I think you've summarized the state of the popular western media in a nutshell, Brian and yes, it's been like this for more than 30 years but getting worse. It does in its present unregulated state corrupt democracy; you gave good examples of wars that happened only for the benefit of rich (mostly oil) corporations. The corporate pawn Thatcher even tried to get the Anglican Church to hold a remembrance service only for those killed on the British ship Cornwall. Runcie (Archbishop at the time)refused and held a service for all of the Falklands war dead. Thank God that church was still uncorrupted though I couldn't say the same of the current Catholic archbishop Pell.

What I can't understand is why the recommendations of the recent Finkelstein inquiry, were not adopted. The media (lead by Murdoch's the Australian) managed to hold sway that an independent oversight body from the judiciary would destroy the 'free press'. A press free to tell lies and distribute corrosive propaganda at will! Perhaps the 'market is God' era acceptance of market propaganda has extended into the idea that news propaganda is OK too.

'The Australian' (and for that matter the other majority tabloid rags) attempt to lend credibility to the political propaganda and 'info-tainment' in the front pages by filling the back half with in-depth share-market analysis material, which none of us disagrees with because we're not experts and which is of little consequence to 90% of us anyway. The psychology is that if they know so much about the share market then they must have it right when it comes to running the country. But that too is wearing thin. More are seeing as you and I do that the corporates whom that rag takes so seriously are the ones behind the b-sh-t in the their headlines.

There's something DISGUSTING about this article:

The mood of the masses can be frightening and those objective people who observed the Diana 'phenomenon' for what it was, were reminded of what happened in Germany from 1933 onwards.

What a perverse statement.

<< the simplistic goodies v baddies position>>

Brian has diagnosed his own malady.

Writer’s like Brian, it seems, have it all down pat: The world is made up of goodies and baddies.

The chief BADDY (of the moment) is Rupert Murdoch.
(no other media group has ever used phone taps, or sough to curry favour with pollies!)

And, exposing the scams of “asylum seekers” is also BAD , it is “drumming-up fear”.
(the populous should be kept in the dark about “asylum seekers’ scams, instead they should be made to read Mills & Boon like accounts of the “asylum seekers” heroic struggles).

And the “adulation” shown for Princess Diana is BAD.
(it show have be redirected to one of Brian’s pet causes – in which case it would then be GOOD

Yes, I am sure the world would be a much GOODER place if Brian could *have his way* with the media!

I disagree with Brian. Therefore he is a baddie and should not be permitted to write piffle like this.

Brian

I can appreciate the reasons for some of what you say, but as a working member of the media (financial, not tabloid) I can tell you, you've go it the wrong way wround. The tabloids play to their audiences. They are not creating prejudices, although they may reinforce them, they are playing on them in order to sell newspapers.

The "gotcha" you found so reprehensible is a classic example. The audience that the tabloid was playing to was treating the war like a football game, and that's not right but its what happened. The tabloid was selling newspapers by catering to that sentiment.

However, you may also be confused over the reaction to the Falklands war, which was essentially a war fought by a small number of professionals (on the British side at least) that did not touch the overwhelming bulk of the British nation, and the reaction to vast conflicts like WWII which affect everyone.

All that said tabloids have become shriller of later, but that is because they are losing audiences. Their market is fragmenting and they are losing classifieds to online sites.. You may say that's a good thing, and perhaps it is, but good or bad its what's happening..

Hmmm, yet another article proposing that we the people are too stupid to know what's good for us and are easily manipulated by evil people like Rupert Murdoch.

The tabloids will go down when people stop buying them. It's already happening to some extent and I'd expect that trend to continue. But even if they don't, there is no reason to do anything about them. Just don't buy one if you don't like them and, for heaven's sake, stop believing that the rest of us are too wilfully ignorant to make our own judgements and decisions. Get out your copy of Mill's 'On Liberty' and rediscover your faith in democracy and your fellow human beings.