He mentioned that "the failure of newspaper competition in a community is a very serious handicap to the dissemination of the knowledge that the citizens need to participate in a democracy." In others, consolidation of media is a threat to a democracy.

Mr. Cronkite also mentioned his concerns that reporters for the big media are afraid to speak out against government action. He thinks it’s the duty journalism to not only report the news, but to analyze it.

It’s a good article. Check it out

Conspiracy or Reality? Is the United States an Imperialist Society?

There are many people that argue that America is an imperialist nation. These people are often referred to as wackos, nutcases, conspiracy theorists or to use Bill O'Reilly's term, "looneys". These looneys argue that America has been an imperialist nation for some time now.According to looney theory, The Monroe Doctrine was a declaration of international imperialism(Check out this video for more info on the Monroe Doctrine. Notice that the document was in fact a public declaration of U.S. imperialists intentions-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38cyHchHPhI). The looneys go so far as saying that America is imperialist today and that the media attempts to suppress this fact. Is there any truth in the looney perspective? President Dwight D. Eisenhower warned American citizens of the growing power of what he referred to as the industrial-military complex. During WWII and the Cold War, an industry of military weapons development grew and became very profitable. Eisenhower seemed concerned that this new group of industrialists would use their power to influence Washington D.C. Looney's argue that America has reached an era where war itself is exceedingly profitable to arms producers in our society. This is a frightening concept, especially if you take into consideration Eisenhower's warning(PLEASE WATCH THIS VIDEO!!!- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8y06NSBBRtY). Was President Dwight D. Eisenhower a looney? Eisenhower's statement is more profound considering that he was a military man. The media often fails to convey the perspective that America is imperialist. This is troubling if you consider that the looneys are right. Does the media hide the fact that America is imperialist????